Ryobi Inverter Generator Won't Start / Surging - Carburetor Cleaning - RYI2200 

Roy Blair thanks for comment. Glad to hear that things are running well now.

Thanks. It's getting harder these days. Too many subscribers to keep up.

I believe I am having trouble with my RYi2200 easy start valve spring. When I try to start the cord gets ripped out of my hand. Valve clearance seems okay at .010 intake and exhaust, however I can not find the specs online. Any advice on where I can source the ACS spring or any adjustment recommendations are appreciated!

Just got a set of those. Did not have them when I made this video.

Douglas Steen great tip. Thanks.

James Condon this is a long shot, your video was amazing I was able to take mine apart and clean out the carb with no issues. Now for the bad news the spring flew off when I separated the carb from the housing and I have no clue how the new spring and joint connect to the solenoid. By any chance would you happen to have an up close picture of the area?

Matt Torres are you referring to that little spring that is on the throttle plate that goes in between throttle servo and the throttle control arm?

James Condon yes that is correct

Matt Torres just uploaded an unlisted video that might help. Let me know if you can view the following link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hijQVYIS9t8.html

John Roberson thanks for the compliment. You want to be careful with that screw on a generator. Generators do not idle so the screw is not needed to control minimum engine speed, but is required for holding the idle jet in on most. On a traditional generator, turning the idle screw in bypasses the governors ability to slow the engine down past the screw set point. An inverter generator does not have a mechanical governor, rather a servo motor. If the computer is telling the servo to close the throttle and the idle screw prevents, not sure if that would cause a problem with the computer or servo long term.

@@jcondon1 I had noticed that my spark plug on this generator was always rich looking and wet from to much gas,,making it hard to start and fouling plugs as well. Thought when I found this reaction to moving the screw some, that I might alleviate the running rich problem. I will report back when I find out if this indeed takes care of the rich problem. That screw was just about to the back of the idle jet in proximity , now it's a little bit past halfway from the center of the top of the idle jet.

John Roberson my only complaint about the Ryobi inverter generators is that they are hard to start. I think the compression release lets out a little too much compression. Often I have to turn the choke partially off when starting. Also worked on a Honda inverter that was running rich, it would eventually flood out and stall. Tried new jets unsuccessfully. Ended up replacing the carburetor which did fix the issue. Unfortunately the epa does not allow adjustable jets anymore or it would be an easy fix. Try running without an air filter for a short time and see if that fixes the issue. Sometime a dirty filter or one with too much oil on it will act to restrict air and richen things up. The other issue that causes a rich condition is the float being out of adjustment so the fuel level is too high in the bowl. I have seen this multiple times where I cut the fuel flow off while running and the rich condition goes away almost immediately. But most use plastic floats now which also cannot be adjusted :(

@@jcondon1 I tried using a hair dryer as a load for the set up. At 800 watts things were fine as well as 1200 watts , but when I went to 1500 watts the generator started to over load and the red light came on. I opened up the casing again and turned the screw in some more while running and with the hair dyer on at 1500 watt setting and got the generator where it would not over load. Thing currently is starting on the first pull. I'm sure as the plugs gets some carbon on it, it will have to be cleaned for the first pull thing to be kept happening. So far so good. Sure wish that there was away to get correct fuel mixture,,thanks Mr Government

@@jcondon1 I know this comment is a year old but you can order adjustable carburetors from China. Aliexpress is great for that.

My guess is that it will eventually make its way back to combustion.

sepulsteve: running the gas back into the engine is probably California CARB compliant. General rule: anything low performance on internal combustion engines, there you go.

try using "Start your engines" stuff, that's what i use to get it going again after many months of storage. drain the bowl as you have, and all the old gas out of it, put a little bit of fresh gas, a whole can of start your engines, pull the cord a few times to get the fresh stuff moving into the lines, let sit for about 10 min, try to start, but only about 5 pulls, as to not flood it. you could even drain the bowl a 2nd time. few pulls to get fresh stuff in there, let it sit some more.... 5 more pulls... should fire up. I just did this method, with a new plug, and i did put a new fuel filter in it too

When I cleaned the Carburetor I found some debris. After cleaning and reassembling, it's started the 1st pool. That was a couple months ago. Recently I started the engine and it died with no warning. I tested for spark and all is good.. I have yet to look into the carburetor again but since it died quickly with no sputtering, I don't think it's fuel. The mystery continues.

Thanks you for the Super Thanks!

...and the idle jet was completely clogged just as you showed! Worst part was removing and re-attaching the case. Runs like a champ now and no gas leaks/overflow from anywhere.

Hey please answer this. Where does the bottom longer fuel long attach to to? The clear one. I can’t find a entrance as to where it connects.

How did you clean the idle jet as well

@@dogbonetc7623 If it's the line I think your talking about, it attaches to the air cleaner case on the left side. The only other clear one is the overflow that attaches to nothing...just hangs down to the bottom of the case. I started with aerosol carb cleaner spraying it inside and out....then took some pliers and yanked a wire from a wire brush and used the pliers to push it into the jet from the bottom (longways--- the 16 minute mark of the video shows it)

Marcos Toscano if you are talking about the one connected to the bottom of the bowl, it goes out a hole on the bottom/side of the case. It is just used when you open the bowl drain to empty the gas out the carb. It guides the fuel out of the case.

Max Viana assume you are referring to that little plastic piece under the throttle servo? If so I think it provides a little buffer for the servo at full throttle so the servo does not break anything if it turns a little too far. I made a short video for someone else showing that in detail. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hijQVYIS9t8.html

I think it was 3-4 years old. Not sure how many hours.

When you cleaned the carbon, did that do the trick for you? My genny has always had a starting problem, but ran great when running. A few months ago, it just stopped running and has been sitting ever since, til now. I've drained the float bowl and will will dump the fuel, I've tested the fuel pump, and tested for spark - all good. I'll give your suggestion a try and do as the video suggests and clean the jets if there's no carbon build up. Any other suggestions?

@@richgran Yes it works fine now. I use it everyday still, it often hits the rev limiter when I use it to. I use it to run a coffee pod machine sometimes (1400w). I have a friend with the 1000rig ryobi generator too it was sitting for ages he thought it was broken. after he removed the spark arrester it works 100% now. Let me know if that fixes your gen 👍

The fuel is clean, the jet is clear, the exhaust baffle is also clear. So far, I haven't corrected anything from the last time I tried starting it, but I haven't dumped the fuel. I'm going to reassemble it and start from scratch. I'll let you know what happens.

I replaced the fuel with stored but treated 87 octane ($2.79 at Sam's). Considering everything I did and mentioned above, there weren't many directions to go. I appreciate your suggestion about the exhaust, but mine was clean (low hours). What I did to get it started was torch the spark plug (old trick). So, I have to ask, is the standard plug Hot enough?

I used a bristle from a wire brush.

@@jcondon1 Thanks!

I would bet fuel is coming from the carb into the air filter.

You might be leaving it on choke too long I found out as soon as it fires up shut the choke off or you'll get gas leaking out of the air box

What a deal! These second generation Ryobi inverter are the best.

I believe I may have a sheared keyway pin on my 2200. Please let me know a part number or measurements if you can! I am tired of having the cord ripped out of my hand when I try to start it!

If not already, unplug the black small wire going to the coil. It sill not spark then the col is the issue. I have only tested the secondary on a Briggs coil and it was at 4.7 ohms. Done in this video at 10:30 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xa-akQ0Xl0I.html Also make sure the coil is not on backwards and the metal on the coil is making a good ground connection on the engine block where you put the screws in.

@@jcondon1 Thanks but the set up seems to be different on the Ryobi. The ignition coil has a blue and black wire going to it and the coil actually mounts on the plastic casing. It doesn't appear that the ignition coil is grounded through the mounting screws as they also go into the plastic casing. I'll double check this. I'm assuming the ground is through the black wire and the power and maybe the pulse is coming from the blue wire. I can't find anything on this unit on the internet. Checked that the screws holding the coil to the engine are just into the plastic case, no ground. Is there a "pulser" unit somewhere in the circuit? Is there a repair manual available for this machine? I measured 16K ohms between the spark plug cap and ground on the engine. The primary is 1.5 ohms.

Ok. I was worried that it might be using something a little more advanced like a CDI and a pulse generator. I have not worked on one of these yet. Is it the same model as in this video? RYI2200?

@@jcondon1 Yes it's identical to your video, you can see the blue and black wire going to the coil in the video but if you look at the coil mounting it's into the plastic casing. It must be grounded through the black wire as when I tested the plug cap to engine ground resistance I got 16K ohms. If you measure from the plug cap to the core of the coil you get infinite resistance. In the wiring diagram it mentions a pulse generator which seems to be a coil. The only thing I have not replaced is the pulse generator and I have not seen this part listed anywhere for sale. Does anyone know anything about the pulse generator, where can you buy one and exactly where on the engine is it located? Any help much appreciated.

Hi Did you ever get the spark problem figured out? I have the same problem. I only changed the plug and replaced the coil. Thanks

One thing to keep in mind is that even with the kit, you will lose 10% of your power every 3000 ft. As far as what to do, I guess that depends on if you want to save the old carburetor. If you want to save it two things come to mind 1) Usually it is only the jetting that is different at altitude. You could try switching the idle jet and main jet from the new carburetor into the existing. Maybe the emulation tube as well to be safe. or 2) try an impact screw driver to break the screws free. www.amazon.com/dp/B07R96M9VW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_.Oj9Eb6QSHPJ0. Option 2 would require you to hold the carb very tightly in a vice. Not sure how well that would work. Not sure the bit is long enough or thin enough. If you do not care about the old carburetor and just want the parts off of it then would just drill the heads off the screws to free up the bracket and servo motor. Those screws are M4 so the drill bit only needs to be a little bit larger. NOTE: there is a plastic bracket and spring on the throttle plate. Just note how they are installed and that spring can launch across the room. Here is a short video I made for someone about that ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hijQVYIS9t8.html.

Inverter generators have no adjustment.

Need to get me ones of those fancy Japanese screw drivers.

That is a common Ryobi inverter generator problem. I think just low compression due to either valves out of spec or an overly aggressive compression release.

@@jcondon1 I read online that Ducar also makes the Predator 212cc engine. I Cannot confirm. But if so, the Predator valve lash is as follows: Intake .004 to .006, exhaust : .006 to .008. Very much in line with your estimate was.

Rob H I believe it is a 106cc engine. Did not see the engine tags on it and already sold it. Ryobi uses CHONGQING RATO POWER based in China for their larger generators. Not sure about this one. If you need parts you can order through Ryobi. Hard to find elsewhere.

@@jcondon1 Thanks. Those 2000W generators with only a 79cc engine are not good.

BRICK HAWAII I do not think Ryobi sells carburetor parts only the whole thing. Found that out the hard way when I drilled a low speed jet too big. Figured I would just get a new one for $9. I ended up having to buy a new carburetor.

NETWizzJbirk thanks for the info. I am currently working on a Honda EG2200X. It starts and runs well, but running rich and misses sometimes. I pulled the NKG plug and the gap was twice what it should have been. After re-gapping no change. I had a new NKG which was one step hotter. Runs perfect. Bought a new NKG spark plug same as the original and does not run perfect. Any idea why the hotter plug runs the engine better and is it going to cause damage if I run with it?

@@jcondon1 Good evening. Yeah this happens sometimes with small engines. Short answer is that I would run the hotter plug provided it is a genuine NGK and only one (1) heat range hotter. A cheap Chinese plug (i.e. Torch) probably has an entire heat range variance plug to plug for the same part number! In fact, I also have a Ryobi 2200 inverted I bought from a friend for $300. Every other original Torch plug has a slight miss, and the good ones last about 25 hours before they start to miss. I changed to the NGK on the cross reference chart, and 200 hours later still no misses, no pings, and no plug changes. Longer answer: A TON of factors come into play from compression, to fuel type, timing advance, and the mixture, but there is an ideal temperature range for a spark plug. Basically, if it runs too cold it builds up deposits and foules, but it is not sudden. It starts to miss a little and possibly becomes hard starting all the way to the point it is unable to run/start. When the temperature is in the ideal range the plug is self cleaning and deposits burn away. You can get great service when a plug operates in this range. Finally, if the plug is too hot, there is the risk of self-ignition, where the engine starts acting a bit like a diesel only the fuel ignites at the wrong time and burns unevenly causing pinging. This is a tel-tale sign the plug is too hot. While it can cause damage over extended periods of time, I doubt one heat range is going to cause pre-ignition. One thing you could do for example if it is a concern is upgrade the gasoline one grade to a higher octane, which resists pre-ignition better. An engine that knocks and pings on 87 for example may run great on 91 or 93. Certainly no harm other than to your wallet comes running a premium gasoline, but if the unit runs without any detonation problems 87 is great especially for most small engines, which do not have a lot of compression and should not need high octane fuel. Looking at an older EU2000i manual and the service manual from 15 years ago they contradicted one another in that one recommended a CR5HSB and the other a CR6HSB, so even Honda is not always sure. That machine ran great (still does) on the CR5HSB, which is the hotter of the two and the one it came with out of the box back in 2004, so I never tried the colder plug. My 2018 EU2200i clearly states CR5HSB in both the owners manual and the service manual, so I stick with that plug... It also runs great on that plug though I have all of 17 hours on that machine. I am more curious why it is operating rich. Is the carb adjustable? If not is the choke flapper or air filter dirty or laden with oil restricting air? The reason I ask is that carburetors that get dirty generally cause fuel starvation, a lean condition. If you did not get the machine new, one thing to do is verify you have an OEM Honda carburetor. Folks who don't know what they are doing like to spend $25 on eBay for the china special clone carburetor to get a generator running that has been siting 5 years with bad gas. In the unlikely event this is what it has, I would source a genuine carb then reassess everything going back to the factory recommended plug.

I have used Jack's Small engine for Ryobi parts. Also Ryobi has a parts site ryobipower.ordertree.com/

Matt Whetham did you remove the servo when cleaning?

James Condon I’m not entirely sure what the servo is. The video was so good that a mechanically illiterate nerd like myself was able to follow and make it work but I’m not sure which part it was when it was mentioned. It does seem the auto idle isn’t working anymore though.

Matt Whetham the servo is that little motor on top. I left mine on because the screws would not come out of the plastic bracket. If you did not remove it then would check the wires running from that servo motor in top of the carb and make sure the are plugged in on both ends. You need to be careful that the engine does not over-rev. The only other easy thing it could be is the idle screw on top turned in too far.

James Condon Thanks! I will try to find the idle screw and check the wires. I don’t think I did anything with the servo when I was in there but perhaps I turned turned the wrong screw somewhere.

Matt Whetham go to my main channel page and click on the community tab. Just posted a picture of what the idle set screw looks like. If that was turned in too far, then it could cause the engine to run fast. On generators that screw does not need to be in very far.

robert gillies would also switch to a NGK plug. Will have less issues in the long run.

I have had similar issues on their first and second generation 2000 watt inverter generators. It was not fuel or spark related. I believe it is compression related. The compression release is overly aggressive. I have not done a compression test though to verify. Normally compression should be around 60 psi for easy starting. Have a feeling Ryobi inverters are lower. Potentially a valve clearance adjustment could help. A warm engine helps with the compression and combustion. Might also want to do a leak down test to see if any valves are leaking.

Thank you. Would you happen to know the valve lash on the intake and exhaust for this unit ryi4022x 3500/4000? It's almost impossible to get specs. Much appreciated. Will let you know the outcome. Again, Thanks.

@@dj5752 I do not, but would suspect 0.005” on each would be safe. Will take a look and see if I can find anything.

@@jcondon1 Thanks. I was looking at one of your other video's today on the Ryobi 1800/2300. Towards the end you mentioned the poor design when shutting down one of there other units (which is the lay out I have on mine) where you basically are choking it to shut the engine down which floods the engine and makes it hard to start. I appreciate your interest in my problem and the help.

Not seeing much. Usually that info is in the owners manual. Not this one. Might have to call Ryobi.

It could be an issue with the inverter board since that controls the throttle position. Would double check that the throttle plate moves and is not stuck. Also could be a bad servo on the carb or a loose wire on the servo control.

@@jcondon1 do you happen to know the specs of the inverter board? ohm readings

@@victorflores3715 sorry I do not

The design is very different then a traditional generator. In traditional generator the power head make the 120v AC directly and the engine must spin at 3600 RPM. This setup is loud, not fuel efficient and the power is not as clean. An inverter creates high frequency AC, converts it to DC and then goes through an inverter to make clean 120v AC. Doing this makes for clean power and the engine can run a slower speeds depending on the demand so it will save in fuel and noise. Of coarse there is a lot more to go wrong. The most common failure is the inverter module.

Most likely you have to replace the inverter.

Most likely the inverter module is bad.

@@jcondon1 thanks

RU-vid comments work the best.

Inverter generators are hard to work on. A lot like 2 cycle stuff. Everything is just packed in and hard to access.

WD works well and generally pretty safe

Sure