MEP 002A looking for suggestions

[HillsAndHollows]

MEP 002A looking for suggestions
I recently bought a MEP002A generator from GL. The fuel tank and filters were drained when I picked it up and no crud was in the tank. I got the TM's for this unit and read them. I put fresh diesel in it, primed with fuel pumps and can hear plenty of fuel running back to the fuel tank. I got it to crank and run for about 2 minutes the first time it started. I was watching the cutoff solonoid and it is staying up off of the injection pump lever. I can adjust the throttle cable to get it to sit on 60HZ and it was showing 120 volts on gge. After running for about two minutes it starts to loose rpm and then slowly gets to where it is running so slow I cut it off not wanting to damage the generator. I can start all over again, prime, pre-heat, and start it will start fine and runs from anywhere from 30 second to about a minute or two then it slowly starts to loose rpm again. I have tried holding the injection pump lever up with a screwdriver but it makes no difference, rpms drop regardless. The cutoff solonoid is not dropping down and causing the lever to move, it's staying up all the time unless cut off at the control panel as designed. Also, oil pressure is fine...
Just wondering if anyone esle has had this problem or has any suggestions on what might be causing this. Thanks!

 

[Ferroequinologist]

sounds like a fuel starvation problem. Blow all the lines out, and see if that helps. Might be a chunk of something in there and the engine will run till it gets sucked up to a spot and catches. Then when you shut it down it moves back. Check the ports on the filter housings too.

 

[doghead]

Have you tried running it with the fuel cap off? Is it vented(cant remember if it needs to be)?

 

[HillsAndHollows]

I thought it might be not getting enough fuel, but there sure seems to be plenty coming out of the return line to the tank. I have tried leaving the fuel cap off and also on and vent opened....????

I'll try blowing out the lines as well, thanks!

 

[Isaac-1]

My first reaction is clogged fuel lines, maybe even causing excess pressure buildup on the return side from the injectors. A couple of more possibilities causes, if you have a fuel line leak on the suction side of the pump it may he sucking air into the fuel and getting to the injectors (this would more often cause surging in my experience though). I am not sure what design injector pump the 002a uses (Roosa Master / Stanadyne DB series?, if so make sure the fuel return in the top of the injector pump is not clogged as it has a one way glass ball spring valve that tends to accumulate crud) , but it also sounds like it may be a problem with the mechanical governor or more remotely a injector timing issue..

 

[Speddmon]

sounds like fuel to me too. Have you drained the water from the filter bowls? Look for leaks/cracks in the fuel lines where it could be sucking air. I had one that the pump was sucking air and getting water into the fuel when it rained and doing a similar thing...ran for a minute or so then started to shudder and slow down. Drained the water and fixed the fuel pump....all is good now.

 

[HillsAndHollows]

Well, just an update. Here is what I’ve done so far with no success in figuring the loss of RPM mystery:

I took all the fuel lines off from tank to injection pump. Made sure none were clogged.

Installed new fuel filters.

Took bottoms of transfer pumps off cleaned strainers and inspected.

Installed a fuel pressure gauge just before the injection pump to monitor pressure.
I can start engine and it will run fine for about 2 minutes when cold. Fuel pressure is 8 ½ PSI going into injection pump. After about two minutes RPMs start to drop like it’s starving for fuel, but the engine is not misfiring and sounds normal but just starts to run slower. I thought maybe the transfer pumps might not be pumping at full capacity due to low voltage after it has started, so I ran a wire straight off the batteries to the pumps. Made no difference. After the first two minute run, it will restart but only run about 30 seconds to a minute. The fuel shut rod is not hitting the fuel control rod at the pump, and holding the fuel rack control rod all the way up with a screwdriver makes no difference. Now I’m beginning to wonder if heat is having anything to do with this. Do any of you diesel experts out there have any ideas? Is there any way the injection pump or injectors would run fine when cold but then not work right when they start to warm up?

At this point I don’t know what else to try!!! I’d be pulling my hair out if I had any

Thanks for any additional ideas!!!

 

[security leak]

Are you still showing 8+ psi when it begins to slow down? I had a similar problem with mine and it turned out to be 2 bad lift pumps. It worked at start-up but lost (fuel) pressure as it ran. I replaced the pumps and been working great ever since.

 

[HillsAndHollows]

Well come to think of it when it's running good the guage needle is steady on 8 1/2 but when it starts to slow down its starts jumping all over the dial. I just thought it might be the $17 guage! I tried another automotive electric pump I have with an inline filter and stuck a hose in a can of diesel but it only pumped 3 1/2 psi. I guess I'll try and find a "test" pump that will do @ 8psi and see what happens.... thanks

 

[mangus580]

HillsAndHollows, be sure to report what you find... I have had similar issues with mine.

 

[HillsAndHollows]

Well Happy New Year everyone.... I managed work on my "new" toy over Christimas to resolve the problem with it not staying running. The MEP002 runs like a brand new generator now. After trying everything recommended and even putting on a new inline 9 psi fuel pump it still would not run longer than 3 minutes at the most on first start and then got to where it would run only @ 30 seconds after that. It ended up being the injection pump. I found a new one on ebay and it set me back several hundered bucks but it was my Christmas present to myself. Put it on and it fired right up and it puts out very steady voltage. I can put a digital volt meter on it and it's rock steady on 120.0v when set to that. Thanks for all of your suggestions and help..... now on to my next question....if I may do so without starting a new thread, It works great as a "portable gen set" but I want to wire it in to my house panel via plug to a non neutral switched transfer switch. I've read everything I can find on this forum, several other forums and some utility company websites. My head is so full of info I'm still trying to digest it all. My biggest concern is what I've read here about the mep 701 (?) 3kw units. I read that the 120 /240 was not the same as power company 120/240 and it fried some items in a guys house. Is that true for the Mep 002As? I think I'm pretty clear on the non SDS setup and am planning to unbond the neutral from the frame. My next question, have any of you done this with your MEP 002 or 3s and does it damage the generator any way? I have wired houses and outbuilding in the past and have had them pass an electrical inspection but am no way an electrician. I just want to make sure I don't fry something in my house or fry me. Thanks for any comments!!!!

 

[Speddmon]

Congrats, and THANK YOU for the follow-up post. I love to hear when someone fixes the problems they were having and actually tells us about it. Keep your old IP. You can still get parts for them and rebuild it...then you'll have a spare!!!!!

Not to worry, the MEP-002a and 003a's are the perfect match for your house wiring needs. Just set the reconnect switch to 120/240 volts. Use L1 and L3 as your two "hot" leads and L0 as your "neutral" lead...that's it. Pretty simple. From the sound of it, you have read the thread about grounding the generators pretty thoroughly. Since you are using a transfer that DOES NOT break the neutral, unbond the neutral from the frame of the generator (make sure to tape it up or in some other way insulate it so it does not accidently "re-bond" itself). DO NOT drive a second ground rod for the generator and make sure you run 4 wires to your generator...two (2) "hots" one (1) "neutral" and one (1) "ground" that is tied to the frame.

Good luck and again, keep us posted on the progress.

 

[HillsAndHollows]

Thank you Speddmon!, I'll rest easy now. With all the cold weather and snow predicted in the next couple of days I might just be using this thing since our power goes out quite often out here in the sticks....THANKS AGAIN!