Generator Fuel Problem

Goodlife

New Member
Oct 1, 2017
3
Boat Info
500 Sundancer 2005, Raymarine 128s,autopilot, radar
Engines
MAN 2876LE405 diesels
Searay Sundancer 500, After running at cruise for two hours and with generator running, when powering down generator shuts down within 10 minutes. I think fuel has run out of the racor and fuel is not being picked up from the fuel tank which is over half full. Anyone had a similar problem and found a solution
 
Have you checked the temperature of the generator? Is it overheating? I'm wondering if you have a bad impeller? That could be causing it to shut down if the temperature is getting too high.
 
Can you give us some more info? Make, model. Did the Genset run for two hours then shut down or 10 min? Has it been doing this often or just this one time?
 
Sounds like an overheating issue, causing the sensor to shut it down. Might be getting enough flow while underway, but not enough sitting still.
 
Thanks for your response. Do not believe it is an overheating problem. Impeller changed this winter and gen engine will not restart. Would probably have shut down sooner if overheating. Have not verified that upper part of racor is empty but this happened previously. gen is Onan 13.5K. Ran gen for two hour at cruise but shut down 10 minutes after reducing speed to 8 knots. Could it be something in fuel tank causing air pocket or trash in tank. Had this problem before and yard replumbed fuel line to bypass valve which switches between tanks. Boat is 13 years old. Have not had any fuel problems with main engines. Tank is more than half full. Puzzling
 
I know this is a very old thread, but hopefully someone has solved this or come up with some troubleshooting steps.

I am experiencing this right now. Gen runs fine, then basically runs out of gas. The top of the racor is empty. Has happened twice now. 300 gallon center tank is basically full.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Steve
 
Steve, have you changed the fuel filter lately? If so the gaskets on the fuel filter must be placed back in correctly. If the gaskets were placed incorrectly it lets air into the fuel lines and the engine will act as its out if fuel
 
New gaskets with the new racor filter. I’ll check them. Good point.

Thanks,
Steve.
 
Have you checked your raw water strainer? The filter is likely obstructed or very full of debris which would cause this same behavior. It's a super easy fix and the first thing to check if the generator is doing an auto-shutoff after only a few minutes. Next to check is the impeller then filters. Good luck!
 
Just went thru the same thing with my generator...the racor was loosing vacuum and made the injectors suck air bubbles. Only saw it when I was bleeding the injectors after I replaced the racor. Took the unit apart and rebuilt the seals and is working perfect. Could have taken a long time to chase down but I by passed the racor and found the problem quickly. Good luck!
 
Update to my issue, took a minute to troubleshoot.

Turned out to be a clogged vent line for the center (generator) fuel tank. With the fuel cap off, the gen would run fine. Cleared the clog and all is well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Steve
 

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