Pressure Washer Revving

[tb582]

I have a power stroke 3100 PSI pressure washer that I got on trade...

Now I know next to nothing about engines etc but its revving - now I read that your suppose to hook up the hose and always have it going but does that matter when just trying to diagnose why its revving and won't stay running?

I read a couple of places that said it could be a dirty/clogged carb - so I spent my day today taking that apart but it was clean as a whistle.

What else ??

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Look at YouTube
Steve’s Small Engine Saloon.
The guy is very knowledgable

 

[cnc-me]

You are going to burn out your pump if you don't have it hooked up to a water source.
Carb is must likely gummed up from sitting around.
Also, I see you are in NJ be careful not to let that unit freeze, I think more power washers have been ruined from freezing than anything else.

 

[tb582]

Yes - Steve’s small engine saloon is the vid I watched to clean out the carb... but again it’s not the carb.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Can you give a better description of what it's doing? You say it's revving but doesn't stay running.

Does it surge a couple times and then die or just fire up for a few seconds and then shut down?

After it dies are you able to get it to fire up immediately or does it have to sit for a while?

 

[tb582]

Sigh it won’t let me post the vid link until I get 5 posts lol

 

[tb582]

But I put it on start, start it up and then you’ll hear it slightly revv up but you’ll hear it more as I move it over to run.

 

[tb582]

And I think after this I can post the vid!

 

[tb582]

https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZxbTFXZPuPdv7hgHNBYKwD0Kbil07UxdGy0

 

[see pictures]

Dirty carb will cause that. Get a welding tip cleaner and cleanout the jets

 

[vavet]

I’m also thinking your carb is dirty.
You need water to keep things cool in the pump.

 

[tb582]

Dirty carb will cause that. Get a welding tip cleaner and cleanout the jets

I cleaned out the entire carb, took it all apart and cleaned the jets etc and put it all back and no luck!

 

[PelicanPines]

My old push mower used to do that ... to a lesser extent. My issue was bad stale gas. I started using stabl and drained the tank if it was going to sit for over a month.

I also cleaned the carb out... I did what someone else said... I was lucky... I just fixed my gas situation and used carb clean out. I took the float off and sprayed it too.

I'm also in Jersey. Freezing is a huge issue with pressure washers. Mine lives in a heated garage... 60 all winter long.


EDIT... your post beat me.

How is your gas?

Also... mixture might need adjusting.

 

[tb582]

EDIT... your post beat me.

How is your gas?

Also... mixture might need adjusting.

When I took the carb off I drained and replaced the gas! So I don’t think that’s it either.

 

[cnc-me]

I think you have a plugged up jet, use a small piece of wire/drill bit/torch tip cleaner to clean it out. Be careful not to enlarge it to much, a little is probably ok as most modern engines run way to lean anyway. I sure miss the old adjustable jets.

 

[tb582]

I think you have a plugged up jet, use a small piece of wire/drill bit/torch tip cleaner to clean it out. Be careful not to enlarge it to much, a little is probably ok as most modern engines run way to lean anyway. I sure miss the old adjustable jets.

See above it’s not the carb nor a clogged jet! I’ve gone through both

 

[Jswain]

I've had to clean many carbs more than one time to fix the problem and I've cleaned my share.

There is likely a blockage of some sort in your idle circuit. Engine is running when it's choked because it is sucking fuel through other circuits but when the choke opens and its only sucking fuel through the idle circuit which is blocked it is starved and dies.

If it continued to run like that with the choke off it may be a governor problem but the fact that it will run choked but not idle is a good indicator. Clean the carburetor very thoroughly again, drain all gas/tank & install a 1/4" fuel filter if it doesn't have one. Make sure fuel flows freely through the inlet needle when the float drops and that the inlet needle seals when it rises

And also don't be running the pressure washer at all without the water running or when you finally fix your surging issue you'll realize you have a burnt out pump

 

[finn]

Go through the carb again. You didn’t get it clean the first time.

Perhaps get a generic Chinese carb from eBay if you are having a tough time cleaning the one on the machine. They are cheap.

 

[Highland]

It's leaning out. Either running out of gas or sucking extra air somewhere between the carb and engine.

 

[vavet]

There’s no shame in cleaning a carb multiple times until it behaves. Get a spray can of carb cleaner and use it liberally. Do you have an air compressor? Blow out the passages.

These small carbs really aren’t too complicated. Take pics with your cell phone to keep track of how things go together if you’re not sure you’ll remember.

Look up the part number to see how much a new carb is. I put a cheap Chinese, amazon-sourced carb on my leaf blower. It was about $15. It ran better with that carb than it ever did with the original walbro.

 

[kelpaso1]

Yep, carb passage somewhere is still clogged/ or vacuum leak. Try again.

 

[KenC]

Yep, carb passage somewhere is still clogged/ or vacuum leak. Try again.

Agree.

And, heed the warnings about having water hooked up. It cools the pistons and cylinders in the pump. without it the pump will fail quickly, like in a few minutes, very few.

 

[Montecristo]

I have a similar revving situation and some oil leaking from the water pump. My research says it could be the gaskets in the water pump.

Haven’t tried fixing yet. But, I’ll be sure to check the carb too.

I have a power stroke 3100 PSI pressure washer that I got on trade...

Now I know next to nothing about engines etc but its revving - now I read that your suppose to hook up the hose and always have it going but does that matter when just trying to diagnose why its revving and won't stay running?

I read a couple of places that said it could be a dirty/clogged carb - so I spent my day today taking that apart but it was clean as a whistle.

What else ??

 

[nadogail]

Replacement carb for my Chondra (Chinese Clone of a Honda) was about $15 dollars from Amazon.