MEP-803a not putting out the same power as a 7kw gas Briggs and Stratton?

[Light in the Dark]

Do you have an idea of what caused it to shut down? Any lights? Change in load?

 

[k9medic]

Do you have an idea of what caused it to shut down? Any lights? Change in load?

No clue. We ran to the store and came back and it was off. No lights.

Pump was running fast.


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[Guyfang]

Fast running pump, means no fuel.

 

[k9medic]

Okay. The pump sounds like it does when I first turn it to prime.

I’m going to change out the fuel filter again - my last one on the island. Let’s see what that will do.


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[Ray70]

I think what Guy means is that a fast running pump can indicate no fuel upstream of the pump, so a clogged filter would not be the cause. It would be something before the pump, if the pump was clicking abnormally fast. How much fuel was left in the tank? Was it anywhere close to empty ( visually, not going by the gage )
Also, have you verified your warning indicator panel is working? Press the TEST button to make sure it's working. If not, look behind it and make sure the wide plug isn't unplugged.

 

[Guyfang]

I think what Guy means is that a fast running pump can indicate no fuel upstream of the pump, so a clogged filter would not be the cause. It would be something before the pump, if the pump was clicking abnormally fast. How much fuel was left in the tank? Was it anywhere close to empty ( visually, not going by the gage )
Also, have you verified your warning indicator panel is working? Press the TEST button to make sure it's working. If not, look behind it and make sure the wide plug isn't unplugged.

That's exactly what I meant. When pumps run fast, it ran out of fuel. You might also want to check the FL1 & FL2 float switch. If FL1 is not working, the gen set will run till there is no fuel, and the fault indicator will not shut the set down and turn on the idiot light. .

 

[k9medic]

Gotcha. Last year I "modified" the fuel line to draw from an externa 30 gallon tank. The external tank float would not trigger the fill so I applied some island ingenuity by pulling the line from the tank and connecting it to the external tank. I then filled the internal tank with 5 gallons of fuel so it would trick the low fuel sensor.

All of the caution lights do work.

I swapped out my fuel/water seperator filter this afternoon. We are back on generator power now. Here is something interesting - I decided to just flip the transfer switch on the panel rathe than individual circuits. It took a couple of open/closed rotations but I go the entire house going. AC is on, the wife in now using the oven and we even took a cold shower.

There are carbon granuals on the top of the generator so perhaps the wet stacking has cleaered up a bit? Still no luck finding seafoam.

 

[k9medic]

On a side note, the water is beautiful...

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[k9medic]

Generator ran pretty solid for 6 hours last night with a full load. At one point it was shooting sparks out of the exhaust which I presum was carbon burning off.

I had the battle switch turned on just to see if there might be some faults there. When I came down to shut it off, the coolant over heat light was on.

I read through some of Guyfang's posts and see that a cause might be the coolant that is (or is not) used. I'm pretty sure this thing just has water in the radiator.

The engine appears to be covered in oil as well. Not sure if that is wetstacking or actual oil. I appreaceite all of you working through this with me while I'm on a rock.

 

[Light in the Dark]

You could have an oil leak (Ive had a front crank seal go, which drips oil onto the belt, subsequently spitting it all over the enclosure and engine in a radial manner), or you could have leaking fuel return lines. Photos are worth gold here.

 

[k9medic]

 

[Zed254]

Diesel fuel or motor oil?

 

[k9medic]

Diesel fuel or motor oil?

Suggestion on how to tell?

 

[Light in the Dark]

Different viscosity and different smells. Have you run this set with the doors open for a short time, to see if you can visually pinpoint the culprit(s)?

 

[Zed254]

Suggestion on how to tell?

Diesel has a pretty unique smell. Compare to what's in your fuel tank. Motor oil is a heavier oil as LITD points out and will have more lubricity. I ask because I had a fuel leak on an 802 that put diesel on the flat surface of the engine shown in photo #2: the fuel line clips were sprung. Your door shows a decent spray that may be coming from the generator: the return fuel lines often leak on these machines. You will need to observe/investigate while running....

 

[uniquify]

If the little black fuel return line hose is leaking or weeping, you should be able to see that when the fuel pump is running, even if the engine is off.

You mentioned before that the engine quit while you were away, but the fuel pump was still running when you got back. Perhaps there is a fuel leak that dripped into the generator head and got splattered around when you restarted the engine.

I'd recommend taking a close look at the fuel return lines on top of the engine, especially near the 2 outer cylinders.

 

[k9medic]

So my new issue is it shutting down with an over heat even with a light load. I have added coolant, tried to run it with both the doors closed and open.

I removed the thermostat hoping to solve the problem but that didn't change anything. On a whim I decided to drain and refill the radiator. When I opened the stop cock nothing came out so I removed the stop cock and found something interesting.

In the hole there was a thickened black substance. I would have called it oil but it was really thick and easily washed off my hands with a little soap. After cleaning it out the best I could with a stick, I ran the engine for a few turns and nothing came out of the hole so I figured it was gooped up pretty good. I pieced together some garden hose and commenced to flushing the radiator from the top. After a bit the water started to come out of the bottom and finally ran clear.

Just my luck, power returned to the island as I was finishing the flush job.

Not really sure what that goop was though.

 

[Ray70]

I'd suggest giving it another good flush job with either automotive radiator flush or some muriatic acid added to the water.
Get it hot ( with no thermostat installed ) , let it run for a while then flush it with water again.
Refill it with 60/40 and most importantly, install a new 180* thermostat.
Don't even think about leaving the T-stat out, that will cause more problems!

 

[Guyfang]

So my new issue is it shutting down with an over heat even with a light load. I have added coolant, tried to run it with both the doors closed and open.

I removed the thermostat hoping to solve the problem but that didn't change anything. On a whim I decided to drain and refill the radiator. When I opened the stop cock nothing came out so I removed the stop cock and found something interesting.

In the hole there was a thickened black substance. I would have called it oil but it was really thick and easily washed off my hands with a little soap. After cleaning it out the best I could with a stick, I ran the engine for a few turns and nothing came out of the hole so I figured it was gooped up pretty good. I pieced together some garden hose and commenced to flushing the radiator from the top. After a bit the water started to come out of the bottom and finally ran clear.

Just my luck, power returned to the island as I was finishing the flush job.

Not really sure what that goop was though.

You NEVER, EVER run the set with doors open. That only makes things worse. Read The Book.

 

[k9medic]

I know. Was just trying to go through all possibilities.

When the wife is staring you down because you don’t have power you tend to try things even if you know better.

Any idea what the sludge might be?


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