Newly Acquired 003A - Unknown Condition

ckesey · Aug 11, 2020

I just picked up a 003A from a local municipality today. This gen had apparently been donated a few years back from someone in the community. I'm told it ran when it was donated but the local muni didn't follow through with its plans for a power source and thus decided to sell it. No one from the local muni has heard it run since its been in their possession but I'm not sure just how long they have owned it.

My question is this. Knowing very little about its history (hour meter shows 800) or how long it's been since it ran, what maintenance items should I do before attempting to start this gen? Change oil, filters, drain fuel, check air filter for nests? Batteries are completely shot (cap on one of them is missing) so my maintenance list will need to include new/replacement batteries.

What items would you recommend?

Thanks in advanced.

Mr4btTahoe · Aug 11, 2020

Flush the old fuel out of it asap. Clean out the tank and then add a gallon of diesel and a heavy dose of fuel additive.

After changing fuel filters.. prime the system and then let it sit for a few days. Re prime it a few times a day but let it sit.

There is a tiny piece in the injection pump that likes to get stuck and break if it's been sitting long. It's not bad to fix but if you can avoid it... Might as well.

If the linkage on the side of the pump is bound up/sticky.. I would just pull the injection pump and do a good cleaning. I've got a thread on rebuilding the pump. It's very straight forward.

After sitting a few days and all your fluids have been changed... You can attempt to start it. While waiting those days, it would be good to do some testing on the glow plugs system, etc.. and just get things cleaned up. Check the throttle control cable as they like to bind/freeze up over time.

If it puts out smoke after purging the air or starts... You're in good shape. Then you can test voltage output, battery charging voltage, etc.

If it doesn't start.. likely need to go through the injection pump. Again it's simple and parts are relatively cheap.

Anyways, good luck!

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Scoobyshep · Aug 11, 2020

Pay close attention to the linkages, you may want to install a battery cutoff switch. Make sure you ground it before attempting to start it, and NEVER idle them

ckesey · Aug 11, 2020

To prime the fuel system, do I use the toggle switch or is there a priming procedure?

Scoobyshep · Aug 11, 2020

Turn to prime and run. If its clucking fast it's pumping fuel. When it slows its seeing pressure. I usually crack a line to vent the air.

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Mr4btTahoe · Aug 11, 2020

ckesey said:
To prime the fuel system, do I use the toggle switch or is there a priming procedure?

Once the batteries are hooked up, just move the main switch to prime. Electric pump will do the rest.

Chainbreaker · Aug 12, 2020

You also need to service the fuel pumps. The bottoms twist off and there are filter screens and a magnet in the bottom. Clean all of those parts in mineral spirits, acetone or carb cleaner. If the filter screens look really yucky you might have to disassemble the fuel pumps and clean all the moving parts to free them up. Fairly easy to do. Though you'll probably get by with just cleaning the filters and bottom caps.

Also, with batteries disconnected open up the control panel. Its easy as all it takes is a large flat blade screw driver to release the Zeus fasteners and it will lay flat as you tilt it forward. Take a look inside and make sure there are no loose parts in bottom of cabinet...washers, screws and inspect wiring closely for burns/melting or anything that looks odd. I would check tightness of every screw and make sure there are no unterminated/cut wires laying loose.

After doing all the recommendations in all the above posts, I would put a wrench on the front of the Blower Wheel and see if the engine moves freely before attempting to crank it with batteries. When turning by hand you can also verify that the plunger guide in the injection pump is moving freely. There are detailed procedures to verify the plunger guide and how to unstick it if its stuck if you search within these forums.

If you can post detailed pictures for inspection we might spot something that needs attention.

ckesey · Aug 12, 2020

Chainbreaker said:
You also need to service the fuel pumps. The bottoms twist off and there are filter screens and a magnet in the bottom. Clean all of those parts in mineral spirits, acetone or carb cleaner. If the filter screens look really yucky you might have to disassemble the fuel pumps and clean all the moving parts to free them up. Fairly easy to do. Though you'll probably get by with just cleaning the filters and bottom caps.

Also, with batteries disconnected open up the control panel. Its easy as all it takes is a large flat blade screw driver to release the Zeus fasteners and it will lay flat as you tilt it forward. Take a look inside and make sure there are no loose parts in bottom of cabinet...washers, screws and inspect wiring closely for burns/melting or anything that looks odd. I would check tightness of every screw and make sure there are no unterminated/cut wires laying loose.

After doing all the recommendations in all the above posts, I would put a wrench on the front of the Blower Wheel and see if the engine moves freely before attempting to crank it with batteries. When turning by hand you can also verify that the plunger guide in the injection pump is moving freely. There are detailed procedures to verify the plunger guide and how to unstick it if its stuck if you search within these forums.

If you can post detailed pictures for inspection we might spot something that needs attention.

Thanks for all the detailed advice. My understanding is the right 2 filters are fuel filters and the left one is a water separator...correct? I'd like to get some filters on order and if I understand correctly I need 2 fuel filters. Is there anything to replace or change in the separator?

Scoobyshep · Aug 12, 2020

Water seperater should be cleanable

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ckesey · Aug 12, 2020

Scoobyshep said:
Water seperater should be cleanable

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Thanks. I'm ordering 2 fuel filters, oil filter and air filter tonight.

The unit looks to have 3/4 tank of "diesel" according to the indicator. When I took the fill cap off the tank to look in, the bottom of the cap and part of the filler tube had rust on it. Hopefully it's just at the top of the tank where diesel wasn't sitting. I'm going to drain it all out and see how rusted it is on down below where the diesel level was.

ckesey · Aug 12, 2020

Mr4btTahoe said:
Flush the old fuel out of it asap. Clean out the tank and then add a gallon of diesel and a heavy dose of fuel additive.

After changing fuel filters.. prime the system and then let it sit for a few days. Re prime it a few times a day but let it sit.

There is a tiny piece in the injection pump that likes to get stuck and break if it's been sitting long. It's not bad to fix but if you can avoid it... Might as well.

If the linkage on the side of the pump is bound up/sticky.. I would just pull the injection pump and do a good cleaning. I've got a thread on rebuilding the pump. It's very straight forward.

After sitting a few days and all your fluids have been changed... You can attempt to start it. While waiting those days, it would be good to do some testing on the glow plugs system, etc.. and just get things cleaned up. Check the throttle control cable as they like to bind/freeze up over time.

If it puts out smoke after purging the air or starts... You're in good shape. Then you can test voltage output, battery charging voltage, etc.

If it doesn't start.. likely need to go through the injection pump. Again it's simple and parts are relatively cheap.

Anyways, good luck!

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

I'm trying to get my bearing with this generator before actually turning any wrenches. From the documents, I've pulled this exploded view of the injection pump and I'm assuming that I need to check #16/#13 for stickness/locked up/operation back and forth?

Mr4btTahoe · Aug 12, 2020

ckesey said:
I'm trying to get my bearing with this generator before actually turning any wrenches. From the documents, I've pulled this exploded view of the injection pump and I'm assuming that I need to check #16/#13 for stickness/locked up/operation back and forth?

Yes.

Also if there are methods of clearing/cleaning the plunger guide without disassembly, I would do it as mentioned above before attempting to crank the engine over.

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Chainbreaker · Aug 12, 2020

Ckesey, you should get "really familiar" with using the Search function (the little magnifying glass at top of screen header). There are tons of GREAT posts dealing with prepping & troubleshooting MEP-002a & MEP-003a from lots of knowledgeable members, some of which are no longer active.

When you do use the Search Function be sure to filter your search using the "This Forum" selection your are in (generators) to reach the most pertinent posts related to the issue at hand. Also, when using search try several different search terms/words in unique search queries to reach the best info from all angles.

By doing searches you will inadvertently run across a lot of useful information that you would otherwise not know to ask about.

If you can't find answers when dealing with a specific issue then by all means ask the question here.

ckesey · Aug 12, 2020

I removed and drained the tank along with opening the fuel separator. Its definitely got rust but it seems to wipe off the surface. I also pulled the strainer in one of the pumps and it didnt look to bad....it didnt have any big rust clumps or didnt seem to be to clogged.

Would you guys recommend I replace any of the fuel lines or just try and flush them as best as possible?

Also on the pump, should I try and run them separately while I have the hoses disconnected?

I put a bar in the cooling fin bolt and the engine turns over and seems to have good compression. I just need to get all the "deck varnish" out of it before trying to crank it over.

robertsears1 · Aug 12, 2020

If you have never run a MEP generator, the start is unlike any engine I had ever cranked before. You must continue to hold the start knob in start after it is running in order to flash the field And let the rising oil pressure satisfy the low oil pressure safety switch. On my 003, I guess I have a slow LOP switch since I must hold mine in start for at least 15 seconds Or it will shut down.

Scoobyshep · Aug 12, 2020

Make sure the throttle is pulled out about half. These dont like being idled

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Chainbreaker · Aug 13, 2020

ckesey said:
I removed and drained the tank along with opening the fuel separator. Its definitely got rust but it seems to wipe off the surface. I also pulled the strainer in one of the pumps and it didnt look to bad....it didnt have any big rust clumps or didnt seem to be to clogged.

I would dip the fuel strainer in a can/jar of either acetone, carb cleaner. mineral spirits or similar cleaner. That varnish will then disappear and it will be shiny silver as like new.

Would you guys recommend I replace any of the fuel lines or just try and flush them as best as possible?

I would first flush them and use them initially to verify that your unit is a runner & produces electricity before investing too many $ into it just yet. It would be good to eventually replace the fuel lines for safety's sake once you get your unit dialed in and running well. You can always keep your old fuel lines as spares just in case you ever need a quick fuel line fix.

Also on the pump, should I try and run them separately while I have the hoses disconnected?

Wouldn't hurt to first run them without the outgoing fuel lines connected or run them with lines running into a can so anything bad that comes out wont travel downstream to filters, etc.

I put a bar in the cooling fin bolt and the engine turns over and seems to have good compression. I just need to get all the "deck varnish" out of it before trying to crank it over.

That's a good sign so far! You can also do that to verify that the "plunger guide" in the injection pump is moving "before" cranking unit with starter. There are some old threads that describe exactly how to verify plunger guide movement and what to do if it is not moving that involves tapping with a brass punch. I've never had to do that so best to find the thread. I know SS member "Jamawieb" has done it many times. You could PM him if you can't locate the thread or perhaps someone will come along that can describe in detail the step-by-step process.

See my responses embedded within above quote.

glcaines · Aug 13, 2020

As Scoobyshep said, don't let the engine idle. Once it starts, adjust the RPM so that you get 60 Hz. Leave it there or make small adjustments to keep it near 60 Hz. When shutting down, shut it down when it reads 60 Hz. Never let the engine idle or it will damage the VR. These are fantastic generators - very reliable. I've been using mine for eleven years since I got it from GL with virtually no problems. Read the TMs.

ckesey · Aug 13, 2020

Thanks for the feedback. I've been really involved in the TM in the last couple days. These TMs are awesome. I'm not sure there are any other generators on the market that has such detailed documentation. I may regret saying this later, but it seems like the operational pieces of this 003A is fairly simple.

glcaines · Aug 13, 2020

ckesey said:
Thanks for the feedback. I've been really involved in the TM in the last couple days. These TMs are awesome. I'm not sure there are any other generators on the market that has such detailed documentation. I may regret saying this later, but it seems like the operational pieces of this 003A is fairly simple.

The MEP003A is fairly simple. I like it because it is air cooled. No messing around with a liquid cooling system.

Newly Acquired 003A - Unknown Condition

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