Idling problem with Hobart Champion 16 fixed

[KenCo]

Greetins y'all, just wanted to let everyone know I fixed the problem with my Hobart Champion 16 gas driven welder. At fast run (rabbit) it would surge in RPMs, fast slow fast slow, etc. And on idle (turtle) it would run down and almost stop. I'm almost ashamed to tell what the problem was. 3 years ago when I changed the fuel filter, I had to snip the intake nipple of the filter so it would fit into the hose coming from the fuel tank. WELLLLLLL, the vibration of the engine, over time, had caused that connection to waddle out and thus, let AIR get sucked into the fuel filter making the engine run as described. Mangleweld and I hashed the problem over as he had the same problem, althought his problem turned out to be a ruptured diaphram on the carburetor. I even asked a local small engine repairman what the problem could be. His first thought was a dirty low idle jet in the carb. Then he said it could be a clogged fuel line or IT"S SUCKING AIR somewhere. NAh, couldn't be that simple. Sure 'nough, while the engine was running, I pulled the fuel filter out from behind the engine shroud and there was this loose fitting and little tiny air bubbles being sucked up into the filter. Cut the hose, added a clamp and presto. the engine ran like new !!! Again, thought I'd pass this on for future reference if anyone else ever has this problem.

[LW Hiway]

NAh, couldn't be that simple.

It's usually that simple more often than not. We all expect the worst, expect to have to spend money and it's machinery's way of screwin with us.

Another problem solved.
Thanks for posting back
LW

[TommyA]

I had a customer with a Massey Ferguson that would run just fine for 10 minutes then just die. I told him I thought it was a fuel delivery problem and went out to the horse farm to check it. He had not opened the fuel shutoff valve fully and over time it had built up a partial clog. It would run for a while until it ran out of fuel and then after resting it would fill the filter and lines up enough to run again. All it took was to open the valve completely and it has run fine since.

So sometime it is the simplest things that cause the problem. You just need to look at the basics and start with the easy parts first.

[dubby]

I fought a similar problem today myself. On my old chevy truck with the dual gas tanks I let the darn thing run out of gas on one side. It's been rough for the past few years getting it to switch over, and instead of investigating I've pretty much just run on the left tank only.

Decided to switch for some stupid reason this weekend. Went out to start the truck and it ran just fine for a couple minutes as it warmed up. Put it in gear and it died. Cranked a little and it sputtered. Sure enough, empty tank. Hit the switch with no effect. Fought it all morning, and finally decided I'd check the switch. $10 later the whole system works like brand new.


My worst fears today--having to pull the bed/tanks, having to chase a short, having to crawl around on the gravel driveway, etc. Cheap fix, fairly painless. Disaster averted.

The simple surprises are nice.

[Jim-TX]

Originally Posted by TommyA

I had a customer with a Massey Ferguson that would run just fine for 10 minutes then just die. I told him I thought it was a fuel delivery problem and went out to the horse farm to check it. He had not opened the fuel shutoff valve fully and over time it had built up a partial clog. It would run for a while until it ran out of fuel and then after resting it would fill the filter and lines up enough to run again. All it took was to open the valve completely and it has run fine since.

So sometime it is the simplest things that cause the problem. You just need to look at the basics and start with the easy parts first.

Never overlook the fuel tank vent if a tractor runs great for a while then starts losing power for unknown reasons. Ask me how I know. lol

[Lu47Dan]

Jim , How ?
The Wisconsin TJD power unit (engine with clutch assembly) that runs my buzzsaw would slowly run out of power and die . When this started I had cleaned the tank and lined the tank with tank sealer , I was running all the possiblities through my head when I opened the tank on heard it sucking air in when I got the cap to about halfway open . The vent in the cap would not work so I just run it that way and then close the cap tightly when the sawing is done . I had put a new cap on the tank when I installed it . . So the simple fix is sometimes the least obvious one :evil: Dan

[LW Hiway]

So you guys think you have fuel problems.

Let me tell you a story about a little 20 something waif of a girl I met in NorthGlen, Colorado.

I was living with 2 other welders, all of us working pipe but in different areas.

While at home on vacation during snow bunny season, a neighbor, the waif, knocked on my door and asked if I could help with a problem she seemed to be having with her car. Said she had run out of gas after topping off the gas tank at the beginning of the week, tank showed full after filling.

She ran the car back and forth from work a few days and made a few side trips and ran out of gas. She was thinking maybe less than 50 miles. Said her tank still showed full.

Mentioned that she had it towed to back where she lived.

Figuring her tank float assy was "tips up", I told her she most probably drove more miles than suspected and that she might need to go to a mechanics garage and have the fuel float assy checked and changed.

She offered to make me a drink and as we were visiting, we walked out to her car. Me trying to be helpful, because she was cute and looked real good in sweaters, but not wanting to be roped into dropping a fuel tank in the parking lot of condo's, I looked under the rear of her car and about lost it. I was lying there several minutes, at a loss for words, till she asked me what I saw.

Her tank was sucked darn near flat, loosely sitting inside the two tank straps. Told her I found her fuel problem. I'll bet that thing didn't hold 3 gallons. I looked more like a thick pizza pan than a gas tank.

Near as I can figure, that tank had to have been colapsed or in the process of before her last fill up, but how she did it without running out of gas before is beyond me. Lucky I guess.