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Someone brought me Champion Generator, model 46514 with some missing parts. I've gotten everything back together now. It starts easy. But goodness, it sounds like it's revving waaaaay too high.
1st question, does anyone know where the governor spring (to the throttle goes? There's one slot on the end, where the solid linkage goes. Then there's two more a couple of inches closer to where the governor comes out of the engine. At the moment, I have it ran like a briggs, where the spring is connected close to the linkage holes. I actually ran the linkage through the spring. Also, there's only the throttle linkage and the spring from the governor arm. Is there still some missing linkages?


I can't find any pictures or diagrams where this all connects.

Update to add pics: (sorry for the blurry one. )

I have two other generatoms here. Both Champions. But neither of them have the same set up or carb. The other two have arms on each side of the governor. At the other end, is a separate spring that pulls it towards slow idle. The other end has the linkage and spring that coonect to the throttle. So I rigged up a lite spring to pulled the arm towards slow idle. That stopped it from over revving. But there's still nothing that goes to the "L" shaped arm that determines the slow idle.

According to the paint, it looks like a spring.

I'll post more pics in a few minutes.

Your first picture has the governor spring hook up correctly to the governor arm. It is there to remove any slack in the governor link, so you get an immediate reaction when the governor kicks in. Other end of the spring should be attached to the throttle plate. Make sure you set governed top speed to both volts and hertz. If you don’t, you may be burning up tools.

Yes, the other end, the linkage and the spring only hook to the throttle. Big hole and tiny hole for the spring.

On one of those pics, you can see the L bracket, I know something has got to connect to it. Considering the two holes on that side of the governor arm, makes sense for something to connect to the L bracket and one of hole closest to the actual governor. And from the looks of the yellow paint, it looks like a spring used to vibrate on it, inline with the governor arm and the L bracket.

Notice the linkage and the spring. Right above that is where the old spring (i'm guessing) has rubbed the paint.

That added spring in the pics you just posted does not look OEM and makes no sense to me. Shouldn’t need an assist spring to close the throttle.

On most newer generators the only control the user has is the low idle speed.
The governor does the rest.
The low idle is set by the screw while measuring the output voltage and get cranked up till it measures then minimum line voltage.
Down here where we have 240V & 415 V they get set to 220 V
Then you hook up a heavy load & measure the voltage again as the generator accelerates.
If the voltage drops then you crank up the low idle a bit more.
If the carby throttle is sitting against the throttle stop & the engine is racing then some one has screwed it up.
Not uncommon to have one come in where the dopey owner has wound it up to 4000 rpm which burns up the output voltage regulator.

Also double check that the governor arm is set correctly on the governor shaft.
A racing engine will result if it is set up backwards.

The area I painted is where the governor spring will connect Just make sure it is the correct governor spring because it has to have the correct rate of pull. Without a spring connected to those two points the governor should force the engine to idle only.

The added spring, you are correct. It's not OEM. It's my own little trial & error. As I said both my other generators have two springs. One long skinny one that goes to the throttle plate. And one on the other end of the gov arm to keep it pulled back. The other two gens I have, have that OEM.
Without the added spring, it gen ran wide open.


The low idle screw, that Bert pointed out, I suspect somehow does what my added spring (on the back side of the governor arm) does. Only which would be adjustable. But I'm not sure how a spring there would keep the engine from over revving.

I suppose the guy who had this generator last, lost this spring. The throttle plate spring came with it, but wasn't attached to anything. So could it be that the spring I have connected to the throttle plate, actually go to the low idle arm?

Well we do not get that brand down here but the spring around the governor / throttle rod looks way too heavy for a damper spring

bertsmobile1 said:

Well we do not get that brand down here but the spring around the governor / throttle rod looks way too heavy for a damper spring

Click to expand...

You may have something with that. This is, apparently a Honda knock off. Surely you have those.

I'm gonna move that spring first thing. And remove the added spring on the back of the gov arm, and see what happens.

bertsmobile1 said:

On most newer generators the only control the user has is the low idle speed.
The governor does the rest.
The low idle is set by the screw while measuring the output voltage and get cranked up till it measures then minimum line voltage.
Down here where we have 240V & 415 V they get set to 220 V
Then you hook up a heavy load & measure the voltage again as the generator accelerates.
If the voltage drops then you crank up the low idle a bit more.
If the carby throttle is sitting against the throttle stop & the engine is racing then some one has screwed it up.
Not uncommon to have one come in where the dopey owner has wound it up to 4000 rpm which burns up the output voltage regulator.

Also double check that the governor arm is set correctly on the governor shaft.
A racing engine will result if it is set up backwards.

Click to expand...

I found the missing link. As someone else mentioned (maybe you) the spring on mine looks too thick for where it's located. My guess is the previous owner lost the thin throttle spring. I finally found a pic of what I think it's supposed to look like.

UPDATE: I swapped the spring over to the low idle arm. And removed the spring I added (behind the gov. arm) and that seem to work pretty good. Although, I'm sure the spring isn't the right length. Although it seems pretty close. Maybe idle's a bit too high. That's with the low idle screw back out. Anyways, it's close enough for me. (Now my personal generator)

When I plugged in my GCFI tester into the socket, it shows an open ground. Not sure if that's normal. I wouldn't think it is.

PTmowerMech said:

You may have something with that. This is, apparently a Honda knock off. Surely you have those.

I'm gonna move that spring first thing. And remove the added spring on the back of the gov arm, and see what happens.

Click to expand...

Yes they sell them all over the place.
I do not fix Honda clones unless I get $ 100 up front to cover the cost of ferreting around to find parts that fit.
So now most of the too cheap for their own good types go annoy some one else.

This new plan started as of the beginning of the new financial year ( July 1 down here ).
It all came about because I was in one of our HF type shops looking for some tools when I overheard a conversation between a salesman & potential customer.
Actually I was eavesdropping on the conversation to be truthful.
The customer wanted to know if the shop had a mechanic who could fix the pressure washer if it broke down after the warranty expired.
I have fixed 30 or so of these puss piles over the previous 2 years & was interested in what he was going to say.
I nearly died when the salesman gave the customer my phone number telling them that this bloke can fix all of our stock.

When I got back to the workshop I rang around a few of the local independents and found I was the only silly mug who lost money attempting to fix throw away junk.
The salesman drives a $ 90,000 SUV & drive a $ 10,000 van so I decided that I was not going to subsidize them any more.

Any clone that comes in that needs parts now gets a $ 20 courier fee added to the bill and as previously stated $ 100 up front just like the big glass fronts do.
I hate doing it but last year was a financial dissaster and most of the losses came from fixing unfixablle throw away cheap Chinese rubbish.

PTmowerMech said:

UPDATE:

When I plugged in my GCFI tester into the socket, it shows an open ground. Not sure if that's normal. I wouldn't think it is.

Click to expand...

I have a Honda EX generator that was built more for jobsite use. Had to change a grounding circuit wire inside the control section to use for house backup. Been a while, don't remember exactly what I did but you might look through the owner's manual and check the setup on your machine.

So I got some new linkages. All three of them. Put them all in the right spots, and the idle is way to high. So I tried to adjust the gov. And from what I can tell, is right. So I'm pretty much back where I started. I loosened the gov. arm, pushed them both towards full throttle, (with a little more pressure than I felt comfortable with). The gov. did move just a hair. And I mean a thin hair.

Since the gov. won't idle itself down, then there's gotta be a spring to do this. The spring that goes from the arm to the low idle bracket, Seems to me, if I bent it to make it a little shorter, it wouldn't change anything because there's nothing to keep the governor from going full throttle.

The gov should pull the throttle *closed*, and the tension on the spring from the throttle control pulls it open . . . IE throttle should be at full with the engine shutdown and throttle at full. As the engine comes up to speed, the gov will *lower* the throttle to maintain speed. Gov link is typically hard from gov arp to throttle plate, and throttle control to throttle (or gov arm) is the spring. Anything else will likely end poorly . . .

The gov works by flying weights that pull more the faster it runs. If the gov isn't pulling as the engine speeds up, either you are doing the arm adjustment errantly, or it may be broken inside the engine. Remember: gov should pull the throttle *closed* as speed increases (well, unless this is some odd, ***-backwards engine . . . a).

Any idea (may have missed it0 who made the engine, or is Champion just selling it as thoer own brand?

The governor GOVERNS.
Ie it is what slows the engine down according to the engine speed.
When stationary the governor ALLOWS the throttle to open fully
When the engine is running it either applies the brakes to slow it or ALLOWS it go faster.
So the governor works AGAINST the throttle spring to regulate the speed that is why the connection to the throttle control is via a spring and not a solid wire.
If yo remove the throttle spring as was the case in your first photo & start the engine you can get a feel for the governor by working the governor arm with you finger.
What you should feel is the governor pushing back against you finger the faster the engine is spinning.

tadawson said:

The gov should pull the throttle *closed*, and the tension on the spring from the throttle control pulls it open . . . IE throttle should be at full with the engine shutdown and throttle at full. As the engine comes up to speed, the gov will *lower* the throttle to maintain speed. Gov link is typically hard from gov arp to throttle plate, and throttle control to throttle (or gov arm) is the spring. Anything else will likely end poorly . . .

The gov works by flying weights that pull more the faster it runs. If the gov isn't pulling as the engine speeds up, either you are doing the arm adjustment errantly, or it may be broken inside the engine. Remember: gov should pull the throttle *closed* as speed increases (well, unless this is some odd, ***-backwards engine . . . a).

Any idea (may have missed it0 who made the engine, or is Champion just selling it as their own brand?

Click to expand...

This is the confusing part. Both of my other generators, the gov arm extends on both sides of the gov. And there's a spring at the end of it, (opposite end of the throttle end of the arm) that's connected to something solid. That's OEM.
On this one, that spring is on the same side of the gov. that connects to the low idle arm. So if the governor itself is supposed to keep the engine from over revving, why put that spring on the same end of the throttle.

I'm gonna try bending (shortening) that heavier spring today. If that doesn't work, then I'll lengthen it. For the life of me, I can't wrap my head around that being the solution.

As @bertsmobile mentioned about the tension on the gov. arm, and holding it with my finger, it's easy to hold it in place. And I can feel the arm pressing against my finger towards the higher idle.

bertsmobile1 said:

The governor GOVERNS.
Ie it is what slows the engine down according to the engine speed.
When stationary the governor ALLOWS the throttle to open fully
When the engine is running it either applies the brakes to slow it or ALLOWS it go faster.
So the governor works AGAINST the throttle spring to regulate the speed that is why the connection to the throttle control is via a spring and not a solid wire.
If yo remove the throttle spring as was the case in your first photo & start the engine you can get a feel for the governor by working the governor arm with you finger.
What you should feel is the governor pushing back against you finger the faster the engine is spinning.

Click to expand...

This is probably a stupid question, but what exactly makes the gov. pull back on the throttle (apply the brakes, sort of speak)? Something, somewhere isn't telling the gov. to back off.

Is it that heavier slow idle arm? Because when it's over revving, it's pushing that arm as far as the throttle plate will go. Backing off on the slow idle arm screw doesn't do a thing.

The governor gear with the flyweights inside the engine is what slows the engine down. The spring speeds it up. If the governor gear is set correctly in its static setting, and isn't working then I would say the governor gear inside the engine is broken. It looks like static setting on this engine would be with the rod going inside the engine to make contact with the governor gear should be turned all the way clockwise until it stops.

PTmowerMech said:

This is the confusing part. Both of my other generators, the gov arm extends on both sides of the gov. And there's a spring at the end of it, (opposite end of the throttle end of the arm) that's connected to something solid. That's OEM.
On this one, that spring is on the same side of the gov. that connects to the low idle arm. So if the governor itself is supposed to keep the engine from over revving, why put that spring on the same end of the throttle.

I'm gonna try bending (shortening) that heavier spring today. If that doesn't work, then I'll lengthen it. For the life of me, I can't wrap my head around that being the solution.

As @bertsmobile mentioned about the tension on the gov. arm, and holding it with my finger, it's easy to hold it in place. And I can feel the arm pressing against my finger towards the higher idle.

Click to expand...

One leg on the gov arm or two should not make any diff - it's still nothing more than a lever.

On yours, without touching it to be certain, it would appear that the gov arm shouldmpull to the *right* to close the throttle, andnthenspringnbias applied by the speed adjuster will pull it towards open tonthe *left*, thus setting up the balance that causes a governed speed. If the throttle itself is not openingnor closing accordingly, then you may be in the wrong holes on the carb *or* someone had the throttle plate off the shaft in the carb and put it in backwards for you . . . Regarding the fine spring over the rod, yes, I have seen those on numerous occasions, and the purpose is to make up for slop in the linkage . . .

ILENGINE said:

The governor gear with the flyweights inside the engine is what slows the engine down. The spring speeds it up. If the governor gear is set correctly in its static setting, and isn't working then I would say the governor gear inside the engine is broken. It looks like static setting on this engine would be with the rod going inside the engine to make contact with the governor gear should be turned all the way clockwise until it stops.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much THE only thing I can think it could be at this point. I reset the gov. yesterday, and honestly there wasn't a frog hair difference in where it was and how far I was able to turn the gov. (clockwise).
If that be the case, then I'm gonna have a hard time tearing into this right now. May make it a winter project. Just to see for myself what makes it tick.

When adjusting the gov. I pushed the gov. arm towards the carb, loosened the arms nut. Then while holding the gov arm, turned the gov counter clockwise, and back clock wise. (Because it wouldn't go clockwise to start with). Then tightened everything back down.
Then I proceeded to cuss and holler at it. And threaten even threatened it. But none of that worked.

QUESTION: If the governor is bad, I can still control how high its revving with the turning the throttle plate back with my fingers, right?

Yes you can put your finger on the throttle rod and move it back & forth but you can not use the engine in that state
A check for an internally defective governor is to remove the rod that connects the throttle & governor arms.
Start the engine and work the throttle with one hand while feel the governor moving with the other.
If the governor moves in responce to the engine changing speed then the governor is functioning.
What most do wrong is to think that the governor makes the engine go faster.
It actually makes the engine go slower.
So at 0 revs the governor axel should be in the flat chat position ( throttle wide open ) so as the shat rotates it closes down the throttle.
Most common mistake is to clamp the lever on the shaft so the only way it can turn opens the throttle.

bertsmobile1 said:

Yes you can put your finger on the throttle rod and move it back & forth but you can not use the engine in that state
A check for an internally defective governor is to remove the rod that connects the throttle & governor arms.
Start the engine and work the throttle with one hand while feel the governor moving with the other.
If the governor moves in responce to the engine changing speed then the governor is functioning.
What most do wrong is to think that the governor makes the engine go faster.
It actually makes the engine go slower.
So at 0 revs the governor axel should be in the flat chat position ( throttle wide open ) so as the shat rotates it closes down the throttle.
Most common mistake is to clamp the lever on the shaft so the only way it can turn opens the throttle.

Click to expand...

I'll give that a go.

I double checked the gov. adjustment I made, and I'm pretty sure I got it right. So to double checked by adjusting it the opposite way, and gave it a pull. Holy hell, bent the throttle shaft rod from the arm to the carb. It was trying to open the throttle up farther that the throttle plate allowed it to go. Sooo, I readjust it back to where it was.

One thing, without taking the gov arm off, as you said, considering how freely the throttle shaft moves, shouldn't the gov back off anyways. You did say that the gov is supposed to work, if it's in not messed up internally. This engine doesn't back off at all.

Only if: the gov is correctly adjusted *AND* the linkage is not dorfed such that the gov is actually opening the throttle. But yes, as you note, in a *properly* setup engine, not having the spring from the gov arm to the adjuster will result in either very slow speed, or a no start condition. (And I'm not convinced that your setup and linkages are correct yet . . .).

bertsmobile1 said:

Yes you can put your finger on the throttle rod and move it back & forth but you can not use the engine in that state
A check for an internally defective governor is to remove the rod that connects the throttle & governor arms.
Start the engine and work the throttle with one hand while feel the governor moving with the other.
If the governor moves in responce to the engine changing speed then the governor is functioning.
What most do wrong is to think that the governor makes the engine go faster.
It actually makes the engine go slower.
So at 0 revs the governor axel should be in the flat chat position ( throttle wide open ) so as the shat rotates it closes down the throttle.
Most common mistake is to clamp the lever on the shaft so the only way it can turn opens the throttle.

Click to expand...

So I disconnected the arm off the gov. Fired it up, pushed the throttle to full throttle. And the gov. wasn't even trying to back off. Not in the least.

Thanks for your info. I guess I can take off the new tank, carburetor and other new stuff I bought to get it going, and save them for the next victim.

or spend likely less than ten bucks and replace the gov gear inside. Crack thr case open, and it should be obvious, and might even be easy to see what the problem is. On Hondas, the shaft that sticks out has a little paddle on the end of an L that rides on the gov . . .the gov is a gear with two weights that pushes on a center shaft that then pushes the paddle, causing it to turn. If you turned it the wrong way, when you setup the gov, it won't make contact. Typically on the Hondas I have worked on, you push the lever to make the carb gomwide open, and rotate she shaft in the same direction (so that it makes contact with the gov). The gov itself is only 3 parts or so, and if this is amHonfa clone, a Honda part may well drop right in.

https://www.jackssmallengines.com/equipment/list/small-engine/governor/Governor-Gear/254:HONDA

And replace the crankcase gasket and seal

Scrubcadet10 said:

And replace the crankcase gasket and seal

Click to expand...

I've replaced a few on briggs before, if it's as easy as that, then I'll probably give it a go. I've got about $120 in new parts for this already. It was a real mess when I got it.
But what do ya do? Got for nothing. It had spark and compression.

Would hate to let all that go at this point. Carb, fuel tank & cap, gov to carb linkages, repaired the motor mounts, sanded and painted some of it.

There's gotta be an end to what broken sometime. Right? he he he he he

It does make electricity. It ran my drill. Although when I plug my circuit tester into it, it showed an open ground. I'm hoping that's normal. Or an easy fix.

You can"t make it any less usable by opening it up to have alook, and that's free!

I noticed something strange about the gov. I distinctly remember the top of the gov was in a certain position before I removed the arm and tried berts advice on checking the governor. The top of it is a half moon, and the line was parallel with the arm. Today, I was gonna move the generator out of the way, and noticed it had turned clockwise. On an hour clock, the turn would've been about 1.5 to 2 hours.
So, I put everything back on, governor arm, spring and linkage, and fired it up again.

No difference in it over revving. But a big difference in where the gov was. Also, I can pull the gov up and down about an inch or so.

What happens if you loosen the clamp on the gov arm to it's shaft, and move the arm to the point the carb is wide open, and while holding that there, turn the gov shaft as far as it can go in that same direction, and then tightn the clamp? Thatbtakes all the slackmout of the linkage, and not sure if you have tried setting it up that way or not . . . .

tadawson said:

What happens if you loosen the clamp on the gov arm to it's shaft, and move the arm to the point the carb is wide open, and while holding that there, turn the gov shaft as far as it can go in that same direction, and then tightn the clamp? Thatbtakes all the slackmout of the linkage, and not sure if you have tried setting it up that way or not . . . .

Click to expand...

You're describing adjusting the governor. That's what I've done. A few times now.

What changed, was after taking the governor arm off the gov. and cranking it to see if the gov moves , After wards, I noticed the governor was actually turned more clockwise than I was able to turn it earlier.


Clockwise is towards full throttle.

Found it.



So I'm looking for a replacement and I think I've found it. Except, there's a rod in there that I didn't find in the block anywhere?
Far right in the picture. Where does this go?

That rod would be the governor shaft which is what the gear and plunger ride on.

ILENGINE said:

That rod would be the governor shaft which is what the gear and plunger ride on.

Click to expand...

I think I see it now. the gear doesn't ride on the gov rod that sticks out of the block. The rod just sort of rest on the top of the plunger to keep everything in place. I didn't see any other damage inside. No scaring on the cylinder or other gouges. So maybe this will be easy from here on out.

It sounded like it was running OK, just not holding speed, so that's a good sign. Champion claims the engines as thier own (although likely outsourced) so for something as cheap as the gov, you might call them . . .the appear to be in Wisconsin, and (at least to me) it would make sense to try for an exact part rather than guess to save $5 . . .

Hard to speculate on the failure - there is basically no load on the gov gear, so no idea what could cause it to rekit like that, othen than an outright defect in the nylon gear, or perhaps a chunk of crap that got into the case.

their "Champion engines" look alot like the Chondas, or Chinese honda clones. similar to the Predators at harbor freight.
I know some people who have over 500 hrs on predators, that have pressure washing businesses/construction etc.

There's a keeper on the actual governor arm that comes out of the block. It appears to be pretty loose. And has slid all the way down to the curve in the gov arm. Easy to move up and down.
I'm guessing the arm is installed from the inside out. I need to check that keeper out to see if it's bent out of shape. And figure out exactly where on the arm it's supposed to go. I would imagine is sits firm against the inside of the block, to keep the arm from sliding down.

Well crap:

Got the new governor installed (stupid sideways design with nothing but the governor rod to hold the cap on). And it ran fine. Although the electricity going to the saws-all I had plugged in, seem to fluctuate too much.
Anywho, I was adjusting the RPM's, when I pulled the governor arm back, apparently the little cap came off the governor and it started over revving again.

Why that governor isn't lying on the bottom, face up, instead of sideways, is beyond me. Now, I gotta take it all apart again, to put that little plastic cap back on it.

Clamp? I didn't see no clamp. And still don't see how that plastic cap is supposed to stay on.

Can't speak to a Chindra, but on the Hondas I have been in, the clip that holds the arm with the paddle in the block interfaces with a casting flange that limit's it's rotation. For that matter, I can't imaging how that arm would gibe clearance for anything to depart if tne gov linkage it set correctly (assuming you have the correct gov, and not just 'close' . . ).

Again, I suggest you contact the mfg. and verify . . .

tadawson said:

Can't speak to a Chindra, but on the Hondas I have been in, the clip that holds the arm with the paddle in the block interfaces with a casting flange that limit's it's rotation. For that matter, I can't imaging how that arm would gibe clearance for anything to depart if tne gov linkage it set correctly (assuming you have the correct gov, and not just 'close' . . ).

Again, I suggest you contact the mfg. and verify . . .

Click to expand...

Yes that goov rod is bent and rotates around to the top of the cap. From the looks of things, it's the only thing that keeps the cap on the gov gear and weights. Under the plastic gear, is a metal rod that fits through the middle of the plastic gear and also though the block, under the flywheel. That's the clip the guy was talking about in the video.
I thinking I got them out of order.

But none of that has anything to do with why there's nothing that hold that cap from coming off, except the gov rod.

This is just one of those things that don't compute in my brain, I guess. I'm just glad it's not a customers. But dang it. I can't stand not figuring it out and understanding the how's and why's.

The limited range of motion of the rod when the throttle linkage is setup correctly may well be used as the retainer. As I noted prior, on the real Hondas I have worked on, the clip that retains the gov rod in the block also enforces hard limits on it's range of motion.

Looking at the exploded view of a Honda GX, I see the same - no retainer proper, but the same hairpin clip on the gov rod on the outside of the block, that typically indexes a flat side on that rod, and is limited in rotation by a raised boss on about half the diameter of where the gov rod exits the block: https://www.planopower.com/oem-part...ARREL/GX200-JPN-HX//A/2410ZK001AZK00E0300BC/y

Or a service manual for a Honda that should be very close - review section 7: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...GX160_SM.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3R38sJOynsJmDifC5eMkya

It's possible that your springs are wrong, or in the wrong holes, causing the gov to expend far more than it should . . . and the surging is another indicator that the linkage may be setup wrong . . .

tadawson said:

The limited range of motion of the rod when the throttle linkage is setup correctly may well be used as the retainer. As I noted prior, on the real Hondas I have worked on, the clip that retains the gov rod in the block also enforces hard limits on it's range of motion.

Looking at the exploded view of a Honda GX, I see the same - no retainer proper, but the same hairpin clip on the gov rod on the outside of the block, that typically indexes a flat side on that rod, and is limited in rotation by a raised boss on about half the diameter of where the gov rod exits the block: https://www.planopower.com/oem-part...ARREL/GX200-JPN-HX//A/2410ZK001AZK00E0300BC/y

Or a service manual for a Honda that should be very close - review section 7: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...GX160_SM.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3R38sJOynsJmDifC5eMkya

It's possible that your springs are wrong, or in the wrong holes, causing the gov to expend far more than it should . . . and the surging is another indicator that the linkage may be setup wrong . . .

Click to expand...

From you exploded view of the Honda, which almost exact as this champion, THE only thing that holds #4 (slider) is the paddle end of the Gov. arm. Therefore, the gov arm now, has too much range of motion. The engine, when I finally got it back together was not over revving. Only when I pulled the gov. control arm back (quickly, I suppose I pulled it back farther than it was supposed to go. It was only just a quick second, and the cap (slider) came off the governor. Which started the over revving again. (BTW, the reason I did that, was because it seemed as if something was hanging up the throttle plate just a little bit. It would idle up some when I used my sawsall, but wouldn't adle down when I released the sawsall trigger. At least not right away.

The key to this is going to be in what you said about the range of motion. And a clip that's supposed to keep the gov from moving away from the cap (slider)


Thanks for the expanded views of this. They're going to help out a bunch.

Not sure if your Chindra is totally like a Honda or not, but on a Honda proper (as per the service manual) the clip that holds the paddle arm in is to have the flat side sit in the notch in the shaft, and then it contacts to block casting to limit movement. Not sure if the knockoff paid that much attention to detail . . .

tadawson said:

Not sure if your Chindra is totally like a Honda or not, but on a Honda proper (as per the service manual) the clip that holds the paddle arm in is to have the flat side sit in the notch in the shaft, and then it contacts to block casting to limit movement. Not sure if the knockoff paid that much attention to detail . . .

Click to expand...

I'm gonna tear it down tomorrow, or sometime next week. I remember seeing a notch in the gov rod (with the paddle). I thought that's where the wire clip fit.

It is, Honda is just specific which side of the hairpin clip aligns with the notch.

Finally getting back around to this generator. I've been watching a few video's of bypassing the governor with a direct throttle cable. The procedures on this, looks pretty simple. Just wondering if anyone else has done this?
This gen will be used only for power outages. Once the necessities get plugged in, they won't change much (except for the fridge compressor). So setting the throttle to a good RPM should be ok. Right?

Might work for a inverter machine, not for a standard generator I think. Need to maintain near 60 hz output at near rated voltage, would require a constant rpm at varying load.

PTmowerMech said:

Finally getting back around to this generator. I've been watching a few video's of bypassing the governor with a direct throttle cable. The procedures on this, looks pretty simple. Just wondering if anyone else has done this?
This gen will be used only for power outages. Once the necessities get plugged in, they won't change much (except for the fridge compressor). So setting the throttle to a good RPM should be ok. Right?

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Won't work
The output of the generator must be matched fairly closely to the demand put on it .
When the fridge is not working you will be over generating so unless you have a system to burn off the excess power the generator will short internally & burn up.
The actual power grid uses massive resistance heating coils inside the water supply of the power stations to balance the grid becaue they must always have excess power on hand to compensate for things being switched on & off.
Small gen sets do the same by varying the output to match the demand as close as possible.
This is the big problem with roof top solar and the real reason why electricity grid owners hate them.

bertsmobile1 said:

Won't work
The output of the generator must be matched fairly closely to the demand put on it .
When the fridge is not working you will be over generating so unless you have a system to burn off the excess power the generator will short internally & burn up.
The actual power grid uses massive resistance heating coils inside the water supply of the power stations to balance the grid becaue they must always have excess power on hand to compensate for things being switched on & off.
Small gen sets do the same by varying the output to match the demand as close as possible.
This is the big problem with roof top solar and the real reason why electricity grid owners hate them.

Click to expand...

I understand.

The solar example made me think about why it's important to send power back through the meter (into the grid). Not just to get a reduction on your electric bill. But more importantly, a place to put the extra electricity.

Things with motors in them like old style fridges, freezers washing machines etc can handle it but anything with an IC board can not.
So modern "smart" machines tend to fry the control circuits which is why you store the DC in batteries then use an inverter to convert the DC back into AC which seems really stupid when you first look at it.
I am about to rewire the house either 6 or 12 Volt DC and use auto LEDs for all the lighting direct off the batteries.

bertsmobile1 said:

Things with motors in them like old style fridges, freezers washing machines etc can handle it but anything with an IC board can not.
So modern "smart" machines tend to fry the control circuits which is why you store the DC in batteries then use an inverter to convert the DC back into AC which seems really stupid when you first look at it.
I am about to rewire the house either 6 or 12 Volt DC and use auto LEDs for all the lighting direct off the batteries.

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We've started changing all our bulbs to LED's. But using the same wiring.

Turns out, changing all the old tube type shop lights to LED is easy peasy. Just remove the bulbs and ballast. Install the LED stips. Attach the wires, and you're done. Takes like 5 minutes per fixture.

And the next step is disconnecting the lights circuit at the fuse box, double checking that it is really isolated, both power & ground then joining the power and ground wires to a battery.
An old mower battery will run my lights for nearly a week.
Because the LED lights are just drawing a few milliamps, the old AC switches are fine.
When just using the replacement bulbs you are using about 10 times the power per light as the "globe" has to have some sort of AC-DC converter then a resistor or 3 & a heatsink
So you are buring up power ( a small amount ) to heat your house via the heat generated by the globe.
No where near as much as an old incandesent globe but it is still wasting power which you are paying for.
Using DC fittings means I use the same DC power as the solar cell generates, no conversions so no power losses .
I started doing this to use LED globes I bought for motorcycles that were not successful in opperation .
Then a while latter it became apparent I could use these for the whole house.
So right now I have battery lighting in both the house & workshop.
Then there are 3 generators that I have acquired over the years that were originally kept for spare parts that got rebuilt .
One powers the computers , one powers the fridges & freezer and the other is for workshop tools.
Run like this for a week following a lightning strike that blew the fuse box ,'

I probably should be bringing this all back up. But I didn't have the washers, C clamp, governor all in the right order. So It fried another gov. Took it apart again today and I think I have a little better idea about how all this is supposed to work, now.
The governor stays in place with the small clip, a washer, then the slider. The gov arm doesn't move too much because the springs that go to the throttle plate and the low idle, keep the flat spot on the arm against the slider.

It's possible that the slider came off while I was assembling everything together and didn't put any springs from the linkage until towards the end of assembly.

UPDATE on this long draw out project. Basically, the little clip on the governor shaft was on the wrong side of the cup (weight holder). But, thanks to you guys, and some good links to detailed images, I got this Governor thing worked out.

Couple of things left to figure out.

Any time I plug something into it, it starts surging. But, all I have to do, is hold the governor arm in place for a second, and it stop. But when I turn off or unplug what's plugged into it, it starts surging again. So, I hold the gov. arm in place and it stops.
Note: When the engine surges, the grinder I have plugged into it, doesn't. It keeps the same rpms.

Sounds like governor hop due to over sensitivity. Is there more than one hole in the governor arm that will accept the spring. May need to make a position change to reduce sensitivity.

ILENGINE said:

Sounds like governor hop due to over sensitivity. Is there more than one hole in the governor arm that will accept the spring. May need to make a position change to reduce sensitivity.

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You hit the nail right on the head. Thanks man. This darn thing is done.
Other crap that got fixed on this:
New fuel tank, rebuilt carb, cleaned and tightened the 110 plug. It was corroded, and so loose that anything you plugged into it, would just fall out in like 5 seconds.
Repaired the mounts. recoil, Air filter housing, Still got got get a new oil sending unit.

I'm glad to be done with this. More more glad of the knowledge I got from this project.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and links.

Glad to hear that you got it done!

PTmowerMech said:

You hit the nail right on the head. Thanks man. This darn thing is done.
Other crap that got fixed on this:
New fuel tank, rebuilt carb, cleaned and tightened the 110 plug. It was corroded, and so loose that anything you plugged into it, would just fall out in like 5 seconds.
Repaired the mounts. recoil, Air filter housing, Still got got get a new oil sending unit.

I'm glad to be done with this. More more glad of the knowledge I got from this project.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and links.

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When I get a genny in with a loose AC socket, I replace it with a waterproof one that takes a plug with a screw in locking ring.
Then I make up a short lead with the screw lock plug on one end and a standard socket on the other.
The other trick that works really well is to fit a cable clamp near the socket so the vibrations do not cause the plug to fall out.
A loose plug is really bad for the generator as when it is just making contact you get both a high resistance joint and rapid make & break which sends the governor into a freenzy.

bertsmobile1 said:

When I get a genny in with a loose AC socket, I replace it with a waterproof one that takes a plug with a screw in locking ring.
Then I make up a short lead with the screw lock plug on one end and a standard socket on the other.
The other trick that works really well is to fit a cable clamp near the socket so the vibrations do not cause the plug to fall out.
A loose plug is really bad for the generator as when it is just making contact you get both a high resistance joint and rapid make & break which sends the governor into a freenzy.

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Funny you should mention that. My brother and I was talking about this pig tail he made a few years ago that needs a new plug. I asked if about wiring it in directly to the Gen. It's about 2ft. long.

tadawson said:

Glad to hear that you got it done!

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Thanks man. This my first time to replace all the contents that make up a gov. I already had about $100 in parts, (tank, carb, now 2 gov's). Plus a lot of time repairing the mounts. And a boat load of cleaning.

It was interesting to say the least. And very frustrating at the same time.

PTmowerMech said:

Funny you should mention that. My brother and I was talking about this pig tail he made a few years ago that needs a new plug. I asked if about wiring it in directly to the Gen. It's about 2ft. long.

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Illegal to do here but if you go that way make sure it is clamped very tight to the genny frame because the wire will work harden then start to brake .

bertsmobile1 said:

Illegal to do here but if you go that way make sure it is clamped very tight to the genny frame because the wire will work harden then start to brake .

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Illegal? It's almost the same thing as plugging in an extention cord.

The pig tail was to keep the plug from vibrating so much.

PTmowerMech said:

Thanks man. This my first time to replace all the contents that make up a gov. I already had about $100 in parts, (tank, carb, now 2 gov's). Plus a lot of time repairing the mounts. And a boat load of cleaning.

It was interesting to say the least. And very frustrating at the same time.

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Look at it this way: No matter what the engine, you now have one less task to fear! As I said going in, it isn't too bad, but you do have to work through it once to be confident!

Illegal because people chuck them around, the loose wire gets mangled then you get zapped when starting the genny.
Where as a short lead with a plug at both ends generally gets removed from the genny when it is being moved around.

bertsmobile1 said:

Illegal because people chuck them around, the loose wire gets mangled then you get zapped when starting the genny.
Where as a short lead with a plug at both ends generally gets removed from the genny when it is being moved around.

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LOL.. Not to get political, but the government does have a way of trying to protect us from ourselves.

PTmowerMech said:

LOL.. Not to get political, but the government does have a way of trying to protect us from ourselves.

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A bit different down here.
Emergency ambulances are all government run and covered by most health funds for workers and free for pensioners.
Emergency hospital is also free so the more idiots they keep out of both the less it costs.
Plus lots of people being paid by the government needing to justify their pay packets.
Lots of inspectors lurking around building sites raising "stupid tax" from dodgey gear.
And we tend to be a bit slack "she'ill be right mate, just don't touch the frame after the engine starts"
Then there is the manuals are the last resort so thousands of clowns using generators all day without bothering to hook them up to a ground strap / spike.
We just had some wild weather which knocked out the power for up to a week.
In a suburb where most houses have double degree parents, several people died due to running generators inside or hooking them up to the house supply without isolating the main switch.
Heaven know what happened where the "not so well educated live" because the only time they make the news is when they are fighting with the police.

If you want some confusion deal with US 110/220 volt power and portable generators. Some have 3 wire output some have 4 wire. Some have a ground lug some don't. UTUBE is awash with idiots showing how to incorrectly hook a portable genny to a house for backup power. There should be a test to be able to shop in the electrical aisle at the home improvement stores.

Hammermechanicman said:

If you want some confusion deal with US 110/220 volt power and portable generators. Some have 3 wire output some have 4 wire. Some have a ground lug some don't. UTUBE is awash with idiots showing how to incorrectly hook a portable genny to a house for backup power. There should be a test to be able to shop in the electrical aisle at the home improvement stores.

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Being smart enough to know you're dumb, makes you pretty smart. Speaking about myself, of course. Part of my conversation with my brother, about the pig tail, was something along the lines of "I don't have a clue as to how to wire it in. So it might be best to just replace the loose switch."
When I disconnected the wires, to get the gen free from the engine, I took pictures and labeled the colors.
I supposed I should've taken a few minutes to look up what each wire was for.

So, you're saying I shouldn't start-up my generator in the bathroom during a power outage so I can plug in my hair dryer to use while I'm taking a shower?!? How will I ever get my hair dry?

I have seen some really creative (dangerous) things done with large quantities of highly motivated electrons. Like the guy who made an adapter box that plugs into the 50amp 220volt campground outlet converting down to 110 volt with 14ga wire and of course it is breakered at 50 amp.

It is called natural selection.

It is like the guy that lost a finger in press. When ask to demonstrate how he lost the finger, he proceeded to lose another finger.

I can’t count the times I’ve had a portable generator come in after the owner has adjusted the RPMS and had tools burn out. 90% of people don’t know that there is a thing called hertz, which is affected by the engine speed. You must adjust 110V to 50 hertz and 120V to 60 hertz most of the time, but not always. You have to look at the ID tag, as some units coming from overseas are different. Had one customer burn out his radial arm saw and two circular saws, plus portable radio and couldn’t figure out why. Unit was adjusted to 3500 RPMS, 110V, and 72 hertz, constant speed with no idea down. Even the wires were melting.

Rivets said:

I can’t count the times I’ve had a portable generator come in after the owner has adjusted the RPMS and had tools burn out. 90% of people don’t know that there is a thing called hertz, which is affected by the engine speed. You must adjust 110V to 50 hertz and 120V to 60 hertz most of the time, but not always. You have to look at the ID tag, as some units coming from overseas are different. Had one customer burn out his radial arm saw and two circular saws, plus portable radio and couldn’t figure out why. Unit was adjusted to 3500 RPMS, 110V, and 72 hertz, constant speed with no idea down. Even the wires were melting.

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All of that is talk about "hertz" is greek to me. Thanks for the info. I gotta start doing some research.

If you are in north 'merica the AC pawer on the grid has a frequency of 60HZ. That means the power line voltage goes fom +max to zero to -max 60 times in one second. Any conventionl generator connected to the grid must be synchronized to the phase and frequency of the grid. For that reason and backfeeding and possibly killing a lineman you NEVER connect a portable generator to the grid. Equipment connected to portable generators are at the mercy of the generator for voltage and frequency. Some devices don't care and some let the magic smoke out if the voltage/frequency is wrong.

PTmowerMech said:

All of that is talk about "hertz" is greek to me. Thanks for the info. I gotta start doing some research.

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Some people will refer to hertz as cycles. And most portable gas generators due to what is called governor droop will run around 3750 rpm which creates about 62 hertz/cycles. When a load is put on the generator the engine should run closer to 3600 rpm which creates 60 hertz. This is true for what is called 2 brush generators, Some will have 4 brushes, which will turn 1800 rpm for 60 hertz, think bigger stationary gen sets,

For comparison a generator running at 3000 rpm will produce 50 hertz.

But wait!........ some guy on the internet told me you can get more power out of your portable generator by bending the thingy to make it run faster and it will make your 6000 watt generator a 7000 watt generator. Whatever a watt is. It's on the internet so it must be true. ?

Hammermechanicman said:

But wait!........ some guy on the internet told me you can get more power out of your portable generator by bending the thingy to make it run faster and it will make your 6000 watt generator a 7000 watt generator. Whatever a watt is. It's on the internet so it must be true. ?

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I just had one come in the other day that was putting out 140 volts at 65 hertz. Had to turn that one back down.

Hammermechanicman said:

But wait!........ some guy on the internet told me you can get more power out of your portable generator by bending the thingy to make it run faster and it will make your 6000 watt generator a 7000 watt generator. Whatever a watt is. It's on the internet so it must be true. ?

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Man, you don't know about the power of the "thingy?" It's like the finger of God. It's magical and holds special powers that only Gods have.

And he would not necessarily have been wrong! You *DO* get more power! The problem is that itsets things on fire . . .