Generator running hot

[nrhareiner]

Good afternoon,

Since purchasing coach (November 06) the gen set runs hot. It will get to 225 degrees when under load. The radiator is far away in the front of the coach. I have bled the line of air multiple times. The line to radiator is at 225 degrees, the line from radiator is at 185 degrees. These are measured by infrared thermometer. The radiator is putting out hot air. Everyone seems to want the gen set not to run over 200 degrees. The thermostat is working else there would be no flow to the radiator (at least that is what I think is correct).

There is fan behind radiator (the radiator lies down flat in front storage area of bus). the fan is working since fairly high volume of hot air leaving radiator.

Amount of antifreeze is correct. Mixture is correct. Any suggestions?

thank you

Kim sloan
02 Vantare XLII S2 (yes it is fixed see separate post)
06 dodge megacab

[merle&louise]

Suggestion: remove the thermostat, put it in a pot of boiling water and watch to see if it pops open. If it doesn't install a new thermostat, if it does pop open try re-installing it and see if the problem persists.

[MangoMike]

I know on the Liberty that proper baffle location (for the radiator cooling fan) is critical to mainting cooling for the generator. I don't know if the Vantare has/needs one, but it's worth checking.

Let us know your progress.

Mike

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Kim,

Mike is correct and there needs to be a sure-fire way to isolate the heated air exhausted from the radiator from the cool air going into the radiator. As a Liberty guy I'm sure you know how the Liberty baffle accomplishes this. Vantare must be doing this in some fashion also.

I agree with Tuga about the thermostat check, but one thing you said concerns me. If you are in fact running at 225 outflow and 185 inflow the coolant is already entering the engine at the desired operating temperature. If the thermostat is not failing to open, is it possible it is the wrong temperature, or is it possible there is no thermostat? Without a thermostat in some cooling systems the coolant flow through the radiator is so fast the coolant is not losing much of its heat.

Is the radiator blocked or partially blocked? Is the radiator fan functioning properly or is it cycling on an off due to a thermal overload on the electrically powered motor?

What does Vantare say might be the cause?

Good luck.

[Jerry Winchester]

Lots of answers to this one.

Since you don't have a Liberty, we can possibly eliminate the MangoMike disposable generator baffle as the cause of the problem. Or at least if you can determine that the Vantare conversion didn't have one originally that has now found a home alongside the road.

I would look at a couple of things. Airflow across the radiator is key to the cooling efficiency. Low velocity or plugged fins and the heat comes up.

If you are not adding coolant and you don't see any leaks, then that might preclude pressuring up the system with a tester to see if it leaks.

It could also be likely that the thermostat is stuck or not fully opening. Again, reduced coolant flow thru the radiator could cause a problem.

Lastly, a visual inspection of the inside of the radiator could show buildup that might be the problem. However, this is somewhat unlikely given the age of the coach. By your measurements, you are getting +/-40 delta T between the inlet and outlet, so if you are supposed to run at 185 or so, returning at 185 isn't going to work.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Good afternoon,

Since purchasing coach (November 06) the gen set runs hot. It will get to 225 degrees when under load. The radiator is far away in the front of the coach. I have bled the line of air multiple times. The line to radiator is at 225 degrees, the line from radiator is at 185 degrees. These are measured by infrared thermometer. The radiator is putting out hot air. Everyone seems to want the gen set not to run over 200 degrees. The thermostat is working else there would be no flow to the radiator (at least that is what I think is correct).

There is fan behind radiator (the radiator lies down flat in front storage area of bus). the fan is working since fairly high volume of hot air leaving radiator.

Amount of antifreeze is correct. Mixture is correct. Any suggestions?

thank you

Kim sloan
02 Vantare XLII S2 (yes it is fixed see separate post)
06 dodge megacab

Kim, From what I think you said, your temperatures are correct and your gauge is in error. Your gauge that reads 225 deg. is off. That is if your infrared thermomoter is correct. You said temp.into the radiator at 225 deg., temp. out of radiator 185 deg., and that the unit should run at 200 deg. max. Right! Right!

JIM

[Orren Zook]

When you say the radiator is 'far away' from the gen set, is there an auxiliary water pump to assist in moving coolant over that distance? I'd take a look at what the others have suggested and make sure that the coolant level is full at the hot setting and it is moving at the required rate.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Speaking only about Liberty now....At one time the remote radiator had an electric coolant pump located at the radiator. My current Liberty now uses the integral generator coolant pump. On the hottest of days under load I have never seen my generator exceed 180. It sounds like Kim has something wrong that is not yet obvious.

[nrhareiner]

thanks for all of the respnses,

I am going to test the termostat tomorrow. There is almost 30' between the generator and the thermostat. The radiator appears to be clean, at least to visual inspection. there is no baffle since the radiator sits atthe front of the coach in the area at the extreme front of the coach.

Now ofr a quick question, would a thermostat that was not opening fully allow the temp. at the radiator get to the 225 degrees measured. We used 2 thermometers and got almost identical readings.

I will call Vantare tomorrow, but already tried them twice with little idea of problems.

Kim

[merle&louise]

Kim,

My water temperature gauge showed 220+ when my thermostat was not opening. After removing it and putting it in boiling water it seemed to be cleaned by the boiling water. When I re-installed it, it has worked great ever since. I keep the new thermostat as a spare in case the problem arises again.

It is an easy test, and who knows it may just solve your problem.