Kohler generator overheating

[Gregory OConnor]

Greg in a DC (direct current) motor like the 12v water pump,
reversing the + and - from the battery will reverse the rotation of
the spinn. quite often the DC - lead from the battey is refered to
as a "ground" we call it ground because that is the path used to run
the direct current directly back at (not to) the battery. but it is
not universal with "AC Ground"

The 120V juice to run the fan (if it is not 220)is not DC it is AC
or alternating current. there is no direction. To reverse an AC
motor you change the "starting wingings" with the "running
windings". usuly there is a face plate that labels the colors. You
would want to rewire the black to black and white to white to
maintain ground protection with the genset power.


One other point to make about wires with motors is that if there are
compacitors holding stored juice, they can give a hell of a shock
to the touch. ANd 120V is 120V be it from a wall socket in the house
or a little 3 horse honda inverter. test for voltage first with a
meter then with a screwdriver prior to touching it with your hands

Maybe that is the way the fan is required to run? I guess it depends
on how the squirl cage fins are set up????? Bird engineers may have
made several changes to try and prevent dust at the fan and the lack
of air with the air streeming past at 60 mph???????

OIL****************
the drain plug for the engine is on the engine??? maybe you are
pulling a dry plug of the generator head???
if it truly was the oil plug,,,
pull the filler cap off; remove oil drain plug; keep the filter on
and ;blow some air down the filler cap ( aprox 15-25 psi) you should
get oil out of the drain plug, or air .

Gregory O'Connor
951-830-5997


-- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Greg Young
wrote:
>
> Hi Bryan & Scott and everybody
>
> Follow up to our generator issues. I had the radiator serviced
and it was only 20% blocked, so the guess is that was not the
problem. However, I was wrong about the fan. Ours appeared to be
sucking air in rather than blowing out. There is a junction box
leading to the fan motor, which was wired normally - Hot (black) to
black, neutral (white) to white. I reversed these and the motor
continues to suck in. So how does one reverse the wiring and
actually make it change direction?
>
> I'm also a little baffled about oil levels and think we may have a
plug somewhere - the dipstick showed oil level above max, yet when I
opened the plug, with the filter off and the oil filler cap off, no
oil came out. Putting in more resulted in oil spilling out the
breather hose.
>
> Sorry, I'm not a gearhead like so many of you, but I can follow
instructions if they're detailed enough...
>
> Thanks!
> Greg Young
> 1986 PT40
> Escondido, CA
> (760) 807-1727
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Greg Young
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2008 7:17:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Kohler generator overheating
>
>
> Hi Scott - Thanks for the info. We have the standard vertical, so
I think the fan's OK. Time to flush, and if that doesn't improve
it, I'll probably take it in for "professional" (i.e. expensive)
assessment.
>
> Greg Young
> 1986 PT40
> Escondido CA
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Scott Forman <scottforman75@...>
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2008 5:54:06 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Kohler generator overheating
>
>
> Greg,
>
> If you bus has the stock vertical radiator with traditional fan,
it
> should blow out...or at least that is what mine does.
>
> Later models...and some retro-fitted earlier ones...have a
horizontal
> radiator with squirrel's cage fan blowing down and out.
>
> I ran my Yanmar this past weekend at heavy load in 104 degree heat
> and it never went above 180.
>
> Scott Forman
> 86 PT38
> Memphis
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@ yahoogroups. com, Greg Young
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Bryan - Thanks for the idea. Which way is it supposed to
turn -
> exhausting air through the radiator, or pulling it in? I would
think
> out, which is what ours is doing.
> > -Greg
> > 86 PT40
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----
> > From: Bryan Altier
> > To: WanderlodgeForum@ yahoogroups. com
> > Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2008 3:45:08 PM
> > Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Kohler generator overheating
> >
> >
> > Greg, We had some problems with ours overheating
> > just at times, (hot weather) and I discovered that the cooling
fan
> on the
> > radiator was turning backwards. Reversed two wires and problem
> > solved.
> >
> > Bryan Altier
> > 88WLWB 40
> > Greenville, SC
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Greg Young
> > To: Wanderlodge Forum
> > Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 4:09 PM
> > Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Kohler generator overheating
> >
> > Hi -
> >
> > Our Kohler generator is overheating under load. So far I've
> replaced the thermostat, and so I guess that flushing the system
is
> the next step.
> >
> > Details:
> > 86 PT-40
> > Kohler 12.5CCO67-RV
> > Yanmar 4-cyl engine
> > with no load ran cool. Started adding load at around 180 degrees
> > Added load up to 20A leg one, 30A leg two - all three cruise-air
> AC's running plus some other appliances. Maintained about 115V all
> the time.
> > Temp slowly climbed up to about 215 before I took the load off.
In
> the past it actually tripped the high temp switch, but I didn't
see
> any point in doing that again.
> > After I took the load off it slowly dropped to around 200.
Stopped
> it then.
> >
> > We've got two weeks before we head to the desert and 100+ heat.
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Greg Young
> > 1986 PT40
> > Escondido, CA
> > (760) 807-1727
> >
>