Pirotess
Member
- 18
- 37
- 13
- Location
- Lavaca County, TX, USA
Hello all,
I have been reading this forum for a while but just registered recently.
I recently bought a 803A from GovPlanet out at Lytle, TX a month ago and have been working on it to set it up as a backup gen.
This is how it looked when I picked it up:
The batteries tested bad and the control panel cover was missing, as well as a door latch. There was a lot of missing screws and the muffler was unbolted from the exhaust manifold. It looks like someone ran it like that as there is soot everywhere inside. Not too bad but enough to make a mess when I'm working on it. The gauge has 3164 hours on it.
Can anyone make sense of these tags on the generator. The plate says it was made in 2009, but there is a Reset tag dated 2006, and the body is labeled as having Carc painted in 2006... How old is this really?
So, I have been working on it and have replaced most of the fuel lines except the four short pieces crimped on the fuel rail. They seem fine and I don't see any leaks there. Everything else is new.
I have also replaced all filters and oil. I even got the pump filters in today to replace.
The radiator looked full, I just had to top off the overflow bottle after fixing the tubing.
Bought new batteries.
I drained and wiped out the sand from the diesel tank and replaced the leaking well nut plugs with brass ones. The floats seem fine and work.
The gen has the quad fuse mod already, but I added the MOV as well.
I fixed a couple of broken wires on the gauges.
Added an exhaust extension and cap.
Made a gasket and bolted the muffler to the exhaust manifold.
Tightened the loose fan belt. The radiator hoses seem good.
Added screens on the air holes. (We have mud daubers here in TX.)
Both fuel pumps make noise and seem to work.
I am still looking for a cheap control cover, door latch, and a cover for the 24V plug.
So, the current status is this:
I am running the 803A on 120/240 1PH. I have a Kill A Watt meter on each leg.
So, I was able to fire it up and it seems to run well with the smoke clear after starting. It vibrates some, but I don't know how much is normal for these generators.
At idle, it runs at a stable frequency and an oil pressure of just over 40. The temp came up to 160 or so. The batteries were charging at like 27V I believe.
1. So the first problem, is I measure the frequency output and set it to 60Hz, but the Frequency gauge is maxed out at 65 (the adjustment dial doesn't help), and it wanders around. Sometimes 63 up to max on the gauge. However the output us sold at 60Hz on the meters. Is this an issue with frequency transducer? I have downloaded the TMs, but I have not had a chance to figure out how to test it yet. Can these be repaired or do they have to be replaced?
I wired up some plugs and connected all my 120V heaters to the 803A, keeping them fairly balanced. I worked it up slowly to 100% on the gauge, doing about 15-30 mins around 25%, 50%, and 75% load. I then ran it at 105% on the gauge for an hour or so.
Oil pressure dipped to around 30 but did not drop any lower. Is that normal?
The temp came up to about 170, but I never saw any change in the overflow bottle level. Do I need a new radiator cap or is this normal?
2. So second problem. I said 105% on the load gauge, but my meter registered only around 37A on L1 and 39A on L3, with around 2A on N. Shouldn't 100% be 41.7A on each leg for this 10KW 803A? Is the gauge out of calibration or am I missing something?
3. Also, while running the test, the voltage kept jumping around on L1. L3 was a bit high but solid and stable at 123V. L1 fluctuated from 111V to 119V, it seemed to stay low mostly, then jump up 6 or 7 volts suddenly. I am not sure where to look for this problem. What would cause L1 to fluctuate while L3 is stable?
Other than that, when I took out the oil dipstick while running, there was some pulsing pressure, but I could hold it with my finger easily. It did splatter some oil though. I looked in the oil cap after running and there was some smoke or steam inside, but nothing billowed out or anything. I am not clear on the blow-by issue that some people mentioned, but I think I am ok?
I'll try to add a video of it running and the voltage jump.
Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thank you!
- Christopher
I have been reading this forum for a while but just registered recently.
I recently bought a 803A from GovPlanet out at Lytle, TX a month ago and have been working on it to set it up as a backup gen.
This is how it looked when I picked it up:
The batteries tested bad and the control panel cover was missing, as well as a door latch. There was a lot of missing screws and the muffler was unbolted from the exhaust manifold. It looks like someone ran it like that as there is soot everywhere inside. Not too bad but enough to make a mess when I'm working on it. The gauge has 3164 hours on it.
Can anyone make sense of these tags on the generator. The plate says it was made in 2009, but there is a Reset tag dated 2006, and the body is labeled as having Carc painted in 2006... How old is this really?
So, I have been working on it and have replaced most of the fuel lines except the four short pieces crimped on the fuel rail. They seem fine and I don't see any leaks there. Everything else is new.
I have also replaced all filters and oil. I even got the pump filters in today to replace.
The radiator looked full, I just had to top off the overflow bottle after fixing the tubing.
Bought new batteries.
I drained and wiped out the sand from the diesel tank and replaced the leaking well nut plugs with brass ones. The floats seem fine and work.
The gen has the quad fuse mod already, but I added the MOV as well.
I fixed a couple of broken wires on the gauges.
Added an exhaust extension and cap.
Made a gasket and bolted the muffler to the exhaust manifold.
Tightened the loose fan belt. The radiator hoses seem good.
Added screens on the air holes. (We have mud daubers here in TX.)
Both fuel pumps make noise and seem to work.
I am still looking for a cheap control cover, door latch, and a cover for the 24V plug.
So, the current status is this:
I am running the 803A on 120/240 1PH. I have a Kill A Watt meter on each leg.
So, I was able to fire it up and it seems to run well with the smoke clear after starting. It vibrates some, but I don't know how much is normal for these generators.
At idle, it runs at a stable frequency and an oil pressure of just over 40. The temp came up to 160 or so. The batteries were charging at like 27V I believe.
1. So the first problem, is I measure the frequency output and set it to 60Hz, but the Frequency gauge is maxed out at 65 (the adjustment dial doesn't help), and it wanders around. Sometimes 63 up to max on the gauge. However the output us sold at 60Hz on the meters. Is this an issue with frequency transducer? I have downloaded the TMs, but I have not had a chance to figure out how to test it yet. Can these be repaired or do they have to be replaced?
I wired up some plugs and connected all my 120V heaters to the 803A, keeping them fairly balanced. I worked it up slowly to 100% on the gauge, doing about 15-30 mins around 25%, 50%, and 75% load. I then ran it at 105% on the gauge for an hour or so.
Oil pressure dipped to around 30 but did not drop any lower. Is that normal?
The temp came up to about 170, but I never saw any change in the overflow bottle level. Do I need a new radiator cap or is this normal?
2. So second problem. I said 105% on the load gauge, but my meter registered only around 37A on L1 and 39A on L3, with around 2A on N. Shouldn't 100% be 41.7A on each leg for this 10KW 803A? Is the gauge out of calibration or am I missing something?
3. Also, while running the test, the voltage kept jumping around on L1. L3 was a bit high but solid and stable at 123V. L1 fluctuated from 111V to 119V, it seemed to stay low mostly, then jump up 6 or 7 volts suddenly. I am not sure where to look for this problem. What would cause L1 to fluctuate while L3 is stable?
Other than that, when I took out the oil dipstick while running, there was some pulsing pressure, but I could hold it with my finger easily. It did splatter some oil though. I looked in the oil cap after running and there was some smoke or steam inside, but nothing billowed out or anything. I am not clear on the blow-by issue that some people mentioned, but I think I am ok?
I'll try to add a video of it running and the voltage jump.
Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thank you!
- Christopher
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