I have es4500 with the belt off the generator runs fine with the belt on it will not turn up the governor is full on and very little rpm it is put out 40 volts thankyou

that doesn't make sense , surely it has a governor how else can the carby rpm be governed , sounds to me like the internal governor thrust counter weight has come out of it's locking plates. if governor arm has been adjust wrong way or moved from it's original position this will happen .

Its is a governor or fuel issue. Start with the fuel make sure all and carb is set correectly and tune dup. Then check the governor. Make sure also you have correct weight and viscosity oil and level

There is most likely debris in the float bowl especially in the bowl nut area. The sputtering is a lack of fuel flow. The governor is doing it's job... the carb is not keeping up with the governor demands. Take off the float bowl and clean out the bowl, the bowl nut and the jet in the threaded area where the bowl nut threads into. Then with the air cleaner removed... spray carb cleaner in to all of the brass holes you see, One center bottom of venturi throat, Just note I have seen the NGK BPR5RS spark plugs cause this same symptom. I have an EH34 11.0 Hp Robin engine on my generator... and have worked on generators since the late 1960's
You did not methion the age or estimated usage hours so, I am assuming this generator is not heavily used. If it is..a high usage generator the next time it throws a fit... try holding down on the butterfly (Gently) in the center post area to see if air is being drawn though the butterfly pivot area.

I think just by cleaning things up per directions above you should be fine.

Thanks for choosing FixYa,
Kelly

You did not mention how many amps your system is producing/drawing, however I don't think that you need to adjust the governor. Your engine can produce 18 hp at 3600 rpm. At 3600 rpm your generator is producing 60hz or cycles. As the load increases /decreases it has an effect on the governor thus the change in cycles. If the load increases past the capacity of the engine, the cycles will drop. To stabilize, reduce the load. 59hz is produced when the engine is turning about 3550 rpm. If you increase the speed of the engine to compensate cycles may increase past 60hz. 3650rpm will probably produce 61hz. Engine speed could be fluctuating due to other reasons (vacuum leak, dirty air filter, plug, etc ) if there is only a small load on the engine/generator. If you would still like to adjust the governor please email the load on the generator and I will help with instructions. Good Luck with your generator it is a very nice unit and built to last.

Hi,
The engine should run at 3750 rpm at no load. If that's OK then you may need to troubleshoot the capacitor inside the end of the generator opposite the rope. Since the thing has been stored for some time you may just need to flash the field of the generator to restore the residual magnetism in the rotor. The easiest way to do this is thru the 110 outlet but it's a little dangerous. Plug an old lamp cord into the outlet, start the generator, and momentarily connect a 9 volt dry cell to the wires, then shut the generator down and see if there is 110 when you restart it.
Regards,
Carl

While attending college I worked at a tool rental center and learned a great deal about matching generators to customer requirements and troubleshooting customer owned units. There are simple tests that you can perform, however, first some info on what to expect from a generator. Most generators are overrated and under powered. You should only expect to get about 60 - 75% of rating. Example, a commercial honda 5000w generator has an 11hp motor that can only produce about 9.5 hp at 3600 rpm. If a customer needed 5000w of power, we would rent them an 8000w generator because as the generator is loaded to max the voltage will drop. You generator will probably only provide steady voltage ex. 115v at 60 cycles to about 3500w then voltage will begin to drop. New generators have automatic voltage regulator that varies the power to the armature increasing/decreasing the power of the magnet. These voltage regulators suffer a high failure rate and are expensive. If your generator is not giving you 3500 watt at 115v 60 cycles your engine may have a few problems and your power generator end may need tweaking. (I would not expect to achieve 5500w at 115v with briggs 10hp) .
The governor is about 2 inches in diameter and turns off the cam gear inside the engine. It is flyball type with two or three small arms that react to rpm. The faster the engine turns, more force is applied to the governor arm to reduce engine speed. Easy to test, with engine running use finger pressure against the arm to increase speed and you should feel a greater resistance as the engine speed increases. Another simple test, remove air filter to expose butterfly inside the carb. Move the governor arm and check that the butterfly opens fully. If it does not open fully linkage and governor is not set correctly. Next, start engine and load generator up to max and check that butterfly opens to full as the load increases. When the butterfly opens all the way under load the engine is at max. Add up the wattage of all the tools/appliances you used to load the engine to get an idea of max load . Lets assume that the shop adjusted the governor properly, if the governor was not working the engine would over rev. and damage would occur. As you were told the governor spring controls speed and can be adjusted somewhat by bending tab or adjustment screw. But a review of your generator manual or that series of briggs engine will show that there are several governor springs available and different placement holes on the governor arm to attach the spring that will change the power curve. Pulling on the spring can only do so much, however changing the spring to different gauge /turns/material or differnet location on the governor arm will cause the engine to perform differently. These springs are sold thru briggs dealers by part number for your engine. This would be considered tweaking to get a different power curve.
Now for the generator. Some generators have a capacitor incorporated in the windings. This capacitor must measure within 95% of rating. Remove from circuit for testing. Finally look very carefully at the commutator rings for any evidence of brush bounce. If the brushes do not perfectly seat you will lose power. If your generator is brushless you can only hope that the diodes are within spec. because it is too difficult to test them. They also must be removed to test. Finally if your generator has an automatic voltage regulator the only test would be to replace with a known good part. At the rental center we stocked spare parts so that we could quickly find fault. There is soo much to learn and the life too short. I hope this helps good luck, please email your questions.

This sounds like the idle control solenoid has become misadjusted. To check that this is the case, locate the throttle lever and follow it back towards the governor arm until you find the solenoid. Start the generator and switch on the idle control while watching the governor arm where it passes near the solenoid, if the arm snaps back and forth you probably have a bad adjustment. To readjust the solenoid loosen the jam nut on the core of the solenoid just enough that you can turn the core by the square bit on the end. Adjust the core 1/4 turn or so at a time until the governor arm stays in position when the idle control is on, then turn idle control off and make sure that the governor arm goes back to the full throttle position. You may have to fiddle with the adjustment a little until you find the right spot. Tighten the jam nut back down and you're good to go.

Carl

Honda generators are very reliable and are easy to adjust. The best way to check for proper output is to use a meter that can check cycles and voltage. Set meter to htz or freq and adjust the engine governor to 60 cycles. When the engine is turning 3600 rpm it is at max power and the generator may be producing ac voltage ranging from 115 to 125 at 60 cycles. When you draw power from the generator the engine governor will try to overcome the stress and maintain 3600 rpm. The engine must be well maintained to produce full power. Service oil, filter, plug and valve adjustment. Some engines have a spark arrester installed in the muffler that may become blocked with carbon. If engine is producing full power and voltage/amps is low then check brushes, capacitors, and/ or voltage regulator. Most problems occur when too much power is requested from rated generator. Example, trying to connect an 1800 watt air compressor to generator. The compressor may draw double the stated wattage upon starting and cycling. For longest generator life, It is best to use only 75% of rated output. On an 1800 watt generator use max wattage 1350. If you actually need to use 1800 watts then the best generator would be a 2500 watt. enjoy

Most generators use a flyball type governor within the engine to control rpm; also there is a voltage regulator that tries to maintain voltage at about 115v. The voltage regulator varies the voltage to the armature increasing /adjusting magnetic force. Use a meter with htz or freq setting to adjust engine governor to 60 cycles. When the generator is producing 60 cycles, the engine should be turning 3600 rpm, max power range. At 3600 rpm the voltage should be 115 to 120 volts. Loading the generator will cause governor to try to maintain 3600 rpm. Check engine manual for proper adjustment of gonvernor and linkage. The governor mech should last the life of the engine, however governor system does wear out. Expensive repair. enjoy

This problem is either that the engine RPM is too low (most likely), or that there is something amiss in the voltage regulation. Get yourself a DMM that measures Hz, plug it into the output and see if you get 61.5 Hz, if not look for the adjustment on the governor spring. On some Powermates this is a screw that pressed on the governor arm, on others it's a little tab the governor spring attaches to that you bend. Do this at no load. FWIW 61.5 Hz is also 3750 RPM of the engine.