Hi All, i just bought a reconed log splitter with a honda gvc160 engine, it started at the store after 6 or 8 pulls. not good but i fiqured we over chocked or such. at home i could not start after 40 or so pulls, drained all gas , put in new gas, pulled spark plug and it was soaked, dryed plug blew some air in cylider while pulling starter cord, finally got it running after about another 40 pulls, ran great for a full tank of gas, next day no start, i turn gas valve off when not in use, i cannot return as they knocked a grand off the price. previous owner returned for same reason, it probably has about 10 hours on it, also spark seems fine, this is the ohc model, also it did backfire once when it started

First,install a new plug. Even if the one in it is new,that doesn't matter. Bad ones come out of boxes every day. It could be giving a weak or intermittent spark. No matter what's in it,it should be a BPR5ES.
Secondly,the float may be sticking in the open position,which isn't unusual if it's been sitting a while. No matter what you were told at the dealers,it may have been. Check the float for heaviness,and shake it. If you hear fuel in it,it's bad. There's no fix for them. The inlet needle could also be bad or something could be stuck between IT and the seat.
Thirdly,the keyway between the crankshaft and flywheel could be stretched or broken. That could be causing the backfire. If it starts at all,that's an indication of a slight tweak in the keyway. There are a few ways that can happen. If you've had small engines apart,you know where the keyway is and how to get to it. If not and you'd like to try,ask,and someone on here can walk you thru it.
Those are the few things you can check before going any further. Good Luck!!

Thanks Golftech, New plug, the plug that was in it was a BPR6ES ,started after 20 pulls ran through 2 tanks of gas splitting. Ran great, i shut it off 3 times for 20 minutes. started each time on 1 pull. No backfire, keeping my fingers crossed after it sits overnight :thumbsup:

tryed starting it after 4 hours. outside temp down to 27, it would not start, it tryed to but no go, seems like the cold makes it worse. :confused:

When all is well, Hondas are reknowned for starting very easily,sometimes with little or no choke. You may want to try experimenting with it. First make sure the choke is closing all the way and opening properly, then try starting it with the choke half closed. It may be just a matter of getting to know the beast. I've got a few Hondas on machines here at the course. There are times they haven't been used for a few days and they'll start right up on the first or second pull with no choke. And they aren't new engines either. 5 to 10years old

hondas are a pain to start in the cold, well not a pain but can be hard staring. best thing i can tell you is when you get it started let it run a minute with the choke on, it usually helps me out.

hondas are a pain to start in the cold, well not a pain but can be hard staring. best thing i can tell you is when you get it started let it run a minute with the choke on, it usually helps me out.


mine wont run even a second with the choke on, wont start with choke on, what i have to do is choke- 1 pull, then choke off 2 pulls, eventualy it will start
while it is running choke works like a kill switch

??? Maybe a little water in the carb?
Not enough to keep it from running, but enough to freeze up the carb when it got to 27 deg like you said a few posts ago?

Just a thought.

>Maytag
ps gotta go. Got a "splitting" headache. ROFLMAO
sorry :o

well i have had some Honda's where i have turned the choke to on and pull a few times without the engine starting, then shut it off and it would start up no problem after i turned the choke off. is that what you mean? also being cold its going to be hard starting. the choke will act as a kill switch cause it will flood the engine.

best thing i can tell you if you have room is bring it in a garage or something and build a make shift tent and put a small heater in there and get it warm and see what happens. PS: try not to burn anything down

this way you can tell if its the engine or if its the cold, to be honest any engine is harder to start in the cold and needs proper time to warm up before going full throttle.

It's possible there's a carb problem. You don't know anything about the machine except what was told to you by the dealer. There may be something in there clogging a port. If it doesn't start and run any better when it's warmed up or as it gets warmer outside,you may want to investigate that. On the other hand,it could just be a hard starter,or as I mentioned,it may be a matter of getting to know the beast better.
I'm not disagreeing with the other poster,but it's been my experience, being a country club technician for 23 years,Hondas are pretty well known for being easy starters,at least the ones I've dealt with.

I cleaned the main jet and needle valve, all was clean, float is fine, gas flows into bowl fine, float stops flow when i raise it. , put it all back together and no start. poured a tea spoon of gas in carb and it started first pull. choke and throtle seem to work correctly, what do you fiqure is wrong with carb.:confused:

Did you remove the nozzle and check that it was clear as well?

It sounds like you still have a problem with your carburetor.

yes the nozzle was clean, i cleaned it anyway.

I took carb off and apart and it is soaking in vinega, appears clean, while carb is off I checked compression with a borrowed compression tester. on one pull i get 12 psi, after 2 pulls i got 25psi, it topped out at 50 psi 7 pulls, what does this mean.