MEP-003a At what point do you just trust these things???

Tem said:

Thanks in advanced for any comments and help!

I'll give a bit of back story and then get to the generator below. I bought an MEP-003a about 1 1/2 years ago and while I've given it a few test runs, I've never really needed it and about 10 hours is the longest I've run it. Saturday night a couple small tornados passed through town and knocked out power for us and about 25% of our small town.

First off I'll mention that having a tornado shelter in the midwest is a HUGE plus. While our friends were hiding in closets and bathrooms fearful for there lives and the safety of their families, I was concerned that I hadn't put more time into finishing the storm shelter. It's bones are there and I'm not worried about getting blown away, but the inside is a work in progress. It has now been moved up pretty high on the priority list to finish it off as it would have been nicer to have it done. Second I'm super glad I have a generator that can run most out house. It's been running MOSTLY non-stop for over 30 hours now. The food in the fridge and freezers is good, the house is cool, the water is hot, laundry continues to be done, and we've eaten meals as if we had city power.

The generator has shut off 3 times and thanks to the TMs, others with similar problems that have posted online, tinkering, and some good old fashion luck I've been able to get it back online. While I do enjoy working on it I don't enjoy the unpredictability of it and I certainly wouldn't feel good about leaving my wife at home depending on it. I'm super sensitive to any surges and I'm continually worried it's going shut off again and not start back up.

I don't know what has caused it to stop running and since it's a work in progress and I'm going off not much sleep it's hard to remember what I've done and in what order.

Here's where I'm at with it:

1) The starter cut off plunger, (I assume you mean the S7) does not extend to contact the points. I'm currently bypassing this by jumping the wires together then removing the jumper once it's started. I learned that if you leave the jumper in place voltage is high (over 260 volts) and it runs at about 50 hertz. Without touching anything once the jumper is removed it runs at 240 volts and 60 hertz.

You need to read in the TM, the test and adjustment procedure for the S7 switch. Its not adjusted right, or its broken, or the wires to and from it, are not connected. This switch often is jumped due to people not reading the troubleshooting guide. Its simple, easy fault to correct.
2) The shutters don't open. I've noticed this in the past but most the work I've done with the generator has been in the winter and from what I've read the shutter won't open much when it's cold. Now that it's summer I would expect them to open. Upon closer inspection, the linkage from the thermo power unit to the shutters is missing. I've manually opened the shutters and am just running the unit with them full open. IF THIS IS BAD PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN STOP DOING THAT. I'm running it with them open as I believe I may have over heated the unit one of the times. By time I found the information that the over temp switch is normally closed and I checked it, it was closed and when I attempted to restart the unit it started fine.

You are going to get tired of me fast, but reading the book would have helped beforehand. And a good inspection of the set before operating it might have found the missing linkage. Running the set with open shutters isn't too bad. No, the set doesn't warm up right. Yes the set will tend to wet stack a bit more, but that's manageable by loading the set up. 75% or better.

3) The generator charging system does not work. I currently have the battery maintainer plugged into the 120 port on the front and charging the batteries. With the maintainer off, my batteries were at 23.96 volts and with the 4 amp maintainer on, voltage was 24.4. I'd like to see it higher, but at least I know more is going in than coming out.

Read the procedure for testing the charging circuit. There is even a sticky on just that subject. If its the regulator, there is the option of buying one here from a member of the forum who makes them.

The latest time it stopped on me I happened to be outside. I was going to refuel and head to bed. While outside I heard it shut off.... very abruptly and was clearly shut off by it's self. Over temp sensor closed, starter cut off open and was still just getting a "click" when attempting to start it. (In the past I've had trouble shutting the unit off. I could turn the main switch to off, pull the breaker on the panel off, disconnect the fuel pumps, disconnect the battery, and it would just kept running. I determined that problem was the fuel cut off solenoid was extending, but not far enough to actually cut off the fuel. Adjusted that and it now shuts off better than it ever has. Since it continued running with everything disconnected I figured the gen didn't need batteries to run, just to start it. I've since put it together why it continued to run (fuel cut off out of adjustment) and realized that it NEEDS batteries to run....

The learning curve is growing smaller. You will be a gen set mechanic yet! The reason it cuts off without the batteries is because your charging circuit isn't working.

I noticed the batteries were each at about 9.5 volts after this last shut off. I knew that wouldn't be enough to start it once I figured out why it wasn't running so I went and got my battery charger and a smaller generator and put a quick charge on them. Impatiently while they were charging I rounded up two other batteries and attempted a start and it fired right up. I figured I'd remove those batteries and put them back where they came from while the MEPs batteries continued to charge. As soon as I disconnected the first battery the gen quickly shut off. So that's how I learned it needs batteries to run.

4) At one point probably about 20 hours into this I got a bit more aggressive with the load I was putting on it. Initially I was keeping the load under 50% and when the AC unit was off it hardly had any load on it all. I pushed the unit harder and got it to about 75% continuous and would surge higher as larger draws would come on. Shortly (maybe 30 minutes) after running it harder the unit bogged down and almost shut off. I removed all load and it got back up to 1800 rpm. It could handle a small load (maybe 5 amps) but anything more and it would bog down and run a slow rpm. I topped it off (the tank was about 1/3-1/2 full) and ran diesel through the fuel filters until it came out clean. It seems to be doing good again. I've kept the load to less than 50% as I'd rather have it running there than push it and have it not run at all.

The more load, the better.
When I first got the unit I it had some contaminated fuel and there was mold / fungus growing on the screen at the bottom of the sleeve for the fuel tank. I thought I had cleaned that and taken care of it, but it is back and that screen is completely blocked at this point. I'll need to address this at some point, but it has me concerned about what other problems it could be causing.

You need to read several threads about cleaning up the fuel system. A diesel engine needs three things. Air, fuel and compression. When is the last time you drained the water separator, to see if you have water in the system? Have you drained fuel out of the filters to see if its clean? Glass jar is just what you need. If the system is cruddy, new filters may be in order. If you don't like the old style filters, put something new and high tech on. Perhaps something that allows you to water separate, and filter in one. should not be hard. Clean the water separator also. There is nothing wrong with the fuel system. You need to look at it more often.

So for anyone still reading.... At what point can I trust this thing???

When you are willing to troubleshoot and fix your problems, the reliability will go up.

Are any of these major red flags or are these things I should expect running an old generator like this?

Had you bought an MEP-803, you would have some of the same problems. A commander has to take care of the troops. That gen set is one of your troops. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. My personnel opinion is that if I had to chose between a MEP-003A and a MEP-803, don't get in my way when I am picking up my 003A.

Should I be looking for a MEP-803a or a different unit that would be more reliable?

When you are willing to troubleshoot and fix your problems, the reliability will go up.

I specifically wanted a 003a over the 803a as I thought the simpler air cooled generator would have less to go wrong with it, but I've had enough problems with this I'm wondering if I made the wrong purchase. I would appreciate something quieter and more importantly something reliable.

Thanks to anyone still reading and for sharing any thoughts!

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Bmxenbrett said:

Spare filters would be a minimum to me. Its not like you will never use them. If your in a cold climate where diesel can gel i would have two sets of fuel filters.
I would also keep things like fuel hoses and other such rubber parts around but the BEST "part" to have around is the MANUAL.

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