Device And Repair Failures Of Gasoline And Electric Vibrating Plates

Why the vibrating plate stalls and does not work. malfunctions of the vibrating plates

Device And Repair Failures Of Gasoline And Electric Vibrating Plates

Vibrating plates are used when it is required to compact a fresh covering from crushed stone, concrete or sand.

The device of the vibrating plate is simple:

  • at the base of the mechanism is a cast-iron or steel plate that tamps the surface;
  • in the center of the plate is a vibrator that transmits vibrations to the plate;
  • gasoline, diesel or electric engine;
  • coupling;
  • frame on which the entire unit rests.

Vibrating plates are of two types:

  • reverse vibrating plates with the ability to reverse;
  • vibrating plates with a forward stroke.

Damage may occur in each part of the plate. Some malfunctions of the vibrating plates can be repaired independently, others require contacting a service center for repair of vibrating plates.

To minimize the occurrence of malfunctions, you must:

  • strictly observe safety precautions and instructions for using the vibrating plate;
  • use high-quality, recommended by the manufacturer vibrating plates, fuel and oil;
  • timely service the vibrating plate.

We will analyze the most common breakdowns and malfunctions of vibrating plates.

The vibrating plate engine does not start

What to do if the plate does not start?

Reasons and methods for troubleshooting a vibrating plate if the engine does not start:

  • the ignition switch is set to the “Off” position. move the switch to the desired position;
  • incorrect position of the air damper. install the damper;
  • low oil level. add oil;

what to do if the vibrating plate does not start

  • not enough fuel. refuel;
  • there is enough fuel, but it does not enter the cylinder of the vibrating plate engine. check the fuel filter, put the fuel valve in the working position;
  • no air enters the combustion chamber. check the condition of the air filter;
  • the ignition system does not work. check the spark plug and other elements of the system.

If you could not cope with the malfunction yourself, and the vibrating plate engine does not start, contact the service center for repairing vibrating plates.

The vibrating plate motor is unstable idling, stalling or not developing full power

Causes and remedies if the vibrating plate motor stalls, is unstable, or does not develop power:

  • gasoline of poor quality or with an expiration date. replace gasoline with a new one;
  • unstable sparking. carry out maintenance of the ignition system;
  • air or fuel filter clogged. clean or replace filters;
  • the carburetor of the vibrating plate is not adjusted. contact a service center for proper adjustment;
  • wear of parts of the piston group of the vibrating plate. repair or replace the parts.

The vibrating plate is insufficiently high quality and deeply rams the surface

Causes and methods of troubleshooting if the plate is not sufficiently high quality and deeply rams the surface:

  • reduced engine speed. increase engine speed;
  • reduced vibrator speed due to slipping of the clutch pads. check the cleanliness and integrity of the pads, replace if necessary;

what to do if the vibrating plate works poorly

  • Vibratory plate drive belt slippage. check the belt tension, its cleanliness and contamination.

If the vibrating plate is not suitable for this type of coating, which is compacted, the work will be carried out poorly, and the vibrating plate is threatened with serious damage.

The vibrating plate stops during operation

If the plate has stopped and does not work, the following causes and troubleshooting options are possible:

  • out of fuel or oil. pour in what ended;
  • the drive belt has flown or broken. fasten or replace the belt;
  • the vibrating plate overheats. allow the vibrating plate to cool, check the quality of the oil, check the passability of the air intake holes.

The vibrating plate does not develop full speed

If the vibrating plate does not develop speed, the following causes of the malfunction and methods for its elimination are possible:

  • the throttle valve is not fully open or incorrectly installed. open the valve or install it correctly;
  • the treated surface is too wet. dry the surface before starting work;

what to do if the vibrating plate does not develop speed

  • the belt mechanism of the vibrating plate is weakened. adjust or replace the drive belt;
  • worn belt. replace with a new one.

The vibrating plate motor starts, but there is no vibration

Possible reasons for the lack of vibration:

  • the belt mechanism is weakened or the belt is worn out. replace the belt mechanism;
  • clutch damaged. replace clutch;
  • too much oil. reduce the amount of oil.

The vibrating plate jumps or tamps the surface unevenly

Reasons why the plate jumps:

  • the surface is too hard or compacted enough;
  • damaged rubber mat.

DIY gas generator repair: malfunctions and their elimination

Gasoline generators, even if they are Chinese-made, with proper care are highly reliable. Nevertheless, during their operation small problems may arise, which usually can be quickly eliminated with your own hands. Serious breakdowns, if the owner of the device knows the principle of operation of the generator, will also not be able to permanently disable it.

Most common malfunctions

If you place the possible malfunctions of the gas generator in a kind of rating, you get the following list:

  • Failure or contamination of the spark plug: difficult or impossible start, unstable operation.
  • Clogged carburetor: difficult start, excessive fuel consumption, unstable operation at constant load.
  • Ignition coil failure: no spark, inability to start.
  • Starter breakage: breakage, biting the cable, breaking the ratchet.
  • Violation of valve clearances: difficult start, increased noise during operation.
  • Brush wear (on synchronous generators). lack of output voltage.
  • Malfunction of the speed controller: swimming engine speed, dips when the load changes.
  • Deterioration of bearings of the crankshaft and rotor of the generator. an increase in the noise level of work, oil leakage.
  • Deterioration of the cylinder, piston rings. difficulty starting a cold engine, excessive oil consumption.

Video: Device And Repair Failures Of Gasoline And Electric Vibrating Plates


This does not take into account breakdowns that result from a gross violation of the operating rules of the generator: for example, seizures on the neck of the crankshaft due to insufficient oil level, burnout of the windings of the generator or voltage converter (on inverter gas generators) with frequent overloads.

In fact, malfunctions of a gasoline generator can be divided into three groups: mechanical, electrical, and fuel / ignition system malfunctions.

Violations in the operation of power and ignition systems and their maintenance

Difficult start-up of the generator, which manifested itself suddenly and not accompanied by an increase in engine noise, is a clear sign of either deviations in the carburetor (too lean or rich mixture), or a faulty ignition system (weak or intermittent spark formation). Since the diagnosis of the state of these systems is interconnected, it is combined into one section.

Turn out a spark plug and examine a deposit on its electrodes.

  • Thick and dry black soot. sign of a rich mixture (carburetor is defective, air filter is clogged);
  • Oily black soot. a sign of severe wear of the piston rings, the oil enters the combustion chamber;
  • White carbon. a sign of working on a lean mixture, it is necessary to check the carburetor.
  • Brick Brown. normal for carburetor engines.
  • Red, green-red soot. a consequence of work on low-quality fuel.

The efficiency of the ignition system itself can be checked simply because of its extreme simplicity: turn on the ignition, insert a known-good spark plug into the spark plug cap and, putting it with a skirt on the nearest metal part of the engine, sharply rotate the manual starter. If there is no spark, disconnect the ignition switch and the oil level sensor in turn from the ignition coil: if there is still no spark when both elements are disconnected, replace the ignition coil.

See also: Choosing oil for gas generators

If the spark is present and has sufficient strength (white or blue-white), turn out the candle after several attempts to start. A gasoline-filled candle is a sign of over-enrichment of the mixture, dry. a lack of fuel.

Sometimes after long storage, the needle and the carburetor float stick and do not allow gas to flow inside. Several times sharply but do not hit the float chamber lid very hard and restart.

The most common malfunction of a carburetor is its contamination. The ingress of dirt into the air channels leads to a re-enrichment of the mixture, to fuel jets. to depletion. Dirt on the locking needle of the float leads to a loss of tightness and overflow of the float chamber, which will be immediately noticeable by the leakage of fuel from the carburetor.

Let’s consider carburetor maintenance using the example of a Honda GX installed on engines. its design is typical of a gasoline generator.

  • Remove the cover of the float chamber (4). Wash it in gasoline or a carburetor aerosol cleaner. dirt and deposits accumulate on its bottom.
  • Do the same with the gas tank sump (22).
  • Check if the gas cock is blown in the open position.
  • Take out the axis of the float (3), remove the float and the locking needle (2). Blow out the channel with air.
  • Blow out the fuel jet (25), emulsion tube (11) and all carburetor channels with an aerosol cleaner or compressed air.
  • Turn out the adjusting screw (5), blow out its channel. Then wrap all the way and loosen, depending on the type of air filter, by 2 (foam, paper filters). 2.5 turns (cyclone filters).
  • Assemble the carburetor.

Electrical faults

The electrical system of gas generators is quite reliable. Most often, two problems can be encountered: lack of battery charge on generators with electric start or lack of voltage at the generator output.

  • Lack of battery charging is a consequence of a failure of the rectifier or low voltage winding. Do-it-yourself testing this system is simple: connect a 12-volt light bulb parallel to the low-voltage winding of the generator and start it. A lit light means that the generator itself is working properly and the rectifier needs to be replaced.
  • The lack of voltage at the generator output is most often the result of brush wear. Remove them and assess the degree of wear; replace if necessary. If your generator is of an inverter type, check whether the voltage comes to the input of the converter by connecting a 220 V low-power lamp in parallel with it.

See also: Features of army gas generators

Video about a phased repair of a gas generator

Mechanical faults and adjustments

One of the scheduled maintenance provided by the operating instructions for gas generators is the control and adjustment, if necessary, of valve clearances.

The increase in gaps above the norm will lead to a decrease in engine power, an increase in noise during operation. The most dangerous reduction of the gap, since it is not audible during operation, but the pinched valves, especially the exhaust valve, begin to burn quickly.

As a result, the engine starts to work unstably and when burned out the plate stops starting.

Valve Adjustment Procedure pretty simple:

  1. Remove all components that interfere with removing the engine valve cover.
  2. Turn out a spark plug.
  3. Remove the valve cover.
  4. Set the crankshaft to the top dead center of the compression stroke according to the mark on the flywheel (if any) or by controlling the movement of the piston through the spark plug hole. Do not mix TDC compression (both valves are closed) with TDC release (the exhaust valve closes, the intake valve opens)
  5. Loosen the lock nuts of the adjusting screws and, using a flat probe inserted between the beam and the valve face, set the gaps by turning the screw. Typically, a clearance of 0.2 mm is adopted for the exhaust valve, 0.15 for the inlet valve (specify in the operating instructions).
  6. Tighten the locknuts and rotate the crankshaft twice, exposing it to the TDC. If everything is done correctly, at the next dead point, both gaps will go away, after another turn, they will take the set value. Clearances increased after the first revolution are a sign that they are tuned into the TDC of the release stroke.
  7. Assemble the generator.

Malfunctions of a manual starter. perhaps most common mechanical problem. Either the cable breaks, or the starter refuses to wind it because of a broken return spring, or the ratchet does not crank the crankshaft.

Remove the starter by unscrewing the bolts around the perimeter of its casing. Unscrewing the screw (1), you can remove the ratchet mechanism. Check its cams (4) and return springs (5). Then carefully remove the pulley with the spring (7). Replace a dangling cable or a broken spring, depending on what caused the repair.

When assembling the starter, make sure that the spring remains engaged with the casing and the pulley during its installation in place. The cable must be fully wound on the pulley. With the ratchet mechanism in place, check the cable travel and how the starter returns to its original position.

Overview and repair of the Einhell STE800 gasoline generator

Sometimes it happens that the generator needs to be urgently started, and the manual starter refused at this very moment. If necessary, there are several ways to emergency start.

Methods listed below unsafe!

Remove a starter cover. Underneath is a flywheel with a cooling impeller pulled by a nut to the crankshaft. To bring it into rotation, you can:

  • After winding the rope around the flywheel, use it similarly to the hand starter cable. Keep in mind that if it hooks on the fan blades, when the motor starts, this rope will turn into a whip whipping in all directions, so be careful. Stand so that the rope cannot reach your hands or head.
  • Low-powered engines can also be started manually: with the ignition off, crank the crankshaft several times by rotating the pulley with your hands in the desired direction. In this case, the gas cock must be open, and the shutter of the starting device must be closed. After that, turning on the ignition, bring the crankshaft to the TDC of compression (there will be an increase in effort on the flywheel), and then turn the pulley with a sharp jerk so that the spark energy is enough to ignite the mixture.
  • A powerful cordless drill and head with an extension cord from the tool kit are a good replacement for an electric starter in a hurry. Clamp the extension cord in the cartridge, put on a suitable size head on it and untwist the crankshaft by the flywheel nut. True, in this way only a low-power generator can be turned on. for a large-volume engine the torque of the drill is not enough to crank it at a compression stroke.

See also: We study in detail the device of a gas generator

When do I need to go to the workshop?

A number of malfunctions, alas, are difficult enough to fix with your own hands, without sufficient qualifications: for example, a faulty inverter converter or voltage regulator can be repaired only having a good idea of ​​the principle of operation and circuitry of such devices. Not every owner of the gas generator will take up the engine overhaul, although this is not as difficult as it might seem.

In major cities like many workshops, Here are just a small part of them: