Need help with 15HP Generator Engine.....TIA

[demarpaint]

I'm trying to help a friend fix his 15HP generator, he was a GM tech for about 15 years and this has us both stumped. I don't know the mfg. of the engine but here is the problem. It starts and runs fine then stalls as if it ran out of gas. It will immediately restart on the first try and do the same thing, over and over. We tried two different carburetors, with and without a anti-backfire solenoid, a new magneto, and ran it off a different gas tank, which eliminates bad gas, a bad gate valve, or plugged up line. Later we might try to hot wire it and by-pass the ignition switch. We discovered last night that just before it dies there's a hot wire from the ignition switch that loses power.

He called tech support and they were of no help at all. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[BigCahuna]

Check that all the wires from the switch are tight. If it still stalls, run another hot wire to the ignition and see if it still stalls. If it doesn't stall, Then I would say the switch is the problem.,,

 

[Finz]

If it has a low oil cut-off, perhaps try simply disconnecting to eliminate that from the could-be items.

Had a very similar scenario with my generator a month or 3 ago... There WAS plenty of oil, but the guts of this switch were creating a false reading and forcing a shut down.

 

[expat]

Put an ignition tester on the spark plug (so you can see a spark when it's running)

Start it up and watch to see if the spark dies when the engine starts to stall.

Then you will know if it's the spark, or the gas that is causing the problem.

Alternatively, see if you can keep it running by introducing a little gas down the carb when it starts to die.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Finz
If it has a low oil cut-off, perhaps try simply disconnecting to eliminate that from the could-be items.

Had a very similar scenario with my generator a month or 3 ago... There WAS plenty of oil, but the guts of this switch were creating a false reading and forcing a shut down.


I forgot to mention we already checked that, and it was not the problem. Thanks for posting!

 

[demarpaint]

Thanks BigCahuna and Expat we will try that later or tomorrow. We think it has something to do with the ignition switch, it was getting late and we stopped there.

 

[demarpaint]

Finz nailed it! As it turns out it was the low oil cut off!!!!!! We tried it again, this time we disconnected it, and I told my buddy to see how long it would run. After 20 minutes it was still running. He reconnected it and it stalled again after a few minutes.

What my buddy was doing last time he checked it was, he disconnected it and the engine ran, he didn't leave it disconnected to see how long the engine would run. That was what the companies support guy told him to do! Bottom line problem solved.

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[901Memphis]

Glad you narrowed it down, hopefully it doesn't have consumption issues that would cause a problem

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Glad you narrowed it down, hopefully it doesn't have consumption issues that would cause a problem


He's going to order a new low oil switch to play it safe. This machine runs 5 hours a day 6 days a week on a food truck.

 

[Finz]

That's great... BITOG folks showed me the light when I was in the same boat. Happy it worked out

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Glad you narrowed it down, hopefully it doesn't have consumption issues that would cause a problem



In my experience all my compressors and generators they all consume some oil. But fuel dilution compensates big time.