New to me MEP002A Few issues

[Maddogg2.0]

Hey guys,
Names Andy
I have been reading through the wealth of info on this site regarding all sorts of different makes and models of military vehicles, and equipment, and it got me thinking, that it would be nice to have a source of backup power for my house in case of an emergency, so I found a nice little MEP-002a on GL, and won the auction, and picked it up last Thursday. I got it home and unloaded it, set it up in the garage and prepped it to start.
it had about 1/4 a tank of the nastiest diesel you have ever smelled, so I went ahead and drained it all out, and put about 5 gallons of new diesel along with 1/2 a quart of ATF, and some 2 stroke oil, just to get everything lubed up. I went ahead and drained all 3 fuel filters, and ran the pumps until I could see new diesel coming out. I pulled the can off of the one on the left and it looks brand new, I will change all 3 or go to the spin on conversion soon. I changed the oil, and made sure it was properly filled. I then removed the return line from the injection pump to the fuel tank, and ran the fuel pumps until I got new diesel coming back out. let the pumps run for about 1/2 an hour to ensure that I had proper lubrication getting the the IP. I disconnected the lines going from the IP to the injectors, and cranked the motor until I could verify that the IP was working, and that any remaining bad fuel had been squirted out I used the preheat function, and then cranked her over and it came to life.

heres my problem...
I have never heard an meo002a or mep003a in person, and despite that, Im 99% positive that its only running on 1 cylinder. It shakes violently, and clanks really loud, and even once its up to "speed" the frequency meter doesn't even come off of 50hz. I let it run for about 3 minutes to see if itdd clear up but to no avail. it does stop smoking black after about 10 secs though so that's a good sign The intake pre heater got nice and warm when I used the preheat function.I felt the top of the exhaust manifold cover, and theres a noticible temp difference between the 2 sides I used to work for ford an a certified master diesel mechanic, so I know my way around diesel engines, but these things are a whole new animal to me.

My questions are....
Is there any quick trick to checking the injectors? I know that theres fuel coming out of the injection pump because I had the lines removed to clear bad fuel.
I checked both glow plugs to ground and neither were open.

BTW Im putting a link to a small video I took of it starting up so you guys can hear.
http://youtu.be/9JzfdOmWPAI

What should I check next???
Thanks guys..
Andy

 

[Maddogg2.0]

one more thing, how long are you supposed to hold the knob in the preheat position before firing? Its about 96 out right now so I wouldn't think long.

 

[gimpyrobb]

While its running, you can loosen the injector line and see if it changes rpm. If not, thats the one giving you trouble.

Just be careful if you do, high pressure diesel injected into your skin will make for a bad day, or death!

 

[gimpyrobb]

45sec.

 

[Maddogg2.0]

oh wow lol, I was preheating for like 10 secs, I guess im used to my 6.0 ford diesel

 

[Maddogg2.0]

I take it that my genset doesn't sound "normal"

 

[gimpyrobb]

It doesn't sound too far from normal(on a video anyway) I have 003s, so I cannot say for sure.

 

[Rapracing]

It's really hard to tell in the video but I didn't think anything sounded or looked abnormal there. I am sure others will have input.

Are you adjusting the throttle to increase the Hz? It is a manual adjustment.

Do you have voltage output?

Storeman can rebuild the injectors if you determine that needs to be done

ETA: Download the tech manual if you haven't done so.

 

[Isaac-1]

First off congrats on getting a runner, the onboard Hz gauge (or rather its frequency transducer) is probably the number one failure point on these units, they are also rather pricey to replace, on a bit of good news one of our members now produces a set of drop in digital meters. So don't read too much into it not working, as to the rest it did not sound great in that short video, but the MEP-002a generators do run rough, a lot rougher than the MEP-003a, rough enough to make the gauges look blurry while they are operating. Given the state of the fuel that was in it I think there is a fair chance the injectors are clogged up and are probably worth sending to Jerry for a rebuild. You should probably also check the valve lash while your searching for the cause of your rough running.

ike

 

[Maddogg2.0]

I'm getting 180 volts, the hz needle isn't moving and I'm getting nothing on the percentage gauge.
For some reason on the front of the gen set right below the courtesey outlet, its spray painted in white "120 volt recepticle disconnected, mwo do not use" and on tb3 in the electrical compartment, the wire on the bottom of the #6 termin al is unscrewed and hanging. Id love to be able to test for voltage there, but I have no idea why thatdd be disconnected, or what mwo means. Also, I tried adjusting the throttle cable, if the way you adjust it is push the center in and turn it clockwise or counter clock wise, but I didn't go more than a few turns either way, but I saw no difference.

 

[Maddogg2.0]

I was able to disconnect the injector lines from the ip and crank it and I saw a lil bit of fuel squirt out of both holes so I'm hoping my ip is ok.

 

[gimpyrobb]

MWO= modification work order

 

[Isaac-1]

The 180 volts seems odd, is that using the panel meter or a multi meter (panel meters should be suspect) usually these units fail voltage high, with about 155 VAC in place of 120 VAC. If it has the correct throttle cable installed (neither my MEP-002a or MEP-003a do, and each are different), then the button is pushed for push/pull gross correction, and you turn the knob without the button pushed for fine tuning.

Ike

 

[Maddogg2.0]

Ill try the adjustment knob and see what happens.
Thanks for all the info, I really hope it doesn't need injectors but if it does, that's not too bad. I got it for 450-500 and it has 460 hours.
One more thing, when you run your fuel pumps, before you start the engine, how much fuel returns to the tank? Mine returns just a tiny trickle. I'm wondering if I should change the filters even though they seemed ok. I don't wanna starve the ip.

 

[Maddogg2.0]

A plugged injector wouldn't suprise me, I'm thinking this thing sat for a long time, and the fuel had time to get really nasty. When I checked the air filter, it said 2-18-95 and it was clean as can be, looked brand new

Have any of u guys seen the courtesey outlet abandoned for some reason?

I have no clue why they would do that.

 

[rustystud]

Did you try and open an injector line while it was running ? You said you cranked the engine while checking, it needs to be running to tell if you have a bad hole. If it turns out you need injectors, before removing them I would run injector cleaner through it. Drain out your fuel tank, put in the cleaner with just a gallon of fuel and run it. As far as your engine it sounds normal just slow. You also will not have any readings on the percentage gauge until you have a load on it.

 

[Rapracing]

without the courtesy outlet you can turn on the main breaker and check the voltage on the lugs.

 

[Maddogg2.0]

What type of injector cleaner would you recommend to run? I have some atf in there which I have had good luck with before

 

[Rapracing]

I added Marvins Mystery Oil to my fuel for the first couple tanks (also added to the motor oil). I put some Lucas Injector Cleaner through it as well. I am going to pull them apart and send the injectors to Jerry to have them looked at. It seems from the posts on here that it usually makes a difference and for the cost seems to me to be a no brainer.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Some of the guys here have reported good results from "berryman's b12". I think I saw some at "wallyworld".