Finally solved the genny surging and starting problem.

Bodkin Creek George

Bodkin Creek George

Member
Sep 11, 2008
550
Bodkin Creek, Chesapeake Bay Md.
Boat Info
2004 340 SDA
Engines
8.1 V-Drives
Well folks after a year of putting it off I finally solved my Kohler 5E Genny problems. Changing the spark plugs did not work. Adjusting the choke did not work. Replacing all filters did not work. Buying a carb rebuild kit and rebuilding the carb.
BINGO. Starts and runs like a charm. Main jet was almost completly clogged up. I am one happy camper.
George
 
Bodkin Creek George said:
Well folks after a year of putting it off I finally solved my Kohler 5E Genny problems. Changing the spark plugs did not work. Adjusting the choke did not work. Replacing all filters did not work. Buying a carb rebuild kit and rebuilding the carb.
BINGO. Starts and runs like a charm. Main jet was almost completly clogged up. I am one happy camper.
George
Click to expand...

DAMN... i was hoping you had a solution for me. I've been having random surging and immediate shut down issues with my 5E too. I've replaced the plugs, spin on main water separating fuel filter dedicated to the generator, the inline kohler filter, the kohler fuel pump, put on an entire new carb, and mine is still surging. Have even had a certified tech out twice. The last time they were there, they adjusted the mixture just a hair and it's nearly settled down (tech said they NEVER adjust the mixture on a new carb... literally first time in 15 years). Hoping to run it a good bit more this weekend and see if it settles down.

James
 
Bodkin Creek George said:
Well folks after a year of putting it off I finally solved my Kohler 5E Genny problems. Changing the spark plugs did not work. Adjusting the choke did not work. Replacing all filters did not work. Buying a carb rebuild kit and rebuilding the carb.
BINGO. Starts and runs like a charm. Main jet was almost completly clogged up. I am one happy camper.
George
Click to expand...

I wonder how dirt got past the fuel filter... Or did you not run the generator for a long while allowing the fuel to gum up the carb? Or....ethanol fuel?
 
Bodkin Creek George said:
Immediate shutdown is either a choke or sensor problem.
Click to expand...
So far that seems to have gone away since the tech put on a new carb. That was done right before I had the boat hauled for hurricane Sandy, which also ended up being the end of my 2012 season. Never got her back into the water before it would have been time to winterize/shrink wrap. At that time, the tech had every electrical thing running on the boat (at the same time) for 45 mintes and the generator never hiccuped, surged, or shut down.

I assumed I was all set, but my gremlin returned at the first startup of the generator three weekends ago. Had immediate surging... didnt quiet down, even after letting the generator run long enough to get fully warm (thinking it might be a choke issue). The tech came back out and the small adjustment of the fuel mixture seemed to do the trick. With the boat lowered but stuck on the lift due to wind driven extra low tides, he ran the stove, HW heater, and battery charger for 20 minutes under load and it was fine. Again, thought it was solved.

I took the boat out this weekend and anchored. Started up the generator and it came up to speed. You could hear a slow steady-rythmed pulsing, almost like the sound when your two engines are just barely out of sync. After letting it warm up, I loaded it down with the HW heater, both stove burners, and the AC. It accepted the load, and ran fine, compensating and stablizing as the burners/ac cycled themeselves on and off. As I started turning things off to let the generator run for a few minutes and cool down (before final shutdown), it started back to its stronger surging like before the fuel mixture adjustment. Also the exhaust smelled really rich. Slightly closing the choke with my thumb calmed it right down until i let go and it fully reopened itself. After giving it a few mintes to run and cool down, i gave up and shut it all the way off.

Started it back up on the lift before hauling the boat fully out, just out of curiosity, and it was back to its "new normal" stable but slow and very minor 'wahh wahhh wahhh" engines out of sync sound.

Talked to the tech again and he said to see if I could find the magic combination of things that would reliably (even somewhat reliably) trigger the surging this weekend. Hopefully whatever it is has/will shaken itself out, but its frustrating for sure. Having the tech come just to see it behaving "normally" isnt useful, but the whole thing isnt useful either if its not reliable!.... Guess that's boating, and chasing gremlins keeps me out of other trouble I could be getting myself into!
 
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Had the same generator for years and what I learned is that if you winterize without running stabilized fuel through the generator, or even better, draining the carb, you will get a gummed-up carb come next season. The fix is not terrible and does not require a carb rebuild. Need to get as much of the gum-out spray into the carb from the various hoses and inlets as possible. Then run it holding the idle arm to increase idle (force it to run using the secondary jets). Repeat. Repeat. After about 4-5 cycles you will see an immediate improvement.
 
gerryb said:
Had the same generator for years and what I learned is that if you winterize without running stabilized fuel through the generator, or even better, draining the carb, you will get a gummed-up carb come next season. The fix is not terrible and does not require a carb rebuild. Need to get as much of the gum-out spray into the carb from the various hoses and inlets as possible. Then run it holding the idle arm to increase idle (force it to run using the secondary jets). Repeat. Repeat. After about 4-5 cycles you will see an immediate improvement.
Click to expand...


Gerryb,
It was definitely winterized, and had lots of fuel stabilizer in it. It draws from one of the two main tanks, --the same one that the starboard engine pulls from. I run the right mixture of starton in at every fill up all season and the mechanic extra-dosed both tanks at winterization. I'm hoping you are right that its "winter hangover" related and will clear up after a bit more running. May also try running off a separate tank of fresh fuel if it doesnt settle, and also posisbly run some seafoam mixed in it through with the detachable tank for good measure. While not "proof" of any kind. The starboard engine likes the post-winter fuel just fine so far after 2 hours of cruising around.

I'll try your approach too. Any suggestions are welcome for sure!

James

PS... Now that I think about it, good point about draining the carb this fall. I'll do that for extra good measure.
 
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All of these are unloaded.... with a good load it seemed to run okay.


Here's video of the symptoms pre carb mixture adjustment on the new carb.


This was how it behaves as a "new normal"... notice the slow minor pulsing at the end.




And this was it after it started misbehaving again after running it loaded for 30 minutes, and then clearing the load to cool before shut down.

 
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