Hi All,

This is my first post. I am having problems with generator staying running after approx. 10 minutes. Fuel tank is full, oil is full. Running two air units. Any suggestions?

Welcome to the Forums!

Diesel or propane? It might also help to know the year and model for your coach, as well as the engine size and manufacturer.

It is a 31 ft 1985. It is gas powered. The engine is a 454 chevy.

Welcome to the forums.

quote:

Originally posted by starman:
It is a 31 ft 1985. It is gas powered. The engine is a 454 chevy.

Is your 7KW Kohler gasoline or propane?

I have a Kohler 7KW Gasoline Unit in my coach. Model number for my Kohler is a 7CKM21-RV and it has the K582 Kohler 23 HP Engine in it.

Here are the links to the K582 engine PDF files.

K582 Kohler 23 HP, Gasoline or LP, 2 cylinder, 4 cycle, air cooled engine

quote:

Originally posted by starman:
Hi All,

This is my first post. I am having problems with generator staying running after approx. 10 minutes. Fuel tank is full, oil is full. Running two air units. Any suggestions?

How does it do with the genset door open?

How does it do on just one air conditioner?

How does it fail? Just drops dead, surges, misses, or drops a little first?

What model genset is it?

Sometimes a condensor will fail when it gets hot, as will a coil.

Points and gap OK?

Do you have a fuel pressure gage back there?

Right after it fails, can you loosen a clamp and check for fuel at the carb inlet?

What does the electric fuel pump sound like right after failure?

How long before you can restart?

Where is the electric fuel pump located? If it is inside the genset compartment, it can get crabby on hot days.

What happens when you disconnect the dashboard switch and its wiring?

What happens when you jump from hot to the coil? Or, if you don't want to hot-wire it, connect a hot light to both the fuel pump and coil and sit there watching them and see if either one of them goes out when the genset stops.

Does the genset have a really good clean ground?

Think about installing a pancake radiator fan on the inside of the door grill to help more cooling air move through. Sherco has pretty good prices.

Do you have a neon ignition tester?

How does it run with a hose running from the intake of the electric pump to a jerrycan? This checks for cracked hoses letting the pump suck air. The problem is more noticable with both ACs running.

Does it fail when one of the AC compressors kick in?

How does it do with four 1500 watt heaters? That is a pure steady-state inductive load good for testing. It eliminates the variables that two air conditioners can put on a genset.

Are there any exhaust leaks blowing hot air into the gen bay?

How does it work with the spark arrestor removed?

How does it work with the muffler removed?

Dammit Bill, your gona scare the hell out of him with all of that...I guarentee if you can answer all of these questions you will find the problem but...I have the same generator and had the same problem..it works fine now after I changed the fuel filter

quote:

Originally posted by Kris & Tina Jones:
Dammit Bill, your gona scare the hell out of him with all of that...he's overwhelmed

Oh Oh! It's been two weeks now. Maybe you're right.

quote:

. I guarentee if you can answer all of these questions you will find the problem but...I have the same generator and had the same problem..it works fine now after I changed the fuel filter

Well, Kris, you make a good point. I danced around the filter with the questions,

quote:

Do you have a fuel pressure gage back there? Right after it fails, can you loosen a clamp and check for fuel at the carb inlet? What does the electric fuel pump sound like right after failure?

I probably should have suggested a new filter as they are cheap and easy, and replacing one builds Karma points for PM. I have a different mindset, and always wanna go out with a meter, a print and some jumper wires and troubleshoot instead of trying a likely part. Most of the stuff I worked on was so complex, it always found a new way to fail. Old habits are hard to break, I guess.

well i'm back.bill h didn't scare me off that easy.had some out of town business.first thanks for the response to my problem.after reading the questions that bill h. asked i did some checking and did find a fuel pressure problem.it looks like the fuel line(rubber)is breaking down and is clogging the pump/carb.don't know if this the final answer but i will be changing the line/filter and cleaning/rebuilding carb.this week.hope this is the cure. will let you all know in a day or two. (starman)

p.s. this coach sat for a couple(2-4) of years before i purchased it. i will be installing new rubber- hoses,belts,tires,-and hope to see some of you BARTH owners out there soon.

well i have a working generator.i found the fuel filter was almost clogged with what appears to be something that i think was the fuel line(rubber)that was breaking down.i changed the line, filter,and rebuilt carb.and now it is working fine.i would like to thank all who gave me some of their time and knowledge to help get my generator going.