Westerbeke 15kw diesel gen stalling

SkipR
On another post you sent recently on another subject you said you replaced the sensor at the water housing implying you had solved the problem? Yes ?

Buy/borrow an inspection camera, find the tank that serves the genny and I bet you will find a lot of growth, as Marmot will say, it's not algae but looks like it. After that, there are a few ways to deal with it.
Followed this thread since day one because I had a similar issue.
Good luck.

my generator is T-ed off one of the dual racors from the stbd main.

when there is even a slight restriction in the filter the generator will shut down even though the main seems to run fine, and the generator only shuts down when the main is running.

I'd given some thought to that (which is why I asked about the sputter), and changing the fuel filter is never a bad idea. However, he should have some sediment in the bowl and would probably have noticed at least some hesitation on his mains when he put down the throttles. I'd originally been inclined towards a water restriction, but it would have been more consistant, and he claims the temp is good. My thought is a wiring problem, Most specifically a wire too close to heat (maybe touching or very close to the exhaust). Could also be a short or corrosion or a slightly lose connection. I think he's on the right path with checking the wires. One other possibility would be that tempeture sensor. Nothing says a new one can't be bad as well, although my main thought is a wire near a heat source. That could account for it working again after it cools. If you find such aa wire it may test fine, but look for a point of discoloration in the casing where it may touch or come close.

CS,
you are on point, I need to put a separate Racor on my generator like you have, Its on the "to do" list...the boat came that way, but that is not an excuse........for now I just give extra vigilance to the racors on the mains.

I see from the previous pages that you may have ruled out the emergency shut down.
btw, my onan has a breaker that trips if the generator emergency shuts down.

don't forget to look at your halon shut down for the generator.....

Did you check the fuel shut down solenoid? they do go bad, and you could have a bad ground or 12v feed that could cause an intermittent shut down...you could bypass the fuel shut down to see if the unwated shut down repeats. just make sure you monitor the generator if you bypass the fuel shut down solenoid.

good luck

Hi Skip,
It's not just the growth you can see in the filters. There is probably water in your tanks, feeding this growth. Your mains will not be as badly affected as the generator. The camera will show you the growth and the water below the diesel. If you were to treat the growth with the wrong chemical which just kills it, then your filters will clog up VERY quickly, leaving the water.
There are a lot of "snake oil cures" out there. The product I used is the Australian Fuel Doctor, not to be confused with the US one which apparently is a scam.
After all your investigating and attempts with different causes, this could be the simplest.
Again, good luck!
Kafue

Hey Skip
If I read correctly, the gen-set has it's own fuel pick up from the tank? Check the pick up screen when it dies next.
Thought you were island bound by now. Were heading down June.
,RC

Test of Safety Switches

Was that loose screw on the Stop switch, because only the Stop switch carries electricity when running. A bad connection could stop your engine, but at the same time you released the Start switch?
The safety switches are engaged when you release the Start switch. Next time, to test if ANY of the safety switches are open, jump a wire from TB1-2 to TB2-1 (in the Control box) and start it. This bypasses the switches and powers the fuel solinoid and pump.
With one screw loose, check all the screws on the terminal boards. Lossen them and retighten.