Generator won’t start

[jrmccoy]

So I keyed off you saying it cranks, then starts for a second then shuts down? I had this exact problem with a Norpro genset and it turned out to be a switch that monitored low oil pressure or temperature high limit (cant remember which) but it thought the condition had occurred (when in fact it had not) and was shutting the engine down to prevent damage. Replaced the switch and back in business. Getting to the switch was the hard part.

[Flymitch]

I am a couple months behind on replying. I fought a similar situation on my 7.5 ONAN. Good glow-plugs and pre-heater and good starter. After the pre-heating cycle, started immediately, then died. Would NOT stay running. It had not been run for several months or more.

While doing mechanical analysis, I happen to notice that an arm that connects the idle/engine speed control had become "stuck" from mis-use. So when it started the stuck engine speed control arm prevented coming up to speed and effectively stopped the engine.

With minimal effort I freed it up and Voila, started righth up, but now the arm had movement to manage engine speed and she stayed running.

So I would simply touch any external moving parts and check for freedom of movement. Unless of course you already resolved the issue.

Thanks for the tip.
Looks like it was a somewhat weak battery.
Switched one of the batteries for port side and engine starts like a champ as does generator.
Mechanic load tested and the Cold Crank Amps were only about 70% of what they should have been.