Weterbeke Gen Wont stay on

[Moonzy1]

5KW
Westerbeke Diesel Genny

Will start, has oil, pumps water, but as soon as I let go of the pre-start button it shuts down.

Will run fine as long as I hold the prestart down.

All sender connections look good.

Any ideas?

[Lepke]

Generators have a stop solenoid usually inside the injector pump. When starting and holding the start button, the solenoid, oil pressure and temp senders are bypassed. In a normal start when you let go of the button the safety circuit takes over watching for low oil pressure or high coolant temp. On a cold engine showing proper oil pressure, failure is usually the fault of the stop solenoid. But it could be a bad connection.
The solenoid when in the off mode pushes against the shutoff cam and cuts off fuel. It's usually under the top where a positive wire is connected. Usually there are 2 posts sticking thru the top. One is from the safety circuit and the other is usually grounded to the pump body. Image is a Stanadyne DB2 injector pump, common in many 3-8 cylinder engines.

[Simi 60]

How long since you changed your oil?

[psneeld]

could be any one of the shutdown circuit senders or just a bad connection.

there are usually 2 senders for oil, water temp and exhaust temp, my 8kw Westie has these.

usual troubleshooting is to bypass or test each sensor, before anything complicated.

Last 2 years it happened to me it was just a connector issue.

[menzies]

Do you have it interfaced with your blowers?

[Moonzy1]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

How long since you changed your oil?

last season
but hardly used it since
dipstick looked cleaned

This was first startup since last year

[Moonzy1]

Originally Posted by psneeld

could be any one of the shutdown circuit senders or just a bad connection.

there are usually 2 senders for oil, water temp and exhaust temp, my 8kw Westie has these.

usual troubleshooting is to bypass or test each sensor, before anything complicated.



Last 2 years it happened to me it was just a connector issue.

how do you bypass them?

[Ski in NC]

Most have a coolant temp, exhaust temp and low oil pressure switches. Each switch has two terminals and when in run mode, the contacts within are closed. All three form a loop, so if any contact is lost, fuel solenoid lets go. One switch at a time, unplug both wires and jump them together. Start with oil press sw which is near oil filter. Next do coolant sw which is above and near coolant pump pulley. Exh sw uses screws and tends to be more reliable. Can also be a fuse in the box or fault in remote switch.

[clynn]

I've had the same issue with my Westerbeke and both times it was the fuel shutoff solenoid. They apparently crap out frequently because once I figured out what is was, I recognized that part in the used part bin of my boat. Very simple to change out.

It looks like this. Not sure of your specific model, but look around and you can find deals on them. Check Ebay for overstocks.

Westerbeke, Solenoid, Fuel 12Vdc, 023041

[psneeld]

if improperly adjusted, those fuel solenoids burn up pretty quickly.

[High Wire]

Specifically what model ? Y

[Maerin]

Ski's advice will help you find the problem. Don't change out a fuel solenoid until you've diagnosed it as the problem. Check the voltage at the solenoid when the switch is being held in and when it's released. If it drops but doesn't zero, there might be Along with the daisy-chain safety switches, some of the Westerbeke's are configured with a 12V relay that actually does the circuit switching in that safety circuit. The panel switch simply operates the relay. Yours may or may not be so equipped. Those relays are subject to contact erosion, and when the contacts get bad, there's enough voltage drop added to the circuit that the solenoid behaves like it's failing. Fortunately, the relays aren't expensive, I keep a few spares on board and have replaced them at least twice in 10 yrs. They should be located in the junction box near the generator section. They're cheap & easy enough to change out that a parts change diagnosis isn't out of line. YMMV

[Moonzy1]

Went down yesterday and she started up and stayed running

must have been a sticky selenoid. The attempts yetserday and heat must have freed her up

Thanks guys!!

[tadhana]

Very glad it worked itself out. In the case of our Onan, there is also a raw water flow sensor. It has failed 4 times in 9 years, 800 hours. I only mention this for the off chance that someone else is chasing a similar issue, this sensor could be the source of the problem on their generator.

[Wxx3]

Originally Posted by Ski in NC

Most have a coolant temp, exhaust temp and low oil pressure switches. Each switch has two terminals and when in run mode, the contacts within are closed. All three form a loop, so if any contact is lost, fuel solenoid lets go. One switch at a time, unplug both wires and jump them together. Start with oil press sw which is near oil filter. Next do coolant sw which is above and near coolant pump pulley. Exh sw uses screws and tends to be more reliable. Can also be a fuse in the box or fault in remote switch.

This just happened to me too. It was a loose, corroded spade connector for he exhaust temp. Cleaned it up and all was good.

[nmuir]

Originally Posted by Moonzy1

Went down yesterday and she started up and stayed running

must have been a sticky selenoid. The attempts yetserday and heat must have freed her up

Thanks guys!!

Same thing happened to me a few years back. A bit sticky after the winter season. Once freed up it was fine and has been for years since.

[Moonzy1]

Always something to learn