# Ryobi 2200 Popping



## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I picked up a used RYI2200 at a local pawnshop for cheap. I already have one that I worked on and got working acceptably well. The guy at the shop told me it had been in pawn for a while. When I cranked it at the shop, it reeved a little but generally sounded fairly good. I put fresh gas in it and the reeving went away, but I occasionally hear a mild pop, pop, pop at exhaust. When I opened it up, it was clear the unit had barely been used, if at all. Even the original air filter didn’t have a speck of dust. The hoses were a little tough to get off because the generator had been sitting a while. I went ahead and cleaned the carb really well, thinking it might be gummed from old gas. There was a little bit of stuff in the bowl, but generally it was very clean. I cleaned all the parts of the carb and buttoned it back up. It ran well, just as before, but I’m still hearing the occasional pop, pop, pop. I replaced the spark plug and still the same issue. What would be the suggested next step.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

A couple of extra notes: It happens at idle. With a load I "think" I still hear it but it's very, very faint. Adding choke does not make it go away. Typically there at 3 or 4 mild pop, pop, pops, then it will go away for a couple of minutes. I tried running a tank through it with an extra dose of seam foam, but that didn't make a difference. The exhaust doesn't smell like gas, or anything else.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

Best if you can post a video with sound long enough to observe it running through its paces.... ie. with auto idle on and off, with and without load.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

ChrisKinlaw said:


> I picked up a used RYI2200 at a local pawnshop for cheap. I already have one that I worked on and got working acceptably well. The guy at the shop told me it had been in pawn for a while. When I cranked it at the shop, it reeved a little but generally sounded fairly good. I put fresh gas in it and the reeving went away, but I occasionally hear a mild pop, pop, pop at exhaust. When I opened it up, it was clear the unit had barely been used, if at all. Even the original air filter didn’t have a speck of dust. The hoses were a little tough to get off because the generator had been sitting a while. I went ahead and cleaned the carb really well, thinking it might be gummed from old gas. There was a little bit of stuff in the bowl, but generally it was very clean. I cleaned all the parts of the carb and buttoned it back up. It ran well, just as before, but I’m still hearing the occasional pop, pop, pop. I replaced the spark plug and still the same issue. What would be the suggested next step.


maybe a bit of seafoam in the gasoline as well to help with the trash in the fuel system
there is a fuel filter screen in the bottom of the tank or hose at the bottom of the tank on most of these.
maybe drain the tank and a full clean for trash.

check the oil for fuel in the oil, maybe an oil change.
carb float could have stuck and dumped fuel in the crank case...

try setting the valves, do a leak down test on the cyl.
there can be trash in the carb still. do you have an ultrasonic clean unit???
try a new carb.
and a new spark plug...

there was a bad run on spark plug caps a while back, you might replace that as well.


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

Probably the valves needs adjusting if not ignition related.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I should have adjusted the valve yesterday when I had it apart, but the unit literally looks brand new inside. I’m thinking it’s got less than 10 hours on it. Do the factories sometimes send them out with the valves out of spec?


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## 50ShadesOfDirt (Oct 23, 2021)

+1 on resetting the valve lash ...

If you rescued it from a pawn shop, it possibly had a hard life up to the point of rescue ...


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll adjust the valves and report back. I wish they made the Ryobi units easier to service. The hard part is just taking off the shell. Honda does a much better job on that.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea sometimes they do not get the valves set right from the factory.
i am super picky on that...
before firing up any equipment i have mods and things to check on all motors etc.
valves is on that list as well as baseline compression for the files.
and install oil magnets before the first fire up.
check the inside of the gens case for loose parts or clamps touching hoses etc.
easy stuff if you have a bunch of gens to take care of!


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## ronskal (Feb 18, 2021)

ChrisKinlaw said:


> I should have adjusted the valve yesterday when I had it apart, but the unit literally looks brand new inside. I’m thinking it’s got less than 10 hours on it. Do the factories sometimes send them out with the valves out of spec?


From the factory out of spec, I think no for a Honda or Yamaha. On a Chinese or Vietnamese mass-produced, less quality control intense system- Yes. Still would be rare, these engines are quite simple. But the symptoms say it's possible.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

iowagold said:


> yea sometimes they do not get the valves set right from the factory.
> i am super picky on that...
> before firing up any equipment i have mods and things to check on all motors etc.
> valves is on that list as well as baseline compression for the files.
> ...





iowagold said:


> yea sometimes they do not get the valves set right from the factory.
> i am super picky on that...
> before firing up any equipment i have mods and things to check on all motors etc.
> valves is on that list as well as baseline compression for the files.
> ...


Thank you for your help as always! I went ahead last night and ordered a new carb. For 21 bucks, I figure I should change that out while I’m already in there adjusting the valves. I’m going to try 1 more spark plug too, another name brand from another store. I bet you could make a Chinese made inverter generator last 20 years with daily use, couldn’t you?


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I took the case off today to adjust the valves. It looks like there is some oil leaking out of the back of the pulse fuel fuel pump but I can’t pinpoint exactly where. I took off the vacuum line and definitely no oil in there. Is the most likely scenario a bad fuel pump and could that be the root cause of the popping?


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

That's a good clue. You may have a vacuum leak. That can disturb the air-fuel mix and result in rough running.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I double checked the valves and they were exactly right. Compared to my old identical unit, this one looks pristine inside. Even the muffler shows no signs of use. I have a new fuel pump and carb coming this weekend. Maybe that will solve the problem.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

ChrisKinlaw said:


> I double checked the valves and they were exactly right. Compared to my old identical unit, this one looks pristine inside. Even the muffler shows no signs of use. I have a new fuel pump and carb coming this weekend. Maybe that will solve the problem.


whew!
glad the valves were spot on!
that is a good sign.
did you do the leak down test yet??
that will show how well the rings and valves are seated.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I don’t have a tester to do a leak down test. I’m thinking about picking one up Harbor Freight. Probably not the best quality but I won’t use it all that much.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

you might be able to pick one up on a renta tool program at the local auto parts store.
you need a pretty good one to be spot on with the numbers...
or get numbers you can trust sort of thing.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I replaced the carb and fuel pump, which was kind of willing since both looked new. Pops are still there. Set up the in-line apart tester, and I’m pretty sure the pops I’m hearing are misses. The light would be fairly consistent then it would blink, I think just before the pops. I had to laugh because now I have 2 Ryobi2200’s with a spark issue. On the old unit I replaced both the ignition coil, pick up coil, and disconnected the low oil sensor and none of those solved the problem.


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## McCorby (Apr 26, 2021)

Can you post a video of It running with the spark tester?


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I took some video but it’s really hard to hear the pops. Strangely, the in-line spark tester showed light the whole time but it only showed on the video sporadically. I don’t know if maybe the light is brighter and the recorder then picks it up or what.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Here is the video.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

Overall, it sounds quite alright. At least the noise the crankcase makes seems fine. As for the sound from the exhaust port, I do notice the unevenness. Is the sparkplug gapped correctly? And speaking of plugs, I'd also experiment with different heat ranges.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Come to think of it, I didn’t check the gap on that plug. For some reason you can’t hear the popping on the video.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

Also, it may be running either too lean or too rich. Can you manually move the choke while it's running?

1. If you add a little choke and it gets worse, it's running rich. Check the filter if it's dirty or has too much oil (for foam filters).
2. If adding choke makes it run better, it's running lean. It's starving for fuel so I would look at the pilot jet and/or adjust the air-fuel set screw.

Does it still sputter in high-RPM (high loads)?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

something is up on the spark for sure.
looks like weak coil. weak spark.
check the grounds, air gap, spark cap, and make sure you are using the right style of spark plug.
if the oem called for resistor make sure to use the same.

brighter indicates a shorted or low ohms at the spark plug...
rich mixture


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Thank you for the reply. Im pretty amazed that I have two exact units, both with the exact same issue. I called Ryobi about the issue on the old unit and of course they said they had never heard off such an issue and had no suggestions. On the older unit I replaced the coil, the pickup coil, and checked the air gap and the problem persisted. I think I even have an extra unused ignition coil from the first unit I could throw at it just to see, but I suspect it’s something else since that didn’t fix the problem on the first unit. It’s a big IF, but maybe if I can figure out the problem on the new unit, I can fix the old one I had given up on. Anyway, can you please advise how to check the grounds?


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

I no longer think it's electrical. If it were, the engine would be all over the place.... stalling or running very rough. But it's not, so I think it's fuel and/or air related. My hunch is on it running rich.

Spot which sound more or less matches what you hear from your engine.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I got a new NGK plug and double checked the gap. The problem is 97% gone. It's significantly quieter and runs smoothly. Every once in a while, I can still hear that same mild, almost undetectable pop in Eco mode. As long as it doesn't get worse, I think I'll probably just live with that. It's pretty amazing the difference a new carb, a new fuel pump, and a new spark plug made.

I'm really tempted to go back through my old unit (same exact model) and see if there might be something simple I've overlooked there too. It shows different symptoms. It runs pretty well until it gets warmed up, then it starts missing. You can clearly see the misses on the inline spark tester. I've replaced the ignition coil, pick up coil, and spark plug, as well as disconnecting the low oil sensor. Is there anything simple that I maybe haven't done or checked?


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Oh, and thank you all very much for the help with the new unit!


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

ChrisKinlaw said:


> I got a new NGK plug and double checked the gap. The problem is 97% gone. It's significantly quieter and runs smoothly. Every once in a while, I can still hear that same mild, almost undetectable pop in Eco mode. As long as it doesn't get worse, I think I'll probably just live with that. It's pretty amazing the difference a new carb, a new fuel pump, and a new spark plug made.
> 
> I'm really tempted to go back through my old unit (same exact model) and see if there might be something simple I've overlooked there too. It shows different symptoms. It runs pretty well until it gets warmed up, then it starts missing. You can clearly see the misses on the inline spark tester. I've replaced the ignition coil, pick up coil, and spark plug, as well as disconnecting the low oil sensor. Is there anything simple that I maybe haven't done or checked?


what make on the replacement parts?
oem or after market on the coil?
missing when warm most of the time is a spark coil issue internal.

try another brand on the spark coil.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

I tried 2 coils, but both were OEM. I don’t think you can buy this part aftermarket.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

This is a shot in the dark. Once while replacing the carb, a wire at one of the connectors came off. I think it was the wire to the kill switch. Anyway I soldered it back together and the kill switch worked fine. Could it be that once the wires heat up that soldered connection becomes compromised leading to a miss fire. I don’t think so but I don’t know what else to check.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

post the oem part numbers please.


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## ChrisKinlaw (Feb 7, 2021)

Kill switch. 291443001
Pick up coil. 26020200100
Ignition coil. 850202001


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

hummmm.
yea so far i drew a blank on after market for the ing coil.


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