17 Reasons Why Your Generator Isn’t Working | Part I

The last thing you want to happen in a power outage, in the middle of winter, is for your generator to not kick-on or to stop working altogether. We’ve compiled a list of 17 reasons why this might be the case. Hopefully these troubleshooting tips will help you get by until a professional arrives!

1. Bad Batteries, Chargers, or Cables

Let’s start with the easy-but-not-always-obvious reasons first. For starters, check to make sure your batteries, chargers, and cables, as well as the connections to and from your generator, are in good condition.

2. Dirty Air Filter

Your generator has an air filter to keep dirt and debris from permanently damaging your combustion chamber, however, when this air filter gets dirty, it doesn’t let any air in at all. This causes the ratio of air-to-gas in the chamber to be incorrect, too rich with too much gas for combusion, which causes stalling. Don’t just take your air filter out, this will cause that permanent damage we were talking about. If your filter is the kind that can be cleaned, clean it, if not, go out and buy a new one.

3. Dirty Spark Plug

If your generator isn’t starting, it may be because the spark plug is dirty and won’t ignite. Remove the plug and check for sludge, or, dark carbon deposits that are preventing ignition. We don’t recommend attemption to clean the spark plug because they are relatively cheap. Go out and buy a new one!

4. Main Control Switch Set to “Off/Reset”

Also under the “easy mistakes” category is the on-off switch. If the main control switch on your generator is set to “off/reset,” it will not start.

5. Issues With Automatic Transfer Switch

If your generator is supposed to kick-on automatically during a power outage and it is not, you should check the automatic transfer switch but DO NOT TOUCH IT. You could be seriously injured. The switch should display as “on.” If it does not, get help.

If your generator does not turn back off automatically after the power has come back on, this is likely not an issue. Your generator has a timer delay in the automatic transfer switch to make sure it is receiving a steady supply of power for 15-30 minutes before it shuts off. If there is any interruption in the power during that time period, the timer will restart. If it seems that the power has been back on for a good while and your generator continues to run, you may want to call a professional.

6. Choke in Full Choke Position

When you are starting your generator, the choke should be at the “full” position, but it should not be in this position while the generator is running or it will stall. After you have started your generator with the choke in full, after a couple seconds, set it to half, then set it to “run.”

7. Out of Fuel or Too Much Fuel

Here is another easy mistake. Fuel guages on generators can by finicky, get stuck, and display inaccurate information. Some generators have a low fuel level shut-down process that will kick-in if your guage is lying to you. If, on the other hand, your fuel is too high, say at 90-95% capacity, an alarm will activate simply to let you know to stop filling the tank.

8. Leaks – Fuel, Oil, or Coolant

Leaks are best prevented by routine maintenance, but if you experience a leak, here are the likely causes:

• Fuel – Fuel leaks are frequently due to overfilling of the tank (human error) or failure of the pump system.
• Oil – Oil leaks are often not leaks but accumulated engine chemicals in the exhaust system, something called “wet stacking.”
• Coolant – Coolant leaks are usually due to failure of the block heater hoses, which wear down due to the high temperatures produced by the block heater.

If you have tried some of the recommendations above and you are still having issues with your generator, it may be time to call in a professional! Customers of Moore Plumbing and Heating in Anchorage have access to our factory trained and certified technicians for the Generac generators we sell. They can perform any generator service or repairs you may need!