How do you do an initial setup of an MEP-003A

[JOHNPFD1]

Can anyone list the proper procedure from start to finish on the best way to get a new MEP-003a which arrived with no fluids or batteries from GL ? I want to make sure I don't miss some little step that may be critical.

 

[Isaac-1]

This topic has came up before, but I can't think of a way to search for it at the moment, hopefully someone else will find a link.

You will generally find it is a risk / reward debate, some people feel it is almost necessary to strip the unit down and rebuild from scratch, others are much more lax and say just add fluids, filters, and fuel and fire it up. Personally I am somewhere in the middle, and take a few chances, like assuming no one did something like drop a handful of nuts and bolts down the air intake with the air filter removed, etc. (we have heard of this happening)

Also for me a lot depends on the apparent condition of the unit and any educated guess I can make about how long it has sat since it last ran. Ones with signs of recent use, like batteries that still have a charge, or service dates marked that are less than a couple of years old I will be less worried about than ones that may have sat unattended for many years.


Ike

 

[Jimc]

some people feel it is almost necessary to strip the unit down and rebuild from scratch
Ike

i dont believe in this at all....

 

[Isaac-1]

Says the guy with the custom painted generator as his avatar.....

 

[TucsonVTXF]

I did the basic recommendations from this site before even turning the key to start.. clean the fuel tank and lines,,, lube the ip.,, all new filters and oil...4 glow plugs,, replaced some fuel and oil lines and bought a air filter to see if my unit was good...now I am on to making it more civilianized, injector adjust.... fram fuel bases and oil filter spin on adaptor. 100 gallon fuel tank and a battery tender..

 

[DieselBob]

I just checked to verify that I had all new filters installed correctly, engine oil and fresh diesel in the tank. I used the prime/run setting to purge the fuel system until I heard the fuel returning to the fuel tank then pre-heated for 60 seconds and started it. I found that I needed to do some repairs to the VR but you won't know until you try it.

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok here goes a longer personal list:



1, give the entire unit a basic inspection, look for loose wires, missing or damaged parts, loose or damaged hoses, including inside the control box and any clues about its history (service and unit markings, any date markings). Using a deep well socket on the fan nut (remove plug from fan shroud if needed) make sure the engine turn over by hand, there is no since in going through all the other stuff if it does not. Some people will say you should pull and inspect the injection pump first, I personally risk it vs the amount of work pulling the pump requires.

2, check fuel tank, clean, and repair as needed, I know a lot of people have ended up with bad fuel tanks, personally I have been lucky, I have bought about 10 or 11 pieces of diesel powered military equipment (generators, air compressors, water pump, heater, etc.) and only 2 have required flushing of the fuel tanks, and those two both had minimal corrosion / gunk issues. In fact my MEP-002 came with a brand new tank and brand new filters already installed, just a dead AVR output transistor.

3, check and change filters as needed, don't forget the little filters in the bottom of each of the 3 electric fuel pumps. Chances are good that you may not need a new air filter, these filters are massively oversized for typical conditions, although if it spend time in the sandbox all bets are off.

4, make sure the cold / warm operations lever on the air cleaner assembly is in the Warm position, cold is for arctic operation only.

5, connect batteries, and confirm operation of the pop out dc breaker.

6, put some diesel in the fuel tank (I like to mix in some ATF or Marvel Mystery oil to help break down any gunk in the fuel system), fill with oil confirm operation of the fuel gauge, and low fuel sensor

7, turn main rotary switch to the run position, prime the fuel system, confirm operation of both inline primary and secondary electric fuel pumps, and look for fuel leaks.

8, attempt to preheat and start, there is time to check / replace the glow plugs later if needed, remember switch must be held in start position until oil pressure comes up, it is not exactly like starting a car.

9, only run for a few seconds, shut down, check again for leaks, if it failed to start check glow plugs, priming, and bleeding injectors, etc. I have found that many units were left with enough fuel in the lines that the injectors don't need to be bled. Glow plugs are generally only needed for starting on cooler weather, exact temperature depends on the unit, how much compression it has, how strong of starter, etc.

10, restart adjust speed for 60 hz operation, and proper AC voltage at the onboard outlet best confirmed with a good multi meter or a "kill-a-watt P4400" then check that the DC charging system is charging the batteries. If no AC output check to see if the small AC circuit breaker is tripped, if not cycle it a couple of times and test with a meter before looking for obscure things (learned this one recently the hard way)

At this point trouble shoot remaining issues, and hopefully you are up and running. In general don't trust the panel meters for accuracy.

Ike

 

[storeman]

Good rundown Ike.
Jerry

 

[jamawieb]

"2, check fuel tank, clean, and repair as needed, I know a lot of people have ended up with bad fuel tanks, personally I have been lucky, I have bought about 10 or 11 pieces of diesel powered military equipment (generators, air compressors, water pump, heater, etc.) and only 2 have required flushing of the fuel tanks, and those two both had minimal corrosion / gunk issues. In fact my MEP-002 came with a brand new tank and brand new filters already installed, just a dead AVR output transistor."

You are lucky, I've had a dozen 002a's over the past year and all had to have the fuel tanks cleaned. FYI: I take the tank off, remove the fuel gauge and then use a power washer to clean them out. It only takes about 30 minutes to do everything and it's well worth it.

 

[steelandcanvas]

And no one mentioned downloading the TM. Here is the link for the TM that will allow you to become more familiar with your genset: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/upload/Generators/TM5-6115-585-12.pdf

 

[Scar59]

Subscribed, picking up my "new" 003 next week, lot of good tips posted.
looking for hard copy TMs.
JC

 

[3dAngus]

Just use some common sense, check fluids and filters, clean tank, add batteries and follow the starting instructions in the tech manual.

Don't obsess over them. They are not worth a remanufactured style build for civilian purposes unless you need a museum quality rebuilt for personal or professional purposes. Read the manual.

The auction site advertising these are not selling at those inflated asking prices (with one exception back in Oct -shocking!) so you have to be careful not to get carried away with these things. Parts off of them , new or used, do sell fairly well however. Good luck and report back your results. If you need more help, I'm sure you will find it on this site.

 

[steelypip]

I will confirm most of what Isaac said. The big deals are to make sure the fuel tank is clean, purge the fuel lines with good fuel, and then verify that the engine turns through easily by hand, which can keep you from breaking a stuck injection pump.

 

[ctfjr]

My son was able to inspect the lot of 20 or so that the two of ours came from. He eliminated any that looked iffy. That left about 6 that we bid on until we each got one. All they required before lightoff was a really good look over (inside control box, wiring on the gen head, piping, etc), replacing of all filters and filling with fresh fluids. Add new batteries and we had magic

 

[JOHNPFD1]

Ike, Thanks that was the type of list I was looking for. Can you explain how to prime and bleed the injectors if needed? thanks John

 

[Isaac-1]

First confirm you have flow to the injection pump, either hearing return going back into the tank, or loosen the fuel line going into the injection pump and make sure you get flow. Once that is confirmed, you will want to loosen the fuel line going into a diesel injector (avoid putting strain on injector, use 2 wrenches), wrap with a rag, and crank until fuel comes out, repeat for the other injectors. Note diesel is at very high pressure at the injector so use caution, diesel injected under the skin can cause serious problems (potential loss of life and limb).

 

[PeterD]

i dont believe in this at all....

No way (says the guy who knows for a fact he can fit into the ASK for a MEP-004 to rebuild the engine in place because he did it...)