MEP803A owner needing non MEP gen advice....

[JRM]

I own a 803A that's awesome, but I Need EXPERT advice on a non MEP as my father's death forced a move to his home that has a backup genset, a Honda EB12D that's pretty good as well. I found it on craigslist, and it's been solid as a rock.... until this weekend during the worst storm iv seen in my 45 years here. Genny was purring along great then all a sudden shutdown like the key was turned off. I think it's the fuel shutoff solenoid but not 100% sure, here is what I checked.
* Unit starts up just fine, then the second i let off the key and it returns from start to the run pos it shuts down.
* Oil pressure and temperature sensors checked ok. Unit does not run with them disconnected.
* 12V system is ok, plenty of power to hold open the solenoid
* I still here a distinct click of the solenoid when i turn on the key, just as it always had- can it still be the problem?
* Fuel system is not the problem. Its clean as a whistle and it shut down instantly.
Im pretty confident on the solenoid as being a dodge 12V owner, it happends exactly the same?
Other ideas welcome!
Oh, and moveing the MEP to this house IS in the plans..... brushless and 1800RPM way better

 

[Icesythe7]

Everyone here troubleshoots different but if it was mine and it does as you say the most simple test to start with is take a multimeter and ensure the switch is working when in the "Run" position, you could also see if it is a solenoid issue by manually powering the solenoid and seeing if it stays running. If it stays running when manually powering the solenoid then the issue is likely a bad/dirty switch when in the "run" position or some safety feature killing power to the solenoid (low oil switch etc etc), this is where I would start to narrow the issue down.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Here is the manual for this rare beast if you dont have it: https://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31ZC6612.pdf

Is the AC switch on, or something that should otherwise be OFF at starting which would initiate a kill circuit for safety sake? I don't know if the two sensors you disconnected are NO or NC, but I assume normally closed as the machine wont run with them disconnected. Maybe you should make a short jumper cable for each one and bypass them one at a time (just hook up the leads off them to the dummy cable to take it out of the circuit) to see if it does run?

Can you access the fuel shutdown solenoid to manually hold it open after you release the key, and does it stay running? Would be interesting to see if you have voltage at the connector on it. I would unhook and test with a multimeter under start conditions and as well as when you leave the key at run.

 

[2Pbfeet]

Sorry to hear about your issue. @Light in the Dark makes some great suggestions.
Given how cold it is, is it possible that you have some fuel gelling going on and plugging the fuel filter, or fuel lines?

All the best,

2Pbfeet

 

[JRM]

Fuel is fine, unit runs flawlessly when key held to start. Thanks for all the advice, going to check it out as soon as the weather clears.

 

[2Pbfeet]

Fuel is fine, unit runs flawlessly when key held to start. Thanks for all the advice, going to check it out as soon as the weather clears.

Sorry; I missed that in your first post. Perhaps a bad key switch?

All the best,

2Pbfeet

 

[Guyfang]

Tried printing out the schematic. Its not readable to me. Anyone do any better?

 

[2Pbfeet]

Tried printing out the schematic. Its not readable to me. Anyone do any better?

The manual scan isn't very high resolution, so I don't think it is exactly readable. General idea, yes.

 

[Light in the Dark]

The scan isn't that great. There are print manuals out there for sale. I don't think Honda made this machine very long, so its doubtful to find something readily scanned higher (since this is literally what Honda offers).

 

[sliderhd]

By what I can make out from the above drawing, it looks like you have two fuses to check. F3 and F6 appear to be associated with the stop solenoid. The stop solenoid has two coils in it. Can't tell if machine needs one or both energized to stay running. Good luck!