002a, wont start when hot

[tcastcas]

Heel all, have a mep-002a that will start and run great. blue smoke when cranking starts and can adjust to 61.5 hz. will run and power equipment fine. when it is shut down it will not restart when hot, no blue smoke when cranking. it does have good return to fuel tank and solenoid and linkage are working properly. let it sit until it is completely cooled down and it will start and run fine. have gone through this cycle the last few days, IP is new. any thoughts woud be greatly appreciated. thanks, Joe

 

[derf]

Fuel and air is what a Diesel needs to run. Sounds like you have those.

Look into the safety devices like oil pressure switch.
Hold the shutdown solenoid in the run position and see if it will start. Be smart and know what you are doing so you can shut it down in a hurry, if you need to. Always familiarize yourself with how the shutdown should work and how to do it manually.
You probably have a case of the oil switch or some other switch telling the thing to shut down.
Failing that crack the line at the injector and see if you get the spurt, spurt, spurt, that you should get if fuel is being delivered to the injector.

 

[Isaac-1]

I agree with derf chances are it may be a bad oil pressure switch if it does not shutdown on safety while running. Are you getting oil pressure on the pressure gauge while cranking? Hot oil is thinner than cold oil so so a marginal switch may not be seeing enough pressure on cranking to let it stay running. This assumes it is trying to start not just cranking over.

Ike

 

[tcastcas]

solenoid and ip linkage are going up as per normal when cranking. my concern is no puffs of blue smoke while cranking but fuel returning to tank fine. im trying to talk myself out of it being the new ip. the oil pressure would de-energize the ip solenoid would'nt it ? i'm new to the -002

 

[Harleyd315]

With the gen cold disconnect the cannon plug by the oil filter for the starter lock out switch. Turn the main switch to start and you should hear the solenoid click up into the run position. If that is working fine then run the set, to get it hot and shut down. Disconnect the cannon plug again and check the stop solenoid again. If it doesn't click up into place then jump out the oil switch and try again, if it works the oil sender is probably bad. If that isn't it, then jump the over heat switch located up by the cooling shutters. Check also that your Ip linkage is moving freely hot. You might want to check the temp of your IP, I remember a post that spoke of high IP temps. I recall checking and about 100 degs F was about normal on all of mine. Hope this helps.

 

[Speddmon]

With the gen cold disconnect the cannon plug by the oil filter for the starter lock out switch. Turn the main switch to start and you should hear the solenoid click up into the run position. If that is working fine then run the set, to get it hot and shut down. Disconnect the cannon plug again and check the stop solenoid again. If it doesn't click up into place then jump out the oil switch and try again, if it works the oil sender is probably bad. If that isn't it, then jump the over heat switch located up by the cooling shutters. Check also that your Ip linkage is moving freely hot. You might want to check the temp of your IP, I remember a post that spoke of high IP temps. I recall checking and about 100 degs F was about normal on all of mine. Hope this helps.

Those are good suggestions, but you are getting it messed up as to how the start circuit works on the 002a and 003a's. When you put the master switch into start with or without the starter lockout switch disconnected, all of the safety switches are bypassed. So that means you will always hear your solenoid pull in unless it has a problem itself.

More info would be good. Does it seem like it wants to run but dies after you let go of the start switch. Or does it do nothing but crank? If it doesn't do anything but crank the engine over, then you have either a fuel solenoid or IP problem.

The easiest thing to do is to get it hot and disconnect and place a jumper in the 2 pins coming from the thermal shutdown switch by the air box on the side of the engine. Then try to restart the set. If it starts, the thermal switch is bad, or you truely getting that hot to open the switch. if I had to guess I would say this switch is your problem.

You can do the same thing with the oil pressure switch, but DO NOT do them both at the same time because you won't know which one is causing the problem. I highly boubt the oil pressure one is the problem though, since the issue seems to be heat related

 

[Isaac-1]

This may be a stupid question, but do you have the air intake canister lever in the cold or hot weather position? Running in the cold position (recirculate engine heat into the intake) during hot weather can cause overheating.

Ike

 

[tcastcas]

when hot just cranks and cranks but does not have any indication that it wants to start. No puffs of blue smoke, just cranks and cranks, air filter is in the normal setting, also tried with the end of the air filter off. fuel solenoid energizes ip arm goes up. fuel pressure is good with good return to the tank. appears to be a vapor lock. when its cold it fires right up and will run all day long.

 

[Harleyd315]

Try leaving the fuel cap off. Make sure the vent on the cap is open

 

[Speddmon]

It's definitely a fuel issue. Take out the injectors and have them tested, if that doesn't turn up anything, I would be leaning toward the IP as being the problem.

 

[LuckyDog]

when hot just cranks and cranks but does not have any indication that it wants to start. ...
when its cold it fires right up and will run all day long.

Just an Idea, when I have mine run for a spell, the louvers just barely open while running. (Then it stalls, I still have problems)

BUT: after it stalls, the louvers open ALL the way up. So, while it is running, there is enough air flow to keep the temp correct. When it stops, the temp in the manifold box goes WAY up.

Does anyone else have the same thing happen. If so, I suggest checking the thermal switch when its hot and the louvers are wide open. Could be that this is normal operation?

opcorn:

 

[Speddmon]

Just an Idea, when I have mine run for a spell, the louvers just barely open while running. (Then it stalls, I still have problems)

BUT: after it stalls, the louvers open ALL the way up. So, while it is running, there is enough air flow to keep the temp correct. When it stops, the temp in the manifold box goes WAY up.

Does anyone else have the same thing happen. If so, I suggest checking the thermal switch when its hot and the louvers are wide open. Could be that this is normal operation?

opcorn:

That is a very astute observation, and a another great suggestion, but once again...when you are cranking the engine , ALL of the safeties are bypassed until you let go of the start switch.

The OP stated he is not getting anything but the engine cranking over...no cylinder firing at all. So it is pretty much limited to the injectors or the IP because he said the fuel shutoff solenoid is working properly and he has fuel flowing through the IP. It is possible the stopper rod is getting getting hung up when the IP is warm from running...maybe something binding inside the IP????

When it is hot, has it been shutting down on it's own, or are you stopping it?

I'm leaning against an internal engine problem with the exception of maybe the valve adjustments because a hot engine usually has better compression than a cold one.

 

[Wildchild467]

I’m with Speddmon on the valves. He knows more about these generators than i do by far. When i started reading the thread i was thinking the valve adjustments in my head. My MEP-002A only had 5 hours on it and i know at 50 hours i have to adjust the valves again as part of the break in. If you have never checked the valve clearance, it wouldnt hurt to check them out. I don’t know if you will need a new valve cover gasket or not. Maybe Speddmon can fill in on that one. I’m interested to see what the problem is!

 

[tcastcas]

thanks all, problem was first noticed after the over haul when the motor was stopped to readjust the valves. the vane are propped open. so im gonna tear down the ip. the ip was new but old stock, it may have some gum, goo, crap that does'nt interfere until everything expands. otherwise a bucket of water or a bag of ice added to the starting when hot proceedure. also went and picked up a spare motor from GL in Norfolk this past tuesday, got it home uncrated it and very pleased, looks pristine!! popoed the valve covers and mechanical fuel pump plate to have a peek and it looks new inside. But gonna fix this first.

 

[dependable]

Before you tear down the IP, you might try unsticking the plunger as described by OD Fever in the MEP-002 003 Wiki. It worked for me once.

 

[tcastcas]

have also pop-tested 4 injectors and observed spray pattern when cranking motor. home made 0-2000 switchable to 0-5000 psi tester.

 

[tcastcas]

pics

 

[Speddmon]

thanks all, problem was first noticed after the over haul when the motor was stopped to readjust the valves. the vane are propped open. so im gonna tear down the ip. the ip was new but old stock, it may have some gum, goo, crap that does'nt interfere until everything expands. otherwise a bucket of water or a bag of ice added to the starting when hot proceedure. also went and picked up a spare motor from GL in Norfolk this past tuesday, got it home uncrated it and very pleased, looks pristine!! popoed the valve covers and mechanical fuel pump plate to have a peek and it looks new inside. But gonna fix this first.

Is this a joke or have you actually done something to get it to start when hot? If so, what did you do because it might help determine what is wrong if you devised a way to get it running.

 

[tcastcas]

Speddmon, have the IP off now cleaning the plunger with carb cleaner. it is the ****dest thing, runs great until you try to start when hot. probably wont be able to reinstall IP until sat morning. the injectors were all adjusted to 1850 psi.

 

[Speddmon]

I don't think your plunger is going to help you out much. If the plunger were the problem (IE: stuck, broken, getting stuck with heat) it probably won't not run at all. The more likely culprit is going to be the stopper rod...maybe the rod is hanging up inside the IP, or the linkage is not moving correctly.