I have a Champion 3500W dual fuel inverter generator. After 2 years, it would not longer electronically or manually start. When the starter solenoid gets stuck, it won't allow it to start by pull start or electronic. The only way I can get it to run is jump start it with propane, and quickly detach and switch it to gas.

Is there a way to bypass this? They sent me a new starter solenoid but its only a matter of time before it fails again.

https://help.championpowerequi...arter-repair-replace

How does the starter solenoid being stuck allow it to start on propane, but not on gasoline? Is it starting on both by electric and pull on propane?

It sounds more like there’s an issue with the choke when you’re trying to start it on gasoline.

The first thing I’d do is make sure I had another solenoid on hand. What do they cost, $15?

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
How does the starter solenoid being stuck allow it to start on propane, but not on gasoline? Is it starting on both by electric and pull on propane?

It sounds more like there’s an issue with the choke when you’re trying to start it on gasoline.

The first thing I’d do is make sure I had another solenoid on hand. What do they cost, $15?

Its the starter relay technically. It will pull start with propane, but its disabled for gas. If it was easy to replace, I wouldn't care, but you essentially have to pull the entire thing apart to get to the solenoid.

Page 14 of the manual for Model 100264 lists the steps required for starting it on gas. Step 8 says “8. RECOIL START: Pull the starter cord slowly until resistance is felt and then pull rapidly.”

There’s a note at the beginning of the gasoline starting section that says “The generator WILL NOT start on gasoline without battery charge or an appropriate connection.” The propane starting section does not have this note.

Needing a 12v power source in order to start it on gas leads me to believe there’s a fuel shutoff solenoid.

Looking at the wiring diagram on page 24 reveals there is indeed a fuel cut off solenoid.

If your generator is like the 100264, then keeping power to the fuel cut off solenoid would seem to be your issue.

That fuel cut off is there to prevent gasoline from flowing when propane is hooked up. There’s probably some sort of switch near the propane connection that cuts 12v to the cutoff solenoid when the propane is connected.

I should ask what you mean by stuck. Is the relay getting stuck such that the starter motor keeps running after you release the starter button?

The way to bypass that would be to disconnect the cable going from the battery to the relay. You’ll have to keep a wire going from the battery to the fuel cutoff relay.

I’m probably not much help, but I have a Generac stand by generator with a Briggs and Stratton motor. It really doesn’t get ran much, but I’ll bet I’ve put 6 starter solenoids in it in the last 10 years. I did decide to stop buying junk solenoids and have bought Briggs and Stratton the last few times and they do seem to hold up much better. Also of note they are real easy to renew on my particular style of generator. I have jumped them out numerous times just to make sure my starter motor wasn’t bad. I’ve put a few of those in also….they’re a pain!

I don't understand what you're referring to. Typical starter with solenoid:



Anything else is a relay. Some relays similar to this …



…are mistakenly called solenoids, but a relay only makes electrical contact, whereas a solenoid does work, in this case also pushing the pinion gear to mesh with the flywheel ring gear. Regardless, if either are "stuck" (as I understand the term), the starter will stay engaged all the time and quickly be destroyed, as the pinion gear is now turning hundreds of times faster than normal.

If the starter does not crank due to no power at the solenoid and the solenoid itself is OK, it can be jumped for testing purposes.

That bottom picture is a solenoid relay. There’s a plunger that moves when current flows through the coil. The plunger completes the circuit for the starter motor.

This is different than than say a horn or turn signal relay. Those don’t have a plunger that moves, rather they have a coil around a fixed core. When current is applied to the coil, the resulting magnetic field pushes or pulls an armature which closes or open a circuit.

Then there’s solenoids that aren’t relays, like the ones that work the flippers on pinball machines, or the one that prevents gasoline from flowing into the carburetor of this generator.