Kohler Generator running terrible!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 22/09/2007
 
OK...now the genny is running worse than ever.  When we drove down from Wisconsin to Salado, Texas, we left the genny off to conserve gas, and since it wasn't too hot on the way down for the trip (we drove mostly at night) that was all good.  The problem came when I fired up the genny at the campsite for the Salado mini renaissance faire.  At first she fired right up, and a shutdown and restart showed it wasn't dieseling anymore.  It was running great!  Then about 24 hours later, she started laboring like she was under a heavy load...then stalled.  I went to the compartment, unplugged from the genny to make sure there was no load at all on it, and tried to restart her....and MAN did the genny seem hot!  No spark at first.  I let her cool down for a few hours, and she finally restarted reluctantly.  But she was still laboring like under a heavy load...oil pressure was perfect, oil level perfect, but something is making it labor.  If I turned on the air, she stalls, and diesels until she finally goes still.  If I keep the air off, she'll run for an hour or so, laboring, and then stall, dieseling. 

Now, my temp fix of the oil filter might be causing the overheating...the bore of the fitting I used, even though I drilled it out as large as I dared, is smaller than the bore of the original oil fitting, so perhaps the oil flow is restricted, and perhaps there is a safety shutoff switch that shuts down the genny when it reaches a certain temp.

I haven't pulled the new spark plugs yet to see if they are fouled, but I'm guessing they are...it seems like they are, what with the dieseling and the loss of spark and power.

I know it isn't a gas issue, since the pump flows fine...and the filter isn't blocked. 

Any ideas?  Could it need new points, or a timing adjustment or something?  Do the symptoms sound familiar to anyone?

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 06/12/2007

VICTORY!!!  SUCCESS!!!

While I couldn't find a suitable coil (even though a John Deere dealer 40 freaking miles away said they could match it up and then said sorry no dice when I drove all the way up there!) or even wires, I installed the new breaker points, gapped them to .020, installed the new condensor, installed the new fuel line fittings and filter, and then the "rebuilt"carb...

She fired right up on the first shot, running smooth as can be, even with the preliminary carburator settings! 

I adjusted the carb to specs (very simple no-brainer), and then checked to see how she ran under load:  I turned on both air conditioners, both heaters, the microwave, and every other AC operated thing in the house...she lowered RPM, but chugged along nice and smooth with no bogging at all!

And then I noticed a loose wire in the control panel...hooked it up tight...and now the remote switch on the dashboard will start and stop the genny with no problems!  Yay!

Some minor dieseling still...very minor, but will probably go away when I replace the coil and plug wires.

I added more pics to my Excalibur album with all of today's work in it!  Excalibur!!! 77 Itasca
Yay!!!!!

VICTORY!!!!

SUCCESS!!!

Kev the Happy Genny Mechanic