KOHLER MARINE GENERATOR - 5A model

al1026

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 17, 2007
Messages
101
I have a Regal Commodore , 2860 model with twin Volvo 4.3 engines

Kohler 5.A generator mounted along side port engine .

Seldom using generator, would start at times too keep parts moving.
Other day it fired up, ran 5 minutes , sounded like it was starving for fuel, running ruff, Stalling
Number of times it ran few minutes . choked stalled .

Can see generator , but because of port engine can not get too anything

Fuel
Generator run off of main gas tank for boat engines. I use boat weekly and fuel is fresh
Hoping for the easy basic fix changed two gas filters,
In line canister. ( gas was clean )
small metal inline filter screwed into generator .
NO LUCK
Started ran few minutes, stalled

OIL LEVEL IS GOOD

Reaching out too fellow boaters with same generator that has possibly experienced similar issue
I can see areas of generator but impossible too get too oil filter or spark plug with out removing manifold of port engine .

Any ideas ??
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
Yeah, they pack them in there tight. You may have to find someone who can work blind, laying on top of the motor to service it. An oil change should be done annually as part of regular service. I's start with hooking up a timing light to the spark plug wire, run it till it quits, watching for the spark to go away before it quits. If ok there, possibly a bad sensor that acts up when it gets warmed up. Could be an oil sensor or temp sensor. Don't sound like a fuel pump as it runs for 5 min before stopping
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,582
I have similar model in my Formula. Issue I had as it has always been hard to start, like you I use it very little. You should either have an electric fuel shutoff solenoid, or an anti siphon valve at the tank. My boat had the solenoid and it was disconnected prior to my purchase and replaced with the valve.

Even with the anti siphon valve its still hard to start, so I installed a primer override switch on the Gen. This turns on the fuel pump before I start to crank. It now starts much easier but still takes some cranking. What I have thought about doing is replacing the 3/8 fuel line with 1/4, this way the pump doesn't have to work so hard to lift the fuel.

All this is a bit of my boat and may or may not be your issue. My guess is it is one of the two items which are causing your issue or you may need a new fuel pump. The inline fuel filter is screwed directly into the pump via a fitting (maybe down low, left side). I would suggest removing the fuel pump and bench test it. It should output around 4 to 7 psi.
 
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