Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hey folks,

Found this forum today and spent some time reading through a bunch of posts.  Great info!!  I'm hoping some of you could lend me some advice. 

My blower this season has started having issues where after its running, it would just stall out.  It started last season after using it for 30 min or so, and now it happens right after I start her up.  She has no problems starting on choke now.  I did just rebuild the carb and cleaned everything out, including all jets.  I did drain her of old gas and she has new gas too...  So the issue is after running on choke and moving the throttle lever to High position, it may stay running for a couple min, but as soon as I engage the auger or trans, it stalls out.  Even stalls w/o moving auger or trans.   I checked the gas cap too and loosed it, but don't think that's the issue either.  It seemed if I wiggled the clutch wire when it was dying out, it would help for a second or two, but it would still die out.

Of course this happened right before we were slammed w/ over a foot of snow this past weekend.  First time I had to "shovel" the driveway in 20 years. 

P.S. - This blower was purchased in the mid 1980 when I was in high school.  Usually it runs awesome...  Can't imagine what's going on but cringe to think of taking it to the dealer where I'm sure the bill will be over $200 whatever it is...

Thanks in advance for anyone's advice!!

Rov

Video Links of Problem:

http://youtu.be/ZpRrpnuzHJo

http://youtu.be/L77v5fLM4vo

Hi Rover.

I watched as well as "listened" to both videos and it seems like I can hear a little bit of engine surge which usually points to a fuel starvation problem. It's difficult to see in your video from poor lighting but it looks like when you may move the choke to the "off" position then that is when I can especially hear a little engine surge before it dies. I would take a good look at the carb again and give it another good cleaning. I would also take your float bowl apart and check the float itself to make sure there isn't any fuel in it from a damaged or cracked float and that it is in proper working order. Consequently when you put a "load" on the engine by engaging the auger, it's surely going to die because of a lack of fuel. If all ease fails after you carb clean and inspect again then you may have to replace the carb. Hope this helps.

Hi Again Rover,

This link will get you to a parts list for your machine. It will the get you to sub-links depending on the VIN # of yours.

http://www.hondalawnparts.com/oemparts#/s/HONPE/HS624//1

Just buy a new carburator from http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Snow%20Blower/0/HS624K1%20TA-A%20SNOW%20BLOWER%2C%20JPN/CARBURETOR/parts.html

Thanks folks.

It typically will startup right after it dies, as long as I put it on choke.  Yup, it was late last night when I recorded that video and garage lights are not the best, but yes, when I move choke to normal running high position, it surges.  I didn't adjust any type of pilot screw so I may try that.  I did take the float apart and no gas in it and the rubber "needle" tip looked fine too.  I'll give it another cleaning, but it looked clean and saw carb spray flow out of all the holes.

I'm curious to try a new carb though....  wonder if that will fix it right up. 

Thanks for everyone's comments and the links.  I'll let you know what I find out w/ further work on it.

Rov

  I doubt if a new carb is essential.

1. Was the "new" gas from an old tank or just purchased gas?

2. Re-drain the tank.  Top it off first then siphon with a hose moving the hose around the bottom of the tank.  Drain into a clean white containers if you have them.

3. Drain gas from the bowl screw.  Let it drain then fill a few times.  Then let it drain for a long time into containers. 

4. Recheck the float adjustment and jets.  I think on that carb it will be an air screw on top.

When cleaning / rebuilding the carburetor, it's essential all the holes, passageways, jets, openings, etc. be completely cleaned. A combination of carburetor cleaner (not brake cleaner!) and compressed air is usually required for a proper job. In extreme cases, a jet may need reaming to clean it, but always use a carb cleaner tool for best results. During reassembly, pay attention to the orientation of gaskets, spacers, etc. to avoid possible air leaks and poor running.


Here's an image from the HS624 shop manual showing carburetor details; be sure to remove, inspect and clean the Main Nozzle, as it is often plugged up.



-Robert@Honda
Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone.

I'm going with main nozzle and main jet not properly cleaned.  Time to pull out the trash bag tie, strip it and use the wire to clean every hole, gallery and jet you can put it in.  When that's done, and you have unrestricted flow to the carb, it should run fine.  One other thing to keep in mind is the fairly common problem of the fuel cap air vent clogging.  When that happens, air cannot displace fuel in the tank and a vacuum builds up in the tank, thus restricting fuel flow.

Just thinking but don't know this carb. Is there a right and wrong way to install the carb bowl thereby limiting the movement of the float and is the float tang bent restricting the needle limiting the proper gas flow. From the diagram it looks like the bowl is not an issue.

Great pic from service manual.  One thing I definately didn't do was clean the Pilot Jet properly.  I'll remove that and reclean. 

I did drain out the gas and refilled w/ new gas.  The bowl and gas "filter" was really clean and didn't have any residue or dirt in either.

I'll also clean out the main jet and run wire through each of those little holes...  I just spayed carb cleaner before and used compressed air.

I'm hoping its the pilot jet as I didn't adjust the screw or pull it out...

I did leave the gas top unscrewed just in case it wasn't getting any air.  Had that problem once before on my RedMax leaf blower so check it out before.

Thanks again for everyone's tips and feedback.  I'll be sure to update when I get this nipped.  Hopefully by not going to the stealer...

Rov

OK.  Didn't realize that Pilot Jet just pry's out... when I popped it out, looks like the O ring is not 100% even... slightly flat on one side.  Also didn't get any kind of thin wire from the bottom up through the middle...  I'll give that a shot again.  I turned the pilot screw in and out but didn't notice much diff when I had her running on choke.  The engine was surging bad for about a min or two and then eventually died out.  When I check around the carb, I noticed the seals in the front and the back of the carb were wet w/ fuel.  Thinking she's leaking and not air tight.  So not sure if I should just replace the whole thing for $60 or so or just get a couple gaskets first and try again.  That leaky seal must be causing surging, no??