Genset question

[Jaxfishgyd]

I had my genset quit about 4 AM back in Oct. Got up about 9 AM and saw the fanbelt was "gone". Put on a replacement, which was the wrong size, but got it "working" and fired the genset up, after replacing all the lost coolant.

It ran for about 4 hrs and stopped again. And again it was HOT and had lost all the coolant. Only this time it would crank but not fire up.

Today I went and bought the proper size belt and after installing it, also saw the fuel filter bowl was empty..... Gee, think this could be a problem ?????

Refilled the filter bowl, hit the starter and 5 secs later the genset fired up. Have now run it over 2 hrs on a load and it has not missed a beat.

I used a temp gun on it and it's running at 168 degrees.

As I am NOT nearly the mechanic that Ang is, what would of caused the fuel bowl to go empty ? And is there something else I need to look at?

 

[Genesis]

Air leak in the suction side of the fuel feed to it.

 

[BUSTER]

The above might be half of the problem. Was it hot after you replaced the belt because it was an improper fit and it slipped? Did you check for proper seawater flow at your exhaust? It could have wiped out the raw water impeller.It could have just been something as simple as a plastic bag or weed blocking the thru-hull. Tony

 

[MikeP]

"And again it was HOT and had lost all the coolant."

Lost ALL the coolant? This is a more important issue than the fuel. Running out of fuel won't destroy anything...

How did the coolant disappear - was it ejected from the "radiator" cap vent or overflow cannister or did it just "disappear" with no sign of coolant being dumped externally? If it ejected from the overflow then it may just a temporary overheat caused by, as others said, a temporary loss of RW for reasons noted. But overheating and loss of coolant WITHOUT any external sign is a common symptom of a blown headgasket.

To ensure this is not the case, I suggest you carefully monitor the coolant level in the engine to determine it is NOT going missing. Engines can run quite well with a blown HG so don't assume that because it sounds ok, it IS ok.

A Cylinder leakdown test will easily detect a blown headgasket but if the coolant level is not mysteriously disappearing, odds are it's OK.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

No idea where the coolant went.... But it was gone when it lost the fanbelt at the time.

Ended up running the genset for almost 4 hrs yesterday under a load.

Checked the coolant this morning and it's still full.

Will be changing both water impellers anyway.

 

[Angela]

As I am NOT nearly the mechanic that Ang is...

Awe shucks, Charlie...you know I have to ask "how do I..." before I do anything onboard!