Phasor K-4 (Kubota) Genny Trouleshooting Help?

[TMT2]

Looking for some trouble-shooting advice on a Phasor Marine K-4 16KW Genny,,,running fine for hours on our last outing and suddenly died. Each time I restart - runs a few seconds and quits. Background/symptoms: Kubota 4-cyl, diesel, Restarts right off the bat but dies a few seconds into run. Fuel from tank is polished and clear. Racors are clean. Filters replaced about 6 weeks ago (fuel and air) - no new fuel since replacement. Fuel pulse tiny-tach showing 1800 rpm on start-up (in range) and sounds good - then just dies as though I hit the kill switch. Did not over-heat (runs around 185 deg). Oil level good. Consulting the manuals but not very helpful?

Any suggestions before I pay an arm/leg for a mechanic to look?

Steve

[skipmac]

Limited information but a few guesses.

1. Some kind of safety cutoff switch bad or actually detecting a fault. Example, low oil pressure cut off switch. Turns off the genny if low oil pressure is detected but they do go bad and shut off the genny even if the pressure is OK. There might be other similar switches that have gone bad like high temp, over load, etc.

2. Fuel? You said the fuel is polished but any chance that you have some sort of blockage in the lines?

I would check out option 1 first. I assume there is a fuel shutoff solenoid to shut down the engine? Watch the solenoid when you crank the genny and see if it shuts off.

[colemj]

I'm going with an oil pressure switch like skipmac #1. Jump it and see if it stays running.

Mark

[twinboat]

Coolant level ?

[DeepFrz]

Have you contacted Phasor? They probably have a troubleshooting guide or someone that could lead you through the process.

Safety Shutdown System for High Coolant Temperature or Low Lube Oil Pressure.

Another thread. Not the same size gen. but some good information.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...off-64231.html

They talk about a "Run Solenoid" needing a good ground.

[Sailmonkey]

A lot of these generators will shut down of the electrical end is not producing voltage.

[Capt.Alex]

Check to see that the electric lift pump is functioning properly. Disconnect the output hose and turn on the fuel pump switch-you should get a good steady flow of fuel from it. Those little electric pumps fail quite often..

[TMT2]

Appreciate the suggestions from all - I will try each point of advice and report my findings in this thread.

Thanks for the thread link DeepFrz...I will check it out. I have dealt with Phasor Marine many times - nice people but generic advice - I have had more luck and received good, specific advice on this forum from great folks with lots of personal experience on a variety of issues...and finding a diesel Genny guy in my area (Tampa) that will show up for a scheduled appointment has been spotty at best.

Twinboat - coolant is good. I am leaning toward a safety shut-off diagnosis on the oil-pressure side...will check tomorrow and come back up on this thread.

Thanks

[TMT2]

One step closer - I read the Phasor 3.5kw Generator Shuts Off posts that Deepfrz highlighted. Here's what I have so far:

I ran the Genny from manual start (it is has an auto-start feature through the XANTREX inverter unit) and it ran fine from manual start without incident at operating temps (185 deg) but with no electrical load - oil temps and pressures good; RPM range good (1800), full flow through heat exchanger. Then I put a load on it - water heater, microwave, toaster, water-maker (the works) and it shut down. Now suspecting a load trigger in the XANTREX "smart" circuitry. Not showing any "faults" on the XANTREX panel, no breakers tripped. God point Sailmonkey...but the Genny is producing full power with a large load on it for a few minutes then shuts down. Must be a load sensor of some type - any suggestions from electrical gurus out there?

TMT2