Generating Again

I mentioned recently that we were unable to use the generator on our jump from South Georgia to Virginia. That remark generated questions, pun intended.😍 Today, we have answers.

A couple of weeks ago, our generator shut itself down. We were traveling and did not have time to look for the problem, so we kicked it to the future. The future arrived two weeks ago in Colquitt, Georgia.

Our Martin generator with a Yanmar engine will shut itself down for low oil pressure, high coolant temperature and if the bus fuel tank is below 1/4. We had plenty of diesel, I checked the oil and then zeroed in on the coolant.

After making sure the coolant level was good, I removed the guard at the end of the motor to see if the belt was broken. It was broken and I breathed a sigh of relief. That is an easier fix than changing the water pump or thermostat.

The motor sits in the hush box sideways, so the pulley end of the engine is on the right. It is not easy for me to reach the adjustment pulley, but it can be done. I have to learn how every time, but I eventually got it.

I can push the bracket holding the pulley with a long pry bar or crowbar and tighten the bolt at the top with a wrench. Keeping pressure on the bracket, I then tighten the bottom bolt with a socket and ratchet. It is a stretch and longer arms would be helpful. Less belly would probably help too.

After installing the belt, I discovered I had a little bit of coolant in the floor of the hush box so that started me looking for leaks.

First, I found this rubber cap leaking on the expansion tank and replaced the rubber cap.

Then I noticed the expansion tank itself was leaking a very small amount.

I ordered the expansion tank and a few other things from Martin Diesel in Defiance, Ohio. The parts were waiting on me in Staunton, Virginia so last week I tackled the expansion tank.

Our generator was manufactured in Defiance in early 1995 and they are incredibly great to work with. They answer every question with patience and they have the original specifications for my generator in their records. Awesome!

The new expansion tank is twenty times better built than the original, although it is a bit longer. You can see the length difference in the picture below.

I had to shift it to the right and change the orientation of the clamps, but I was able to install it. I had drained quite a bit of coolant getting the original out, so I added coolant, cranked it up and away it went.

Notice the new expansion tank has a viewport to see the level of the coolant. That is a welcome change because when I remove the cap, I can not get my head in there to check the coolant level.

I did all of that Monday. Tuesday morning I rechecked all my bolts and hose clamps and made sure the belt was tight. I reinstalled the belt guard, cranked the generator and ran it 75 minutes.

KJo watched the gauge inside while I monitored for leaks outside. I am happy to report that all seems well in the generator world again. Praise God!

Friday morning I started the bus and leaned it toward the passenger side. The floor of the hush box had oil and coolant in it, so I wanted to clean it as much as possible. I removed all the mess a few paper towels at a time. It would be nice if the pan had a drain plug.

We ran the generator for four hours during our trip to West Virginia Saturday to make sure all was well. It was perfect.

It is so nice to have our generator back in working order. That gives us super great options when traveling and parking. We still have some voltage fluctuations, but that will take an expert in the future.

Thank you for joining us today.

Davy