As posted in another post, my generator quit working when I began driving it this afternoon. It had been running perfect for 2 hours prior to driving. It did similar a couple of weeks ago while I was driving. That time, the overflow tank was slightly low. I added antifreeze and it ran great for an hour in the driveway. I will check the level in the morning.
In the mean time, has anyone had similar issues and if so what did you do to remedy? Any comments appreciated while I go on this hunt.
Thanks,
Larry
Did you get any alarms or warning lights?
I just had a generator issue. I picked up my coach from storage a few days ago. While there I had it serviced. New filters and fluids all around. When I got it home and Barb was ready to start loading it up, I tried to start the genny. No luck, it turned over fine and coughed a few times like it wanted to start, but didn't. Noticed the fuel pump wasn't clicking any more.
I started reading here and diagnosed lack of fuel. Tank is full. So ordered a new 12v fuel pump, installed this afternoon, running great as of tonight.
My only suggestions are to check if the fuel pump is clicking,
Also see if you are getting any fault lights. A previous time I had overheating when the start capacitor failed on the remote radiator fan.
Larry, we stopped in a rest area a couple of days ago and went to fire up the gen and it started and shut down, restarted, shut down, it tried to restart again and red light came on. Went outside and cleared the red light, which was engine overcranking. Waited until we started back down the road and tried it again and it ran for almost 100 miles. Pulled into the RV park and all of a sudden, it quit again, went through the restarting on its own and finally the dreaded red light again. Have not had a chance to pull out the gen and check obvious places for issues. Sounds like we have the same gremlin. This was just serviced in June, so not sure where to start. Will check oil level first, but could be a bad oil sensor. Whatever I find, I will post under your question. I hope you find your issue!
No alarms or lights seen. When I pulled out of the rv repair shop, it felt like the coach was dragging something. It was the generator engine shaking and dying. I shut it off and drove home w/o AC. I purchased a new fuel pump 2 years ago when I thought the old one was going bad. It turned out I had fuel line crack leaking air. New lines and it worked well with the old pump. At that time, I noticed that the pump ran constant clicking. A previous owner had put in an electrical spade connector which when taken apart, the clicking stopped, but the engine still would start and run.
I will change out th pump just as a precaution, since I have the pump on the coach. When It stopped the last time, I checked the radiator level, full up the cap but overflow was slightly low. The fan was running the whole time the generator was running in the driveway. I want to see if the radiator might be dirty tomorrow, possibly causing it to shut down from overheating. Don't know how hard that is to check, but will see.
Thanks,
Larry
Joe, thanks for the info. I hope we both find out the issues. Where is the red light you are talking about? In the coach or on the generator itself? I don't remember seeing any light.
Larry
Larry,
Check your water pump belt to see if it needs to be adjusted.
Which power unit (engine) do you have? Like Isuzu, Kubota, Perkins?
Mike
If you have a remote radiator, the lights may be on a box in front of the fan. Mine is turned such that the lights are hard to see as they are between the box and the fan, facing the fan.
I've been having issues. It would run for an hour or 10 or anything in between. Would get a green or red light on the dash when running or shutdown but I had no lights , running or not, on the generator control box. Changed the thermostat, cleaned the radiator, burped the radiator to be sure it was full, checked the high temp switch and still had the problem.. called Jeff at powertech, described my issues and what I had done to so far to trouble shoot, he said it sounded like the control board. Then I told him I had no lights on the control panel on the generator and he replied he was almost 100% sure it was the control board.. came home that night and tried it one more time.... it ran 30 minutes..... got the new control board today, easy install, it ran almost 2 hours.. got a yellow light while the fuel pulp clicked before start up then a green light when it started... keeping my fingers crossed!!!!! We are going to the grandvention Monday so it will get more run time then.........Here's a pic of the old board with no lights on
Keith
Mike, I will check the belt. Hadn't thought of that yet. I have the Kubota engine.
Larry
Steve, I will look for lights by the fan. Haven't looked in the area intently before. I'm sure there are several things on this coach which I haven't found yet.
Larry
Keith, my coach is older than yours and somewhat different, however I will try to figure out how to verify whether ii is bad or not. I doubt if Powertech is open on the weekend, but who knows. Do you have a phone# by chance. I am like you, I have a 26 day trip starting a week from Sunday, it would really be nice to drive with AC .
Larry
Larry,
While you are looking over your unit check both the wiring and connector that goes to the oil pressure sending unit. If it is loose or has a bad wire the unit's vibration could be causing a come and go shut down. Your unit will have the Dynagen system in the generator control box (where ever yours is mounted) see if it has any of the trouble lights are on.
Mike
No I don't think their open on the weekend. Below is the number option 3 if I remember correctly, they are in Florida on eastern time. Jeff is the service guy. They 2 day fedex'ed my part for $25. Good luck I think yours is similar just not enclosed.
Keith
Mike thanks, I will check the wiring and see if I can find any lights on the control box. It is mounted on the front of the gen if I remember.
Keith, thanks for the number. I will check things out this afternoon between storms and if I can't locate, I will call them first thing Monday.
Thanks again,
Larry
I had a simalar issue, upon investgton I found a leak where the rad cap pipe makes the bend to the rad. Poor solder joint from the factory. When the rad was full, it's worked fine. But it would not refill from the recovery tank because of the loss of vacuum caused by the poor solder joint. The engine will not run with the coolant low it drove me to the scotch bottle.
Safe Travels
Dave
Storms off and on today, I will pull the gen out and check the rad level tomorrow. Did you see any signs of leakage or buildup on the bad solder leak?
Larry
What is the best way to see the gen radiator on the fan side. I can look on the outboard side by the tires from underneath, but looking to see if the rad is clean on the fan side.
Larry
Larry,
If it's original It probably would be a good idea have a good radiator shop clean it inside and out. Probably isn't transferring as much heat as it did when originally installed.
You really can't see through it until it's removed.
Probably full of the old generator compartment insulation reducing air flow.
John I will be trying to check it out. I don't think I have time before the trip to get it out and back, will probably have to wait till we get back for a complete removal. Was planning on having the system cleaned out and new fluid put in this winter anyway.
Larry
Ok! 8k isuzu 3lb1 fan belt bolts, 2 metric, I used large, long straight slot in the engine side of arm slot. To gain force to push toward rear. This allowed me to tighten "gates trueflex 1320 3/8 x 32" belt". I tightened bottom first. Then top, pressing rearward for tension. Generator was slid out. Fan on, radiator not in place. For me. I would be unable to tighten from above if slid in. Hard if slid out from front. If able to go behind. It would be much easier. Pictures show upper tension pulley. Bottom of bracket bolt.
Note: I took off tension pulley. Rolled it. Then checked alignment. I think it was aligned wrong. Placed 2 washers behind pulley. To keep it from rubbing on brace. Lock washer on nut.
Radiator going in next.
Shared album - mark hubbard - Google Photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/DhCQLRFkhSemM9nz5)
WARNING!!
3/8 X 34 1/8 IS WRONG BELT!
supplied by Mot. Master pro 7335.
Mine is marked as a Fault on the dash= red light, located just above the Run= green light. Also, on the generator itself located on the outside of the box is a series of light and what they represent. To clear, I had to turn the main switch off and back on. That is located on the front of the gen box as well. Hope this helps!
Well I failed my own work. Lesson learned.
1. When replacing water pump. Ensure you apply proper amount of Rtv to make gasket.
2. Best to put on rear water hose and tighten it down on radiator before install.
3. Back shroud half. Bolts are hard to find with hand in blind mode. Best if you can raise coach pull forward generator and install by going up thru back.
4. Radiator will want to lean toward passenger side. Fan will make contact. Ensure you have radiator toward driver side.
5. The smaller half of shroud can be installed with all other parts in place.
6. New hoses can be purchased at o'Reilly s.
7. New alignment of tension pulley is correct.
With small shroud pulled you can see radiator somewhat. For sure you can stick phone in and take picture. Insulation does clog fins.
I have to pull apart everything due to waterpump leaking due to improper gasket. Dang it!.
Photo is mounts under radiator.
Shared album - mark hubbard - Google Photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/v9V4FqpmrtwqzGBk9)
A useful tool is a handheld laser temperature gun. Useful to take generator tempture at below thermostat and above. Radiator tempture.
Use to see ac air tempture coming out vents.
Refrigerator tempture.
Just to give you ideas. Doesn't have to be high priced. Just has to work. Yes its coupon worthy at HF. Remember free whatever you chose.
Mark
When I replaced my water pump it did not come with a gasket. I bought some gasket material at the parts store and made my own.
Mark
Well, worked on the gen and pulled electrical connections and put on some dielectric grease and button it back up. Started right up and ran, so thought we were good to go! Wrong! Went inside and the remote on the Progressive EMS was on but no voltage coming in from the generator. Checked the remote and it was showing an E-3 error, which is high voltage. Generator was putting out 155 on leg 1 and 153 on leg 2. So, it would not allow generator to supply power. At least it was doing it's job!
Not sure where to go from here; can anyone tell me where the voltage regulator is on this unit or is it built in? Could the generator be running too fast and it needs to be idled down?
Any help would be appreciated. The other day, it was working, but had trouble staying running. Now, it is running fine and no electric.
Thanks in advance!
Warning
1. You have the voltage regulator that will destroy your head if not installed correctly. Look for the comments and video about it here. Very good write ups.
2. Voltage regulator will be located In control box. Which is inside the large silver box on left front of generator.
When the voltage regulator no longer provides stable current it reads as you are seeing.
The pros with your generator will be on asap. Part is a protect only part. Heed warning. If you or pro installs.
Thanks Tex, I have been reading the issues on this install now. Not sure if I need a voltage regulator as of yet. Will most likely have to wait until Monday and call PT. Just seems strange that I had a starting issue and now have a voltage issue.
Generator Topics Recap (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=11804.0)
Read!
Also of course. Go back check all that you touched. I had no luck with call back from Jeff. The guru of troubleshooting. By no means should you purchase a Vr on my reply. Just find the extensive writeups about your Vr and its special setup. My 8k is plug and play. Look for July 2019 writeups. That's when I was at SS, dealing with my problems.
Follow up on our generator problems; contacted Jeff today at Power Tech and sent him some photos of our voltage regulator. The one we have is adjustable, so waiting to hear back on which way to adjust and how much. Also don't really want to stick my hand in there with the generator running if that is not necessary. lol
When you look at the photo, ours has an enclosed box on top of generator and with the top off, you can see the light tan voltage regulator. You will also see a small half inch long by quarter inch high blue rectangular raised section on reg. There is a small common screw in there and that is the adjustment. Once I find out how much and which way, I will post results.
Also, in my playing around with the generator running, the 5 amp and 10 amp fuse on the box are some times sensitive and this could be the cause of the intemittant start/stop issues we all are having. Make sure they both are snug in their holders.
Shared album - mark hubbard - Google Photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/EjkLKwvgVbv33FZu6)
When mine was done at SS. the tech was reading the output that the new vr was putting out. He then used proper size screwdriver, while watching the reading. To dial it to 120.
Pictures are of new Vr.
Bad vr was reading 160. I took picture of his multimeter leads , but they are unusable to show where he was reading. Guess with no load. You could have a person monitor inside reading. As you slowly turn the pot screw. Bet right is up, left is down. After finish I did. Watch inside as load was placed. Seeing it drop and then stabilize. Also as I have had ongoing issues. That and sound have been first warning of pending shutdown.
Back of old vr was worn clean of all markings.
Well, the adjustments didn't work. We have a large disparity on the two legs of our 110. Leg one is anywhere from 140 to 150 after adjustment and Leg 2 was between 107 and 115. No matter what I did, never could get both within a volt or two of each. Not good! Called Jeff back and we will be heading down to Leesburg in about 3 weeks with no generator. He hated to speculate, but it may be the generator windings. Who knows! Keeping my fingers crossed, but at this point, anything could be the issue. As of now, no generator till we get there! I will say this, we had foam insulation all up inside the generator compartment and we just had this serviced in June, so don't know why nobody said anything about the loose insulation. This could have caused the issue with the generator, but don't know at this point.
Joe
This is just a guess but sometimes when you have voltage differences it is because of an open neutral. This can be due to loose or corroded connections. Normally this is caused by an unbalanced load on the system. As one hot leg goes up the other hot leg will go down by about the same voltage.
As always just my two cents but might check it out.
Ron
Thanks for the information on this Ron. However, it that was the case, wouldn't the shore power be an issue as well? Our EMS won't even allow voltage to come past the EMS itself with the generator running.
Jeff said to call him when we arrive at or near Leesburg and he will come out and check out system. We will make reservations at 3 Flags, which is right there at the Villages and Leesburg. Of course, the more we travel south, the warmer it has gotten. Something else to deal with!
I agree on the loose neutral theory ..... But.....
most of our generators are wired in parallel and output is 120v only. In a 120/240 volt setup the loose neutral can and will cause an imbalance.
With a 120v parallel configuration and a properly working regulator I don't see how the voltage could be higher than the set voltage.
Maybe I'm missing something in my understanding of the problem?
Check
insulation
This gets more interesting as time goes on. Will be intresting to read.
1. Jeff troubleshooting efforts. Who, what when, where. Tools if any.
2. Results
3. Overview of your generator and its installation. Pro/con
A chance to have the Gruru of PT actually hands on a FT coach.!
We will know soon! We just arrived at Twin Lakes RV Resort in Chocowinity, NC. Going to cut our 2 week stay here short, head out to Oaks at Point South in SC and then hope to be at 3 Flags RV Resort around the 23rd if not sooner. Jeff said he can come over to the RV park and check out the gen. Keeping our fingers crossed, but doesn't sound good! Will give all an update with Jeff's diagnose of the issues as soon as we know.
Well, a quick follow up; arrived at Three Flags around 4:15 yesterday and before I could call Jeff from Power Tech, he called me and said he could come over within an hour or so. Jeff showed with his mechanic and proceeded to check out the regulator. Diagnosed a bad regulator and installed a new one and checked the system out with all three airs running on gen. Good to go! Hopefully, that is the end of this issue and will be nice to have generator again going down the road for some cooler air. Hey, it's warm here compared to where we were.
Can't say enough about the service we got from Jeff and his service tech. They did both comment on how quite this generator was and didn't even hiccup when the gen started to generate power. Basic diagnosis was done with a voltage meter only.
Thank you for sharing your dealings with this issue. Fantastic that you were able to actually have such response from Jeff and tech. You mentioned 3 ac? And how quiet. How is your setup different then stock setup.? I went back and read over all comments. Could you list your model generator. Tks Mark
Mark, our coach has 3 Dometic Airs on top. Not sure if that was an option at the time or what. It is only a 40 footer and normally only has 2. It is as quite as anything moving air can be, could be a little quieter according to DW. Normally, the 42 foot has 3. Our generator is a 10K Kubota!
Some notes on Power Tech Isuzu 8k generator.
1. If you get new waterpump. Expect to move 2 plugs from old to new pump.
2. Raise frt of coach as high as possible. Slid out generator tray. Go under from frt drivers side. In this position.
1. Can tighten belt, by loosing slide bracket bolt of pulley. Loosen block nut at lower mount. Tighten belt. (Check condition).
Rear fan shroud is held on by 1 bolt, one rubber mount nut. These can only really be reached via this position. Check oil and radiator temp senders this position also. This is where block water drain plug is located.
Follow up to the follow up: left this morning and headed to Vero Beach Encore park. Started gen and it ran like a kitten, purrrring all the way. No hiccups, no 3 starts and your out and no loss of voltage. Power station showed 122 on both legs. Looks like the regulator was the problem. Thank you to all who helped trying to solve this issue.