Generator 5ECD Kohler - help

[skolbe]

Okay, I am fairly frustrated with my generator. I have about 120 hours on it. The new exhaust kit was recently installed. The generator runs sporadically well. After the exhaust kit was changed ran great for 1 to 4 hours 3 times for a total of 7 hours after that and I did not have one issue. Yesterday the generator ran for a couple minutes and then shut down. The impeller is fine. I did get a LOC fault code. I have the largest collection of slightly used impellers that look fine. Water is pumping out at a decent rate. I noticed that when the tech came down with the exhaust kit - he disconnected the water temperature sender on the heat exchanger for a minute and the generator ran fine it would not run completely cold without disconnecting the sensor. He would reconnect and it will shut down almost immediately with a cold engine. Question - - can a water temperature sensor fail? The generator temp when it was running good last time had the temp around 190. Thanks for your help! This is not an impeller issue nor a real flow issue. Any other ideas?

 

[Vince_nj1]

I posted a problem with my generator. I was getting an EC72 error. The unit had the re-call exhaust work end of last year. I have 26 hours on the unit. It started to shut down after 1/2 hour of use and would not restart without re-setting the computer.

It is still under warranty, but the Kohler dealer would not come down to my boat to fix it untill I gave him authorization to charge my credit card in the event that Kohler would not pay him what he thought he should get paid. I authorized up $300 and he said it wasnt enough. So I called Kohler and described the problem and discussed the post below. The Kohler Tech told me that it was most likely the relay. I ordered the relay from the dealer ($5.50 + $4 shipping for a grand total of $9.50) I installed it myself last week and it seems to have fixed the problem. I ran the generator for 1 hour, shut it down and then restarted it. Everything seems to now work. I winterized the generator and the boat is now in my slip waiting to be pulled for the winter.

The relay is about 1 inch square and is bolted to the side of the electrical box under the cover. There are about 5 or 6 wires plugged into it. Take your time and don't mix up the wires.

Big thanks to Chris_in_Texas for posting this tip!

BTW, when you take the cover off of the wiring box you will see a mess of wires connected to various plugs. Very crappy setu in my opinion. It is very likely that some wires will come loose overtime. Check your wires and change your relay.

Hello All,

Just to let you know I have had the EC72 on a reoccurring basis. Would run then stop suddenly and show EC72. Would clear it and restart after a while would do it again. Kept progressively getting quicker and quicker to the point it wouldn't start, would try to start but then show EC72 right away.

1st fix by Kohler guys was to replace the K5 Main power relay. From the factory it was a cheap made in china no-name 30A relay. Was replaced by Bosch relay. The reason was the relay contacts were getting burnt and carbon build up on it, and wasn't getting power to the ECU on the back of the genny, it also started affecting the fuel pump at the end.

The 2nd time I got the EC72 about 5 months later, it was narrowed down to the 120 Ohm resister on the CAN bus, located closest to the front starboard side of the genny. A new resister was soldered into place and has worked like a champ ever since.

Hope this helps,
Chris

 

[Stray Cat]

The new exhaust kit was recently installed.

Skolbe, don't mean to hold up your thread, but I was curious to know more about the exhaust kit....Is that specific to the 5ECD? Is / was there a recall?

Thanks!

 

[Scupper Guppy]

......he disconnected the water temperature sender on the heat exchanger for a minute and the generator ran fine it would not run completely cold without disconnecting the sensor.......

It's not a temp sensor, it's a water pressure switch.... exactly like an oil pressure switch, except it breaks contact @ approx 1.5 psi raw water pressure.

Yes, it can fail. It's just an idiot light switch.

 

[skolbe]

Well my generator was shutting down again. Ends up the water pressure switch was full of sand it is small, 1/8" pipe on a downward angle. Cleaned it and it is good to go. Glad to have it fixed. They designed the thing to extrude out in a lower level at an angle off the heat exchanger, so it is bound to get sand in it from time to time.

Stray Cat, the exhaust kit is the catalytic converter for the Low CO.

 

[carterchapman]

Thanks for the update and info Skobe. I'm going to check my 5E and see if it has the same switch in the same location...

 

[Hampton]

Thanks for the update and info Skobe. I'm going to check my 5E and see if it has the same switch in the same location...

Let us all know!

 

[skolbe]

My dock neighbor has a 5e - it is a 2001 - his does not.

 

[carterchapman]

Skolbe - thanks for that info as well.

Saved me another "bilge crawl" today - thanks! Got my caps on the transom shower/cockpit sink/citer water lines yesterday...

 

[ABEJO23]

The LOC almost always for 2007 Kohler 5ecd is a programming issue in the computer. Seen it many times in the past. Kohler does not like to pay warranty to there servicing dealer so expect to see some charges!

 

[skolbe]

According to the dealer, mine has the latest programming. The sensor was my issue. It was full of sand, then once I cleaned the sensor it ran fine. In my simple mind they put the sensor in a bad spot.