# Hard Starting EU2000i



## Sailorman3 (Feb 3, 2016)

I've had my EU2000i for 3 years now and I have had to clean the cab out on a couple of occasions as it would only run with the choke on. Now I have a new problem. It will start and you can turn the choke off but it will die about 5-10 seconds later. This will happen about 10-12 times and then it will run perfect for hours. I have cleaned the carb 3 times in the last day and it is still the same. I just cleaned the carb again and drained the tank and lines and installed fresh gas with some Seafoam in case I had some moisture in the gas. It still took about ten times to start and now I'm letting it run the tank dry to see if it makes a difference. Is there anything else that it could be. Thanks in advance.


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## Robert Coats (Nov 10, 2011)

Sailorman3 said:


> It will start and you can turn the choke off but it will die about 5-10 seconds later.


"Only runs with the choke on" or "dies when you move the choke to off" is a classic symptom of a partially blocked main jet. You must fully remove the jet and emulsion tube and really, REALLY clean the carb with spray cleaner and compressed air. An ultrasonic tank does even a better job. 

When it dies, will it immediately restart okay with full choke ON?

If it does not restart, check spark first. If spark is good, but still no restart, check oil level very precisely. Too little oil will activate the Oil Alert that kills the spark. 

What's the full serial number off the side of the unit? (EAAJ-???????). There was a Service Bulletin issued a few years ago for broken teeth on the throttle control motor's internal gearset.


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## Sailorman3 (Feb 3, 2016)

I've had the run only with choke on issue before and cleaning the jets fixed it. This is not the same problem. The generator starts great but dies after about 10 seconds. It will start again right away with no choke. But this will happen about 10 times. I also cleaned the carb and jets 3 times yesterday. When I used the Seafoam yesterday I dried the tank again completely when it ran dry and it seemed to start ok. I'm going to try it again this morning to see if it has fixed the problem.


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## exmar (Jun 29, 2015)

IMHO, SeaFoam is great stuff, everything around here gets a shot periodically. Do you RELIGOUSLY use Stabil or equivalent in the gas? Gensets, tillers, etc. that tend to sit for long periods without being run and the ethanol mix (mystery fuel) we have to buy now are a recipe for disaster. When I empty a gas can, the StaBil goes in before it goes in the truck to be hauled off and refilled.
Good luck,


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## Sailorman3 (Feb 3, 2016)

The Seafoam has done the trick. Running it dry with that in it and then drying out the tank and lines and the generator is running like new. Starts first pull and runs perfect. I think what happened to get water in the gas is that the generator is stored in a heated space and then its moved to a space that's -30 and then condensation happens and its more than the gas stabilizer can handle.


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