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BounderRVer · 09-08-2011, 08:45 AM

My MH is a 1988 Bounder, 34’ with a Kohler generator 7000 watt, twin cylinder. After changing the oil, spark plugs, plug wires and air filter, it would start but would not stay running. My brother took the carburetor apart and soaked it overnight. In the morning, the butterfly valve and the governor parts were operating smoothly. He reinstalled everything and the gennie fired right up and stayed running, no black or white smoke, just purred like a kitten. We were able to start it from inside the MH and the start switch on the gennie.
Here’s the real bad news.

We went to start it the next day and nothing. Problem, he left a group of wires surrounded by the black accordion type wire cover on the manifold and two of the wires melted a tad. Not real bad, just a little. The fuse at the control box was blown so he replaced it. He cut the melted part of the two wires and spliced them back together. One of the wires was for the fuel pump and the other wire was for the auto shut off. We still cannot get the generator to fire back up. Question, how do you know if the control board is fried? All the wires and connections look good and the switch is still working, both inside and out. Is there another breaker or fuse we need to locate?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and help. This all happened right after the maiden voyage which was 2,200 from Idaho to Georgia. Bonnie the Bounder did great, no mechanical issues what-so-ever thanks to all the tips and suggestions I learned from reading this forum.

tclowes · 09-08-2011, 01:04 PM

Check the obvious first:

-Does the RV fuel tank have more than ¼ tank of gas in it? I'm assuming it gets its fuel from the RV tank.
-Is the gennie getting gas at its fuel filter? In the carb?
-Are the spark plugs sparking? Check the gap again.
-Disconnect the remote start switch and the load from the RV itself and see if it starts.

A melted wire is never a good thing, but it may not be the underlying problem. Hope this helps

Dave78Chief · 09-08-2011, 04:58 PM

What model generator do you have and do you have the service manual for it?

Dave

BounderRVer · 09-09-2011, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tclowes

Check the obvious first:

-Does the RV fuel tank have more than ¼ tank of gas in it? I'm assuming it gets its fuel from the RV tank.
-Is the gennie getting gas at its fuel filter? In the carb?
-Are the spark plugs sparking? Check the gap again.
-Disconnect the remote start switch and the load from the RV itself and see if it starts.

A melted wire is never a good thing, but it may not be the underlying problem. Hope this helps

Yes, the fuel tank was more 3/4 full and yes it gets gas from the RV tanks. Gas line is full and gas is getting to the fuel filter, filter is clean and gas flows freely. Everything was working perfectly before we found the melted wires. Oil level also full.

As I mentioned in the original post, one of the wires that melted "slightly" was to the fuel pump so the pump used to pump and now it doesn't.

No spark at the spark plugs, there was the day before, but not now. The other wire that "slightly" melted was the auto shut off.

I do have a manual and I have been searching for the solution, no luck yet.

It seems to me to be an electrical issue. I know the wires go to the control box on one end, but where does the other end go to? The was a blown fuse at the control box and it was replaced.

I will take your suggestion to disconnect the remote switch and try starting without a load.

How do you know if the control board is now bad? Is there a way to test it?

Thanks for your replies, hope to get more!

BounderRVer · 09-09-2011, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

What model generator do you have and do you have the service manual for it?

Dave

Hi Dave,

It's a Kohler 7000, Model # 7CM21 with a K582 engine. I do have both manuals and a service manual. It just kills me what happened, it was running purr-fectly, as in purring like a kitten.

Thanks!

BounderRVer · 09-09-2011, 12:22 PM

" The other wire that "slightly" melted was the auto shut off."

How would one go about resetting the auto shut off?

Our final destination was the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Labor day weekend races. We had gone 2200 miles and we were not going to give up just because of a couple of melted wires in the generator.

We made it to the races and it was hotter than Hades. We were camped right next to some other Tony Stewart fans. After they heard the melted wires story, they let us use their spare generator. Yeah!

We had A/C all weekend long, met some great new friends and will be there next year right beside them in the same camp spot. Folks are awesome in the South.

Dave78Chief · 09-09-2011, 03:19 PM

Having difficulty finding auto shut off wire. Is your service manual number (bottom of front page) TP-5014 (7CM21 with 5K582QS) or TP-5347 (7CKM21 with K582)? I think you have the TP-5347.

Dave

BounderRVer · 09-11-2011, 07:38 AM

I have about 4 or 5 manuals for it. I even went to the Kohler Store to buy what they had and it turned I already had the same manual. In one of my manuals it does mention a shut down solenoid on page17 and 18. In one of the other manuals, it discusses a situation where a certain problem arises and must be corrected to "reset" the auto shutdown. I wish I could be more specific, have to go back and reread these manuals. I've been a little busy.
[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Lenovo/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png[/IMG]We will investigate the auto shut off solenoid. Thanks for the replies and I'll keep you posted.