Total Generator Failure

[GDeen]

Tuga,

Does you genset have a 2 speed cooling fan? I can watch temps on mine creep up over 200 and then the high speed fan kicks in and in short order drops temps back down to ~ 185-190. Leon at Marathon told me this 2nd speed is set to come on at 208 deg F.

[merle&louise]

Tuga,

Does you genset have a 2 speed cooling fan? I can watch temps on mine creep up over 200 and then the high speed fan kicks in and in short order drops temps back down to ~ 185-190. Leon at Marathon told me this 2nd speed is set to come on at 208 deg F.

Gordon,

My unit has a squirrell cage blower in the first bay next to the generator. It blows air thru the generator compartment and it exhausts the air out of the bottom of the generator compartment. There is a strong volume of air coming out of the bottom of the generator compartment so I don't think that the fan is the problem. It has worked for the last 4 years tailgating, so I believe that my problem lies elsewhere. This is the 1st year that it has run this hot.

Thanks for the help.

[GDeen]

Gordon,

My unit has a squirrell cage blower in the first bay next to the generator. It blows air thru the generator compartment and it exhausts the air out of the bottom of the generator compartment. There is a strong volume of air coming out of the bottom of the generator compartment so I don't think that the fan is the problem. It has worked for the last 4 years tailgating, so I believe that my problem lies elsewhere. This is the 1st year that it has run this hot.

Thanks for the help.

Mine has the same, only difference is, when the temp gets up to 208, the fan clicks into warp drive and really pulls the air through. Just wondering if you have the same setup and your 2nd speed isn't kicking in??

[merle&louise]

Gordon,

Mine does NOT have the same setup. As far as I know there is only one speed on the blower and it is constant. Also, I have VDO analog gauges, so I don't know EXACTLY what temps are. I purchased a non contact infared thermometer today so I can obtain real numbers.

I spoke with Newell today and they told me to check for air leaks around the front of the generator compartment door, loose belts, and also to verify the accuracy of the VDO gauge by using a non contact infared thermometer. John Clark w/Newell also said getting the radiator checked was a good first step. As soon as I get the radiator back from the shop, I am going to do those 3 things that they suggested.

While I was typing this the radiator shop called: they found 2 leaks in the radiator. The mechanic told me that a tube was leaking and another leak was found in the top tank where a 3/8" hole was made for a mechanical temp gauge. He fixed both leaks by soldering them. Next he will remove the top tank and "rod" all of the tubes to make sure none are clogged up. He assured me after this all is done the radiator will be like new. I am certain that this was my problem all along, but we'll see!

[merle&louise]

Trade up Tuga! Its nothing several hundred thousand dollars won't cure!

Hey Dan,

What is it that you always say, "These buses are not for the faint of heart"

I think will fix these 2 problems for under a grand; hope so anyhow!

And speaking of trading up; it's almost your turn. Jo told me that she would really like a bus with SLIDES !!!!

Come on and step up to the plate. Mississippi just passed a new law; no sales tax on a SLIDE bus!

[jack14r]

Since I had a electrical failure of my Kohler generator back in August I thought that my problems would be behind me,but as luck would have it I have either a turbo failure or a exhaust failure of some sort,the gen started to puff some diesel smoke on Thursday,so I ran it as little as possible and by Saturday morning it was leaving soot in the generator bay and was obviously about to totally fail.I was lucky that I was at a race and had my transporter with a 10K Onan that I could plug into,I made it through the weekend but now have to deal with Kohler warranty.

[jack14r]

After a little searching today,I have a flex exhaust pipe failure and it basically stopped up the air filter on the generator and of course the generator ran rich and that caused the black smoke.I need to replace the flex pipe,back in about 2006 there was an article about replacing the flex pipe and the pipe insulation written by a yacht repair guy that had a problem on his Liberty,i think that he even gave the information of the vendors that he used,does anyone know where this article is,or the flex that he used?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jack,

I remember the presentation at the first Kerrville rally and I tried to find the product doing a Google search to no avail. However I remember it was a flex pipe that was made like the flex pipe on the 8V92 engines but in a very long length. It was not a spiral wound pipe which can fail as you have found.

I will keep searching and maybe I will stumble across it.

[Kevin Erion]

Jack, I got some SS flex from GEIB Ind. www.geibind.com
I didn't use it and I have about 4 or 5 feet of 2" ID with about 2.5" OD. I think they have special weld fittings for the end also, I looked and didn't find any, just the flex tube. Let me know if you want it.
Kevin
714-342-8588

[jack14r]

Thanks Kevin,I will get the gen out soon and measure the length.
Jon,I searched and it was Ken Muller from Zimmerman Marine,but the article that he posted does not exist anymore.