Just picked up a 2009 MEP-803A

[kloppk]

My 802 had the 3 ground rods in the clamps under the edge of the skid. The wire and couplers were in the door with the Aux Fuel hose.
Here is a source someone posted a while back for the ground rod kit. No driver though. Just the rods, couplers and ground wire.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/us-military-issue-grounding-rods-new?a=1943733

 

[Guyfang]

Making a driver is also an option.

1. Get large "metal thing".
2. Drill hole through "large metal thing", make the hole a larger diameter than ground rod.
3. Drill two opposing holes in the side of "big metal thing".
4. Cut threads in opposing holes.
5. Cut two handles with threaded ends that match opposing hole threads.

Wahla! Driver is done.

We did this in the 70's and 80's because there was no such thing as a puller in the army system. A HAWK missile loader worked well also!

 

[Guyfang]

Go to the manuals section. Look for "All the manuals you need to work on a MEP-802 Trailer" and you will find all the NSNs and pictures you need to look for drivers, ground rods, ground rod couplers, wire, fuel tank bungs, fuel tank bung rods and everything else your hearts desire.

 

[craigc]

Wooo whoo!!! my MEP-803A started and ran great. First off thanks to all the people that have contributed to this site. I changed the oil filter, filled the oil with Rotella T6 5W40 Synthetic and dead cranked it for 5 seconds or so. Added 2 new group 51 batteries and tried to fill the radiator presuming it was empty and dumped a bit of new coolant inside and it came out as fast as I put it in. Apparently it wasn't drained or empty. Put in 5 gallons of new Diesel. All the gauges work correctly and it makes power on the convenience plugs and the main lugs. The oil pressure gauge twitches a bit around 50 psi and the water temp sat right 180 deg F and its cold here in Iowa now. I put a 5Kw 240VAC heater on it and the genset said 35% load. I'm going to clean it up some with degreaser because of the overflow of me trying to fill the radiator and from previous oil and filter changes. Then I'm just going to tinker on it making sure there are no leaks, then try to straighten up some of the dents and bends from crazy forklift drivers.

 

[csheath]

Sounds like you got a winner! Congrats on getting it going.

 

[craigc]

Thanks, How is yours going? I have to look into the throttle on mine, even when it's pushed all the way in it still puts out 62Hz but that's ok. I'm going to test the cold weather starting this weekend. We have a winter weather advisory for the weekend here in Iowa, it's only going to be a high of 8 deg F or -13 C. I'll take a video of the cold start so we can see how that goes .

 

[uniquify]

If it's cold, you might want to pre-heat for a good 30-60 seconds.

 

[craigc]

Thanks, Yes I read in the operating TM that preheat for 30 seconds but I have no experience with these gensets so is it ok to go longer or do 2 30 second preheats? For my diesel pickup I do 2 cycles of the glow plugs before starting in really cold temps.

 

[csheath]

You have my sympathies. It's been in the 70s here until today when it crashed to about 55.

Won't be working on mine any more till the weekend if I get the other hose I ordered.

 

[Guyfang]

Thanks, Yes I read in the operating TM that preheat for 30 seconds but I have no experience with these gensets so is it ok to go longer or do 2 30 second preheats? For my diesel pickup I do 2 cycles of the glow plugs before starting in really cold temps.

Preheat over 30 sec is cool. Not a problem, and when its real cold, you can preheat 2-3 times before starting.

You can adjust your throttle cable. Just read the book, its all in there. Simple, actually.

Sounds like you have a winner! Take good care of it, it will take good care of you!!

 

[craigc]

Thanks, I will get that throttle adjustment done today. It's going to be 25 deg today I would like some advice regarding the messy wiring.


Should the tie-wrapped black plastic line that runs vertical on the left of the picture be routed through the red rubber anchor point?

 

[jamawieb]

Yes the fuel injector return line, should run through the anchor point and I would just zip tie the wires out of way.

 

[craigc]

Thanks, I wonder why the return line and wires are in that state. The genset only has 255 hours on it. Ill straighten those 2 issues out as well.

 

[craigc]

So today when I started the genset today the temp gauge did not work at all. I've printed the sender and gauge test procedures from the TM and will check it tomorrow.
I need to get the genset up to speed because its supposed to be very cold here over the next few days.

 

[jamawieb]

Thanks, I wonder why the return line and wires are in that state. The genset only has 255 hours on it. Ill straighten those 2 issues out as well.

The fuel return line has been clearly replaced, the original hose is wrapped in a cloth. It may have had a fuel shutoff solenoid replaced or "stolen" at one point. It's sometimes easier to pull parts off a new unit, then it is to unhook a whole generator just because of a solenoid.

 

[Haoleb]

So today when I started the genset today the temp gauge did not work at all. I've printed the sender and gauge test procedures from the TM and will check it tomorrow.
I need to get the genset up to speed because its supposed to be very cold here over the next few days.

I had a similar problem. Intermittent temp gauge. I had first tested the gauge and it worked fine so I got a new sender. Installed that and it still did not work. Finally I figured out my temp gauge tends to deflect to the left when its cold and then the needle gets stuck all the way to the left and I have to open the panel up and tap on the side of the gauge a bunch of times and it will finally come free and start working again. I wait until I know it is warmed up before tapping it so that it will move right when freed.

 

[craigc]

Thanks, I bet that's it because I had it in the shop at 50 deg then pulled it out for its first start and the gauge worked. I left it outside overnight so I could check the cold weather starting and that's when the gauge didn't work. Its back in the shop now so when I pull it out we'll see if the gauge works again.

 

[Guyfang]

The gages are to be take with a grain of salt. They give you a ballpark reading. Grounding is also important with the meters. DO NOT over tighten the mounting screws. Or you will be looking for new meters. Also, are the serrated washers on the mounting screws? If not, sometimes the ground is not the best.

 

[craigc]

Excellent info, thank you. I will check that out. I tried the panel lights also and I couldn't tell for sure but I didn't think the gauge lights were working either. Also the oil pressure gauge twitches around 50 psi when its running. Maybe the 3 problems are related to a less than ideal ground. Everything else works as expected.

The gages are to be take with a grain of salt. They give you a ballpark reading. Grounding is also important with the meters. DO NOT over tighten the mounting screws. Or you will be looking for new meters. Also, are the serrated washers on the mounting screws? If not, sometimes the ground is not the best.

 

[CT-Mike]

I put a 5Kw 240VAC heater on it and the genset said 35% load.

Keep in mind that your heater is a pure resistive load (power factor (pF) of 1.0), hence you actually put a load of about 44% on the machine (35% divided by 0.8.) The MEP is designed to put out 10 KW at a pF of 0.8.