Generator - Issue

Aaronpav2001

Member
Mar 5, 2017
141
Lake Norman
Boat Info
2002 320 Sundancer "Jela-Sea"
Engines
Merc 350 MPI V-drives
All,
yesterday was out on water and ran the generator for the first real lake day. Initial ran terrible. Smoking, struggling etc. The chock was stuck. It appears to be running fine now but the water it is spitting out is white and chalkey. It is not oil or full. It almost looks like super. See photo below. Hs anyone experienced this or know the cause / fix? I know it looks like smoke in the pic but is actually in the water.

As always happy boating and stay safe.
gene.jpg
 
Have you taken the heat exchanger end caps off and looked inside? Looks like it may be getting clogged and that's what you are seeing coming out.
 
My friend had the same issue. It ended up it was running on once cylinder. Sounded like it was running fine also. Check the coil or plugs. I could find out what he did to fix it.
 
My friend had the same issue. It ended up it was running on once cylinder. Sounded like it was running fine also. Check the coil or plugs. I could find out what he did to fix it.

Whatever you can find out would be great. Generator seems to be running well after un stuck the choke. Just have the chalky bubbly white water.

thanks all
 
Whatever you can find out would be great. Generator seems to be running well after un stuck the choke. Just have the chalky bubbly white water.

thanks all
 
Whatever you can find out would be great. Generator seems to be running well after un stuck the choke. Just have the chalky bubbly white water.

thanks all

Throw a temp gun on it and see if it's running hot...
 
Impeller and service was completed over the winter. This was first time running out on the water as opposed to just testing at the dock.
 
Whatever you can find out would be great. Generator seems to be running well after un stuck the choke. Just have the chalky bubbly white water.

thanks all
The reply from my friend. And his looked exactly like yours.

Ran on 1 cylinder I had to put a coil in. Check for spark.
 
Mechanic is checking it out this week. I ran it Saturday and it ran well. Still cloudy water but she started right up and powered all the systems for a couple of hours. After that it started stinking heavily of fuel and I shut her down.

started up Sunday for a few minutes. Again heavy smell of fuel and I shit it down.

hopefully I can get it checked out this week?

How much work is it to replace a coil of needed? Thanks all.

I will keep you posted
 
Mechanic is checking it out this week. I ran it Saturday and it ran well. Still cloudy water but she started right up and powered all the systems for a couple of hours. After that it started stinking heavily of fuel and I shut her down.

started up Sunday for a few minutes. Again heavy smell of fuel and I shit it down.

hopefully I can get it checked out this week?

How much work is it to replace a coil of needed? Thanks all.

I will keep you posted
His did the same thing. I'll ask him about replacement. Before the mechanic comes down start it again. Try starting the gen and pull one plug wire off at a time. If it runs with one and not with the other you know where the problem is. Look around for the coils. Thy should be pretty easy to replace.
 
Last edited:
Pulled the wires and confirmed it is running on one cylinder. Switched out the coils and still running on one cylinder. Checked the spark plugs and They are good. Any other suggestions?
 
Pulled the wires and confirmed it is running on one cylinder. Switched out the coils and still running on one cylinder. Checked the spark plugs and They are good. Any other suggestions?

A couple:

1) Do a compression check on the cylinders.
2) Put in a new set of spark plugs if the compression is okay.

I know you said the plugs looked okay but if you want to eliminate them as a problem.....replace them.

What model generator do you have and how many hours are on it?
 
**************The model is a Kohler 5E

Anyways swapped out the plugs, replaced the carburetor (which was a already rebuilt) and the fuel filter. It is running great purring like a kitten. Thank you for all of the help!
 

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