# Honda GX31 - Weed trimmer



## Tradesman (Jun 3, 2008)

I have a customer who rented a Honda weed trimmer (with GX31 engine) from me & proceeded to use it for a couple of hours WITH the choke on... until it basically lost power & then brought it back.

It starts fine & stays running at idle, but has lost *all* power. It basically runs very slow & then bogs out when it's given much fuel at all... it runs _slightly_ better with the choke left on (just to give you more information for your troubleshooting advice).

The manual gives very limited information (other than take it to a dealer)... can anyone tell me what happens when an engine is run for some time with the choke on?

I changed the spark plug (fouled) & cleaned the air filter... this unit does not have a spark arrester on it (although the manual shows that it should)... I'm running out of things to try.

Could it just be seriously flooded? If so, any tricks that I could try? Customer definitely knows that he ran it wrong... but I'd rather try a few things before charging him a repair that might be something small.

Any help you can give me would be great.


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## Tradesman (Jun 3, 2008)

Oh... I changed the oil on this trimmer, as well... and it's got fresh fuel. I took the air filter completely off to see if that made a difference. It DID gain power for about 3 seconds & then bogged out and stalled.


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## Tradesman (Jun 3, 2008)

Oh... and I forgot, I am female... and yes, I do all the maintenance on our equipment & small repairs as long as I've got a manual to go by... but I'm lacking the experience needed to trouble shoot this one.

Please reply.


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Running the engine with the choke should not do to much to it, however it can dilute the oil with gas and wash the lubricating oil from the cylinder. It's unusual that the engine will run with the choke on for an extended period of time. 

No, it's not flooded if it starts and runs. I would inspect the following: fuel filter/pickup in tank, possibly dirty. Carburetor problem, filter screen possibly plugged with debris. Valves out of adjustment.


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