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MEP-002A Exhaust Question plus Machine Resurrection

Tinstar

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Mostly, the S7 gets out of adjustment, due to "Knob Dicking". Knob Dicking is the fine art of fooling with things that don't need to be fooled with. In the HAWK ADA (Air Defense Artillery) world, back in the 70's to 90's, Everything in the system had self checks. The accepted readings were in the TM, and that is what the inspectors wanted to see. As born overachiever's, 2nd LT's would keep a tiny screwdriver in the left shirt pocket, to "Adjust" the meters, to get the "Right", called for adjusted voltage. Insuring that they would not fail an ORE, (Operational Readiness Evaluation).

When it would be seen, by Professional Maintenance Mechanics, (CWO's) a meeting would be held. And after due course, the Senior CWO would hold a formation. The 2nd Lt. would be requested to attend. The Young officer would be called to the front of the formation and presented with the Order of Hobby Electrician First Class, and issued the below depicted screwdriver. This entitled him to adjust anything he could find to adjust, with his new screwdriver. Normally one award was all it took to fix the "Problem".

View attachment 898478
I was a CW3

This post made me laugh out loud
 

Tinstar

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getting tha


getting that cover on can be a bear. I think on my 003, I had to actually grind off some of the adjustment screw(shorten it) to get it to fit.

For adjustment, I followed the TM and it was still slightly off, so I had to back and tweak it once or twice to make it perfect. Guyfang is right... leave that cover off until you are certain it's good :)
I will grind off the stud "up to" the safety wire.
Messed with cover a bit today and no luck

Yep
That was a great design.........
 

Tinstar

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IMG_0354.jpegIMG_0355.jpegIMG_0348.jpeg

Installed new Gates air hose
Also hooked up battery’s. Was nice not dealing with the slave cable.
Terminal sparked slightly when connecting. Don’t know if that’s normal.

New starter arrived.
It survived the trip and is now in the new MEP spare parts cabinet.
 

justinn

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View attachment 898496View attachment 898498View attachment 898497

Installed new Gates air hose
Also hooked up battery’s. Was nice not dealing with the slave cable.
Terminal sparked slightly when connecting. Don’t know if that’s normal.

New starter arrived.
It survived the trip and is now in the new MEP spare parts cabinet.
It's cool to see the old style starter on there!

IIRC, I always have a light spark when connecting the batteries as well. That is unless I am not paying attention and ground out to the bracket, then it's a REALLY REALLY BIG spark.

Justin
 

Chainbreaker

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It's cool to see the old style starter on there!

IIRC, I always have a light spark when connecting the batteries as well. That is unless I am not paying attention and ground out to the bracket, then it's a REALLY REALLY BIG spark.

Justin
Yep, the spark IIRC is some of the capacitors drawing current to charge. I seem to recall it was some tantalum Capacitors on the Voltage Regulator Board. That's why its good to have a battery disconnect switch to prevent long term battery drain (parasitic drain). I put one across the crossover connection between the two batteries +/-. Here is my old thread on how I implemented that.
 

Tinstar

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Yep, the spark IIRC is some of the capacitors drawing current to charge. I seem to recall it was some tantalum Capacitors on the Voltage Regulator Board. That's why its good to have a battery disconnect switch to prevent long term battery drain (parasitic drain). I put one across the crossover connection between the two batteries +/-. Here is my old thread on how I implemented that.
Excellent info
That makes sense.
I have a 12 watt Solargizer ready to install when this is ready.
A disconnect is a great idea.

—————

Once this unit is reliable, the work begins on cleaning it up a bit.
Battery cables look horrible and need attention, etc. and painting the trailer.
Figuring out an enclosure to keep rain off and mud wasps out. NOS Original tarps do not exist. If they did, they would be extremely expensive.

But
Have to get it reliable first.
 

rickf

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As far as tarps go I would think any marina could make you a tarp in any dimension and material you want, just give them the measurements.

My tarps come from Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply or Lowes. They last a couple years and then they start to fall apart and I get a new one. I get the mid range ones, not the cheapest ones. If you get the heavier black and silver ones they will last for many years. I have one covering a camper that has been there for 6-7 years and is still in good shape.
 
Last edited:

Tinstar

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As far as tarps go I would think any marina could make you a tarp in any dimension and material you want, just give them the measurements.

My tarps come from Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply or Lowes. They last a couple years and then they start to fall apart and I get a new one. I get the mid range ones, not the cheapest ones. If you get the heavier black and silver ones they will last for many years. I have one covering a camper that has been there for 6-7 years and is still in good shape.
Already checked locally.
Way too expensive for what you get.

Will just build an enclosure to park the trailer in.
Price isn’t that much higher and will last for decades.
 

Tinstar

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SO lets go back to S7 for a minute. You were 99% of the way there a few days ago, but I think you got a little mixed up with the testing of S7 both hot and cold. Anyway... before you fight things any further and replace the switch, try giving it a tiny bit of adjustment outward ( unscrew ) the adjustment like 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I see no reason to fight yourself trying to replace it. Its probably just barely on the fringe of Out of adjustment.
Ok
Went out early this evening and unit started right up.
Did the starter switch while it was running and ……Grind……ugh.
Completed engine Shutdown of shame …….

So tried the cover again and like Guyfang said, I gave it a little more “motivation” and it popped off.
Finally.
IMG_0364.jpeg
I’ll worry about putting it back on later…..


As per the TM, I adjusted the post to where it was just touching.
Then started engine and checked gap.
Book says .040 and that’s what it was while running.
Hard to be exact since the vibration makes it difficult.

I did sand the contacts again and sprayed switch down with contact cleaner.

Engine started up and ran it again til hot.
Off, then restart…..nope
Adjusted post to where it actually looked like it wasn’t touching, but was.
Started engine and checked gap.
About .037- .038 the best I could tell.
IMG_0365.jpeg

Ran til hot, shut off and it restarted.
Did this cycle about 10-12 times and fired right back up each time.
Zero starter Grind

Even managed to get cover back on and tight and it still started multiple times after that.
IMG_0370.jpegIMG_0369.jpeg

So, I’m optimistic.
Will feel much better when it’s hotter outside and it still starts back up with even higher temperatures than today. Was about 84 or so.

Once this hurtle is over, I still have to load test it.
 

justinn

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As far as tarps go I would think any marina could make you a tarp in any dimension and material you want, just give them the measurements.

My tarps come from Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply or Lowes. They last a couple years and then they start to fall apart and I get a new one. I get the mid range ones, not the cheapest ones. If you get the heavier black and silver ones they will last for many years. I have one covering a camper that has been there for 6-7 years and is still in good shape.
I bought a green canvas one on amazon(10x12) and although it's obviously not fitted, it seems to be holding up ok over the past year. Still looks kind of "correct" for the trailer. The bungee cords on the other hand seem to fail at an alarming rate...
 

justinn

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THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS
Ok
Went out early this evening and unit started right up.
Did the starter switch while it was running and ……Grind……ugh.
Completed engine Shutdown of shame …….

So tried the cover more and like Guyfang said, I gave it a little more “motivation” and it popped off.
Finally.
View attachment 898544
I’ll worry about putting it back on later…..


As per the TM, I adjusted the post to where it was just touching.
Then started engine and checked gap.
Book says .040 and that’s what it was while running.
Hard to be exact since the vibration makes it difficult.

I did sand the contacts again and sprayed switch down with contact cleaner.

Engine started up and ran it again til hot.
Off, then restart…..nope
Adjusted post to where it actually looked like it wasn’t touching, but was.
Started engine and checked gap.
About .037- .038 the best I could tell.
View attachment 898547

Ran til hot, shut off and it restarted.
Did this cycle about 10-12 times and fired right back up each time.
Zero starter Grind

Even managed to get cover back on and tight and it still started multiple times after that.
View attachment 898545View attachment 898546

So, I’m optimistic.
Will feel much better when it’s hotter outside and it still starts back up while even higher temperatures than today. Was about 84 or so.

Once this hurtle is over, I still have to load test it.
Great job! on setting the gap, AND getting that blasted cover back on.

Justin
 

nextalcupfan

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EPDM rubber are the ones you want.

Local hardware store sells them in multiple lengths and their even made in USA.

They've been holding up to the weather extremely well.
I could be wrong but I remember looking it up a while back because it seemed every bungee cord (the black ones) would crack and fail within a year.
From what I found EPDM Rubber is specifically made for warmer climates, if subjected to cold temps they will rapidly crack and fail.
You want natural rubber ones for colder climates. They are also more "stretchy".

 

Tinstar

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I could be wrong but I remember looking it up a while back because it seemed every bungee cord (the black ones) would crack and fail within a year.
From what I found EPDM Rubber is specifically made for warmer climates, if subjected to cold temps they will rapidly crack and fail.
You want natural rubber ones for colder climates. They are also more "stretchy".


No clue

They work for me regardless.
I use them almost everyday including about 10 minutes ago
 

Tinstar

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IMG_0379.jpegIMG_0378.jpegIMG_0377.jpegIMG_0376.jpegIMG_0374.jpegIMG_0373.jpeg

Installed new 7-1/2 amp circuit breaker in panel
Also Installed NOS air intake hose and 120v outlet cover.

Then I made some stencils.
Yes I know some of these were never ever applied on the genset, but I wanted to see how they look.
If it looks stupid, please say so.

NOS Cylinder temperature switch arrived but didn’t have time to Install today.

Started unit and let it get hot.
Same ambient temperature today as yesterday.
About 84 +-
All still good after about 6-7 start cycles.

Topped off fuel tank with fresh diesel and more SeaFoam and two-cycle oil.

Done for the night.
 

Tinstar

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The original 120v outlet cover had a lot of corrosion on it.
Thought about painting it, but decided against it for now.
It was pain to install since those cover screws have nuts on the back of them.
All the different wiring in there made access with my hand difficult.

NOS Preheat relay arriving today.
Will install that and won’t have to jump relay anymore to heat glow plugs.

Getting close to a load test.
Looking forward to that
Will wire up electric stove as a load bank.
Wish I had a real load bank to use.

Have put about 10 hours on it so far.
 
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