MEP-003A up and running!

[Carl_in_NH]

It took a little while, but my MEP-003A fired to life today after a successful heart transplant. My generator didn't run when I got it from GL, and it turns out the IP was missing critical pieces internally - the delivery valve, for one.

I ended up purchasing another pump, and she fired up this afternoon. My head still aches, and the garage still smells of diesel. As it turns out, the original pump had damage on one of the teeth of the face gear, so it's just as well that I've pulled it and am using it as a parts source.

I've got a bit more work to do - voltage metering isn't working (frequency metering is working, however), yet there's power at the auxiliary outlets - which I made use of to run a fan to get the diesel exhaust out of the garage while testing. Only ran it for about 10 minutes to check out the engine, but it seems to be OK. We'll start looking into the metering tomorrow afternoon.

The goal is to have it operational in time for the Winter weather; looks like there's a chance now.

 

[DieselBob]

Great to hear "IT"S ALIVE" . My 003a started and ran great on the first try but it has regulation problems. Got my 018 running today and so far (fingers crossed) it's been running fine and making power for 2 1/2 hours.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Good deal Carl, glad you got her running. I'll be writing back and forth with quite a few of you Guys (You, DieselBob, Speedmon) when I get my 003A.

 

[Speddmon]

Carl, congrats on getting her running....I love the sound of the beast firing up!!!

steelandcanvas, you're more than welcome to ask anything you need to, I hope you get a good one as there seems to be several coming through with issues now-a-days

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Started working on my metering issues this morning. I think the generator and wiring is fine - just meter faults caused by moisture ingress and rusting of the insides of the meter case over the years.

Once I removed the volt meter, I checked it on the bench - looked about right with an ohm meter across the terminals, but the pointer wouldn't move when voltage was applied. Figuring I had nothing to loose with this meter, I broke what remained of the seal and disassembled it.

The inside of the meter housing looked just like the inside of the carburetor bowl on the MEP-017A I picked up earlier - full of big flaky bits of rust. In the high vibration environment of the control cubicle, these rusty bits fly around inside the meter housing like flakes in a snoglobe - except they stick to the magnet of the meter movement causing the movement to bind. Careful use of small tools, microscope, and some compressed air cleared the movement, and a quick mototool wire brushing of the inside of the back case removed the remainder of the flakey rust.

Bottom line is I got the meter working again - albeit unsealed, and a repeatability from one application of voltage to the next that's not so great; 5 to 10 volt variations show up when the meter is sitting on the bench. I'll place it back into the generator and use it as a rough indication that things are working until I can find another surplus meter to replace it. I'll also likely be looking for another output load Ampere meter, too - as I can see crud floating around in there, and I suspect it will have suffered the same fate as the Volt meter.

Anyone have some meters left over from a parts unit - or should I give Delk's a call on Monday?

 

[Speddmon]

I have a load meter, untested but I have one. It doesn't look too bad though, no moisture inside the case.

No voltmeter though, Delk's should have them.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Thanks, Speddomn - I'll get back to you once I ping Delk's and see if I need to talk you out of that load meter.

Ran the 003A for about an hour today - generator head working just fine, good output, and voltage regulation. Engine is a little harder to start than I'd like - but it does start. I suspect there might be a glow plug issue, but I've purchased some spares to start swapping in. Still have one tiny fuel leak that is left over from the IP swap; one drop a minute, and everything seems tight. I'll have to nut-n-bolt everything again and see if I can snug something up.

Now we need to do some cleaning and painting, and it will look respectable. For the moment, ugly, fuel soaked, and running will be good enough

 

[DieselBob]

I'm trying to keep the appearance as close to original ( just my preference) as possible and short from surplus this is the only meters the “look” correct that I have found up till now.

http://www.simpsonelectric.com/uploads/File/datasheets/round_datasheet.pdf

Good to hear it's running and the power looks good.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Hello, Bob. The Simpson meters will fit and look good, but be advised these are not sealed against the elements like the original meters (well, somewhat sealed).

If you're not going to leave the unit out in the Sun and rain, then it's not likely an issue. If you're planning on leaving it outside, then you might want to consider how to weatherproof the meter area.

I don't know if the Simpson meters are rated for a high vibration environment - didn't see it in the specification sheet. Simpson has been around making meters since the Earth cooled, so they are a fine choice for a replacement given the above limitations.

 

[DieselBob]

Thats part of the problem I was thinking about as well. the Simpson meters are nice, and expensive, but all my toys sit outside and don't get pampered so sealed is a must if they are going to last.

 

[Speddmon]

I tracked down the OEM one time and contacted them about the volt meters and amp (% load) meters...the price was very prohibitive!!!

 

[steelandcanvas]

steelandcanvas, you're more than welcome to ask anything you need to, I hope you get a good one as there seems to be several coming through with issues now-a-days

Let's just hope the "issues" are not too cost prohibitive, the first shirt still has a smile on her face and I want to keep it that way.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Question: how quickly does your MEP-003A fire up when cold?

I ask because mine was very reluctant to start - so I checked the glow plugs; #1 and #3 were open circuit, and the other two looked good (the intake air preheaters work nicely).

I changed the two bad glow plugs and went to start it; the genset had cold soaked at ~45 degrees F in the garage for sometime before hand. Did a 45 second pre-heat, and cranked it over for about 15 seconds; it almost started - huffing and puffing along, with intermittant white smoke from both front and rear mufflers. Went back to preheat for another 30-45 seconds and cranked it over, and it came to life in a few seconds, ramping up in speed with the white smoke dieing down as it warmed up (smoke was gone in about 20 seconds).

Is this fairly typical?

Once warm, it seems to fire right to life without preheating, as one would expect.

Figured I'd ask, since this is much harder to start than either deuce I've got, and a lot harder to start than a modern diesel tractor (although I'd expect that).

Thanks!

 

[Speddmon]

The white smoke could mean a loss of compression. One of mine does this out of one of the two front cylinders, it too clears up when it's warm. The set with the white smoke problem starts harder than the one that does not smoke. It should fire right off even at 45 degrees. I just ran mine last week for a while, it was probably 45 to 50 when I fired them up...the one that does not smoke was firing good long before the 10 to 15 seconds, that I normally hold the start switch on to gain oil pressure, was up.

Tomorrow morning, give it the full minute preheat and see what happens. It's possible that there could be a slight timing issue with the IP you just put back on also.

 

[dirtman]

MEP-003A fuel

Hello, I am new to the SS site and the MEP003-A. Our MEP-003A has only been run twice since arrival. The first start was slow to fire and on a set of mismatched batteries with jumper cables. Today was on a new set of 6TL's. It spins over very well but comes to life slowly. It was out of fuel when it arrived and must have been run to empty because the fuel level was just at the end of the pickup tube. So it may be just air in the lines working it's way out. Tomorrow will try another run with a hot restart and also will test glow plug continuity.
The fuel tank has use JP8 only stenciled on the side. What is the best fuel to run? Off road, on road and bio-diesel are avalable.

 

[Crash_AF]

All would be fine although biodiesel does not have the longevity in storage as normal diesel because it tends to grow algae and other organics that like to plug filters. The off-road diesel might have a higher sulfer content which the IP will like better, but ULSD will work fine. The JP8 only stencil is because JP8 will clean out residue and gunk in the fuel system and plug filters up if you switch back and forth.

White smoke on startup indicates incomplete combustion, most likely due to it being cold. If it clears up quickly, I wouldn't worry. Might also need to check the timing to get it dialed in.

As far as the hard starting while cold, yes, it's fairly typical if there are two dead glow plugs. I would get those replaced before it gets really cold.

Later,
Joe

 

[Isaac-1]

There has been a lot of talk over on the smokstak board about cold starting in the Onan DJ series generators lately, much of it in very cold high desert and extreme northern locations. (The MEP-002 and 003 use a militarized version of the DJC/DJF Onan engine). The short version is these engines don't like starting in the cold, and need their glow plugs and intake heaters working perfectly to start, even then they can be very hard to start in extreme cold without some form of block heater.

Ike

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Thanks, guys. Glow plugs have been replaced, so all 4 should be working. I'll try sometime this morning to start it again with a full minute of preheat and see if it's easier to start. The white smoke does clear up in 10 to 20 seconds after start. Sounds like it might be a good idea to pick up another magnetic block heater for the genset; I use these on a lathe and mill in my garage that have circulating oil to allow them to get some lubrication fairly quickly when I need to use them in the Winter. Keeps condensation issues down, too.

I'll also recheck the injector pump timing when I get a chance; I checked using the alternate method and it seemed to be on the mark - but I'll stick with Regan's old adage; "Trust - but verify".

People in the neighborhood don't seem to mind the noise from checking out generators - perhaps that's because we're less than three weeks away from the anniversary of the ice storm we had last December where we all went without power for a week. After running both MEPs last Sunday afternoon I noticed one savvy neighbor dragged out his civy genset to fire it up for a test run. Time to prepare, folks.

 

[Speddmon]

Hello, I am new to the SS site and the MEP003-A. Our MEP-003A has only been run twice since arrival. The first start was slow to fire and on a set of mismatched batteries with jumper cables. Today was on a new set of 6TL's. It spins over very well but comes to life slowly. It was out of fuel when it arrived and must have been run to empty because the fuel level was just at the end of the pickup tube. So it may be just air in the lines working it's way out. Tomorrow will try another run with a hot restart and also will test glow plug continuity.
The fuel tank has use JP8 only stenciled on the side. What is the best fuel to run? Off road, on road and bio-diesel are avalable.

First off, welcome aboard dirtman, you've come to the right place if you want to learn a lot about your generator, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks here to assist you.

If your set was out of fuel, try leaving it in the prime/run position for about 30 seconds before you try to start it up this next time, that will help push any air that is in the system, out. You don't need to do this each time, but since you are having issues it's worth a try. If you do have a small bubble of air in the high pressure lines, it will eventually work it's way out, as long as you can get it running. If it continues to act up, and you still suspect air issues, you can crack the injector lines at the head, one at a time and crank it over until you get good fuel flow from each line...a word of caution though, if you've got limited experience with diesels, the injectors take much much higher pressure than the ones in your car do, so be very careful when doing the line bleed method, oil injection under the skin can be very deadly.

The best fuel choice depends on your preference, as Isaac stated, I would stay away from the bio-diesel because of the storage issues and other reasons. As far as regular diesel and off road diesel (ORD), from my understanding they are both exactly the same Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) except the ORD is died red to be able to differentiate the two. But the off road diesel will be much cheaper because you don't pay the highway taxes like pump diesel. It would be a good idea to put about a pint or so of ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) in your tank before you fill the tank (to mix the ATF and the diesel good) for the extra lubrication of the IP. These sets are like the deuces, and were designed to run on a higher sulfur fuel, and need some extra lube in the fuel.

Good luck with your set, and if you have problems, don't be afraid to ask.

 

[laserlee123]

Mep-003a

Congrats on your recovery,

I was lucky and got my MEP-003A, trailer mounted, and running great, just needed batteries.

It's quiet, and puts out lots of power, runs a long time on ten gallons of diesel