I was in a pretty foul mood today for some reason. Just woke up not feeling like I wanted to reenter the world at all. Probably just stress eating away at me.
I decided to at least do a little something outside, so I pulled off the side panel on the generator and sprayed the spark plugs with "Break Free" for when I want to pull them out. LAST thing I would need is for a rust frozen spark plug to snap off in the engine head! I also checked the oil level, as I know the engine has a low oil shutoff switch in it. Which meant taking off the other side panel. Oil was good, though. I did a visual scan of the wiring, looking for rodent chews, but I have made it pretty rodent proof, and there were no signs of rodents anywhere. Just for chuckles, I tried to start it again, but no go. On a hunch, I tried starting it again, and watched the throttle rod that controls the amount of propane fueling the engine. Hmm, not moving at all. So while hitting the start button, I reached around and moved the rod manually. Started right up.
Long story short, I lubed up the rod linkage, hoping it isn't getting bound up in the fuel control electronic module that actually controls that rod. So far seems to be starting up fine. Still popping sometimes upon start up, so I am planning to replace the ignition system anyway. I found that the popping had popped the air cleaner off of the carburetor, so I have to keep an eye on that. Might as well replace that air filter anyway, while I am at it.
So at least one good thing happened today. Rest of the day? Well, BLAH....
