Shibaura Engine running generator

[grsthegreat]

dont the glow pluge shut off prior to the starter engaging?

 

[grsthegreat]

im a generac trained technician, but i have limited experience with their diesel lines. I know the air cooled units should have a voltage reading on battery of 13.5 volts at standing and drop no less than 11 volts while cranking. You should check out the Ziller generator forum Ziller Forum they have a lot of liquid and diesel techs on that site that may help you

 

[LittleBill21]

honestly that sounds like you have something rubbing, sounds like metal on metal, i would also put an amp clamp on it and see what kind of amperage your pulling along with doing a voltage drop test on all wiring

 

[searcyfarms]

i wish you were closer i would come over and give you a hand - once you get that baby going you will absolutely LOVE it!!! I had something similar on a SS and there is a ground/interlock switch with a little key that has to be turned to engage the ground for starting, not sure why they put those in if for theft or what BUT, there was evidently corrosion or something wrong with the contacts inside it, i had put on a new ground wire, had the starter rebuilt, had the batteries replaced and then decided one day to hook the wires direct with a bolt and bypass it after spending all the money/time and that was it - if you can reach the starter bolt use your jumper cable to go right to it, and clamp the ground right to the unit, bypass all of the cabling, see how it acts -

 

[LittleBill21]

I have to admit that I'm confused a bit too. Four 6V batteries in series? All that to start a generator engine that's probably about 20hp? Then there's this issue with connecting all 6 batteries together? Do you have a diagram of this setup, because something doesn't sound right. It sounds more like Rube Goldberg wired it. I think you really need somebody that knows and understands DC electricity.

motorhome's have large battery banks to run lights appliances inside without ac power. the generators use those same battery's to start, they are not reserved only for the generator.

his system is prolly 12v, his 4 batterys are prolly in a series/parrallel arrangement to make the 12v

 

[AWSubie]

Zzjea: When you install the starter, is the starter gear disengaged from the fly wheel? You mentioned that you were surprised to see the starter gear was engaged with the flywheel the last time you looked at it. My thought here is that some starters require shimming between the starter housing and the engine mount in order to get adequate clearance between the starter gear and the flywheel teeth. Otherwise the starter gear can become lodged in the flywheel teeth due to friction. A test for this condition is to loosen the starter mount bolts and see if the starter gear snaps back to the disengaged position.

 

[zzjea]

I have to admit that I'm confused a bit too. Four 6V batteries in series? All that to start a generator engine that's probably about 20hp? Then there's this issue with connecting all 6 batteries together? Do you have a diagram of this setup, because something doesn't sound right. It sounds more like Rube Goldberg wired it. I think you really need somebody that knows and understands DC electricity.

Actually this is standard procedure for motorhomes. House batteries (anywhere from 2 to 8, 6v deep cycle in series to get 12v ouput) power all the DC electrical stuff in the MH plus there is a Converter for shore power (120vac) to convert from 120vac to 12vdc to charge the batteries. There is almost always a combination converter/inverter (which I have) that will supply 120vac to some circuits in the MH when there is no shore power available. All this works perfectly. Those same 4 6vdc deep cycle house batteries are used to crank the generator. They do not use the Cummins start batteries (2 12v) because they do not want you to run the risk of discharging those batteries and not being able to start the Cummins and get you moving.

The crossover switch is to momentarily connect all the house and chassis batteries together to provide additional amperage usually for a quick start of the MH engine if the chassis batteries are low. Engaging this switch made no difference for cranking the genset and if it were battery amperage problems only, it should have started the genset.

However, I have the same results of not cranking when I bypassed the house batteries and tried to jump the genset from my 12v car battery, while the car was running and the alternator producing 14v.

 

[zzjea]

Zzjea: When you install the starter, is the starter gear disengaged from the fly wheel? You mentioned that you were surprised to see the starter gear was engaged with the flywheel the last time you looked at it. My thought here is that some starters require shimming between the starter housing and the engine mount in order to get adequate clearance between the starter gear and the flywheel teeth. Otherwise the starter gear can become lodged in the flywheel teeth due to friction. A test for this condition is to loosen the starter mount bolts and see if the starter gear snaps back to the disengaged position.

It could be a fluke (rusty or something) since it has not started in a year until the other day. It did disengage when it started the other day.

 

[aczlan]

If your dropping down to 8 ish you not allowing enough volts to starter. As voltage drops, the amperage increases and wires arnt allowing it to pass.

Also, the voltage being too low can cause the starter solenoid/relay to drop out and shut off the starter.
Several mower manufacturers have had to add an additional relay so that the keyswitch turns on the relay which runs the starter solenoid/relay as the voltage drop through the keyswitch, seat switch, mower button, etc was enough that the starter solenoid/relay was dropping out when trying to start.

I have to admit that I'm confused a bit too. Four 6V batteries in series? All that to start a generator engine that's probably about 20hp? Then there's this issue with connecting all 6 batteries together? Do you have a diagram of this setup, because something doesn't sound right. It sounds more like Rube Goldberg wired it. I think you really need somebody that knows and understands DC electricity.

Probably the 6V batteries are wired with pairs in series and the pairs in parallel.

Aaron Z

 

[zzjea]

i wish you were closer i would come over and give you a hand - once you get that baby going you will absolutely LOVE it!!! I had something similar on a SS and there is a ground/interlock switch with a little key that has to be turned to engage the ground for starting, not sure why they put those in if for theft or what BUT, there was evidently corrosion or something wrong with the contacts inside it, i had put on a new ground wire, had the starter rebuilt, had the batteries replaced and then decided one day to hook the wires direct with a bolt and bypass it after spending all the money/time and that was it - if you can reach the starter bolt use your jumper cable to go right to it, and clamp the ground right to the unit, bypass all of the cabling, see how it acts -

I wish we were closer, I would take you up on it. I bet you would figure it out quickly if you were hands on. I will try this and see what happens. Temp is supposed to be 111 feels like, so I will see if I want to tackle it today. Thanks for the offer.