Onan Diesel Generator was in a FLOOD! (Full of water) Will it run??? 

Underrated comment of the day!

most EPIC comment on this video.

... AND pushes creeks out of diesel engines...

Has to be the best comment I've ever seen 😂

🤣🤣🤣

Was wondering the same, and wonder if he needs to change the not suitable for children setting :)

"That might have been cool three years ago... Turns out it's just piss..!" - AvE

And I my tea. Came here to make the exact same comment!

and i went crazy when Mustie joked about these nuts..

@@dubuque1 If a child knows what that means, you have to question the parents.

My step-dad was a Seabreeze around that same time

Seabee

Thats what s I love about you Matt...you will tackle anything! Greetings from Montreal!

not a whole lot of sea water to be found between Pittsburg and West Virginia, but still potentially good info. Except, now what do I do with those drums of contaminated diesel at $4.00+ per gallon.

Was in nam and one of the five ton dumps too a mother in the body, they said it never ran proper after that, pressure affect sensor thanks Jim

PAI you get quite a few mentions from subscribers in the comments. Many of us subscribe both to you and Diesel Creek.

@@rangercv4263 allrighty then👍

if it ain't TPAI , eagirly waiting forthose new lathe restoration/refurbish videos.

wow cool to see u here

swampy smell?

I am not a diesel guy. But I was kinda thinking that. How would one cylinder be getting air out of pump? The injector being stuck makes since to me. Thanks for sharing your adventures Matt!!!

@@BIllMcCambridge in the junction pump each injector has its own piston pumping fuel. Thats what tells the injector when to squirt. I was initially thinking it was the pump as well but after reading this comment by robert he might be kn to something. I have actually seen this on a cat 3116 engine where it was pushing compression into the fuel system. Slightly different fuel design but moral of the story it would be worth swapping injectors to see if the issue follows

Exactly what I’m thinking same thing happens on 6.0 fords sometimes

I had a kubota that did that. Cleaned the needle with toothpaste and it has ran perfectly for years since.

@@BIllMcCambridge yep

Greetings: Did U ever get the tractor out and get it running? :).

It makes a lot of difference if the water was fresh water.

Good idea, I got an old diesel fordson tractor and all tips are appreciated.

We already know there is air..

@@finleypatmalcolm but not where it is coming from, injection pump or leaking injector

If the motor was direct injected the pump might be suspect. Direct injection is where the injector truly does the injecting and is operated by a rocker arm off the camshaft. On this engine the injector is merely a spray nozzle with a spring loaded valve that "breaks" at a given pressure. If there is air already in the injector the compression can "fight" the injection pump as there is more volume in the cylinder than the pump. So you get a see-saw effect if there is anything keeping the injector cracked open like a chunk of that nasty trash that was in the fuel tank. In theory nothing should get past the filters And nasties should exit while bleeding the lines.......BUT.......... why were all the lines loose and unclipped from each other? My guess is that there was a problem before the flood. Probably a sticking or leaking injector. As said above I would move the injector to another cylinder LONG before I would crack open that pump. Nice little unit. Most on the electrical side is sealed up pretty good as they are designed to run in mobile or less than ideal conditions. I do know that you should figure out the wiring soon and get a load on it as Onan genders don't like inactivity very much. There is a great bunch of guys at a place there in Pennsylvania I believe, Flight Control Systems. They can advise you on anything Onan electrical. Let me look up their contact info and post it. They helped me out on my motorhome gender and they are the ones that said to load and exercise the unit for at least an hour every month. Trust me it didn't bother me at all to fire up those dual A/C units this summer maybe a bit more than an hour a month.........😎. That unit should power your shop at the farm quite nicely. Terry from South Carolina

@@terryfromsouthcarolina4601 THANK YOU for the concise thought...

That’s what everybody thought!

Right next to "Lets slap the nuts on" from the Cub cadet mower I belive it was

Hi

@@johnhutchinson475 not yet, but soon will be. bye

Onan was a "squirter". Check the Bible...

What a sad life you live, dominated by your wife.

Says the guy who is obviously not married. Relationships are give & take, not many people are gonna want their partner dragging home mountains of old "junk" to clutter up the place. @@stevejones1318

@michael kennedy you know I've heard of water cracking the tip, seen pictures of it in textbooks and service literature, and totally believe it does happen. That being said, after 40 plus years of working on all types of equipment, that is running harsh conditions like coal mines, scrap yards, demolition, and construction, I've never actually seen it happen with my own eyes. And believe me I have worked in conditions where the fuel handling was really sloppy

@@dancarney106 Ooooh I learned something!!

Yes... a possibility..

Just swap injectors. If it follows its the injector.

Client came in asking to have a full engine overhaul because of a bad skip. Left injectors in head (tips looked intact, a little sooty) did full out of frame overhaul. Put head back on ran the exact same. One of the injectors was letting engine compression all the way through, pushing fuel out of the line, had all the injectors rebuilt, ran like a charm.

Agree. Probably why the line brackets were off when you got it.

I don't see how a high pressure diesel line will suck in air. If anything, it would be shooting diesel out. I am not a diesel mechanic but I just don't see how it will suck air.

I agree with this advise. Just a little bit of corrosion could keep the hard lines from sealing good. Or anything else that needs to be sealing good. I would like to see you check out the generator too.

See if the problem follows the injector and easier to do then pulling the pump.

Bad injector, cylinder compression is blowing through the injector. The electronics need WD-40 or ACF-50 on all the components and in generator head. The bad news is the voltage regulator might be toast. Brushless AVRs are everywhere, AVR for brush generators are more difficult. The beauty of brush alternators is they are anvil solid and easy to fix. That 3 cyl is overkill for 4kw, my bet is the generator is more like a 10-12kw unit, enough to run several houses. It’s a nice unit and worth saving.

Glad it's not just me. Too bad he's so far away, seems like a fun dude to hang out and turn wrenches with. I unfortunately don't have the space for the sort of toys he collects or I'd be doing the same thing. Nothing like the rush of hearing a long neglected machine fire up. I get the same rush when I repair a piece of electronic equipment and it powers up.

I would like to see that . Interresting Idea Sir!

I also work at a hydro and we use large heaters with dehumidifiers and build tents.

I agree WATER is a good solvent, just apply a tent heat just done this on my running machine mortor deck and did it forst on an ebay tv (EHT cap off the tube ) seriously water can be good but dont rush the heated tent Here in thaialdn we get 35C every day which fixes most back in the UK I got a military tent heater (fuel/air) and thats great too.

Usually water is only an issue because it's allowing electricity to go places it shouldn't. Once the water evaporates, all those unwanted connections go away and things usually start working again. Unless of course the electrical equipment was running when it was flooded. Then it's likely that at least some components were fried because higher voltage was allowed through them by water...

A similar thing works for old computer motherboards (and game consoles) that stop working as good as they used to, just stick the bare board in an oven at around 200 degrees C and it effectively re-solders and cleans up all the connections, doesn't work all the time but it's a very handy fix for old slow tech.

Wow thanks for this comment!!!

Love watching all your stuff good job. I live about 30mi south of state college Pa. Also.

AMEN on what he said!!!

@@harryfiller9348 Another fellow Pa. guy. Harrisburg here.

I use a spray attachment sucking isopropyl alcohol to wash electrical circuits followed by a dry air then allowed to dry out.

He should know this, thought he was a diesel mechanic. Nozzles dont get compression from the pump

Replace the injector. It's a common problem with them.

@@joebrenner2560 he is not a mechanic he has made that clear. just works on stuff in his spare time

Blow those cylinders out with cornpressed hair lol and the bearings. And crank case too tilt the whole thing over and flush with a little more diesel.get more water and fuel out.water and diesel in a crankcase is real bad on a engine. I was a tranny tec. I always saved trans fluid for flushing. It is even good for lube in these low sulphur fuels.so is old engine oil if clean enough

What was the old rattle tat tat sound? I love the long nose pliers holder (battery) man that can go boom

Quite possibly. That is probably why the injector lines were loose to begin with

Well I’m thinking it’s the compression leaking back I bet if you replaces the copper o ring on the bottom of the injector it would seal back up they might have cracked it loose when they were messing with it

A bad injector is a mofo to trouble shoot. Swap that thang with a good one and follow the trail.

@@longsautoshop9104 The copper washer prevents compression leaking past the injector to the outside of the engine, it doesn't stop compression leaking back through the injector itself and into the fuel line. This seems more like a sealing problem on the pintle.

Ditto

+1, this is a good idea. He's not terribly far from Matt either, I believe. That would be a great collab.

Small Engine Mechanic is located in Southern New Jersey which will be a 6hr drive from Matt in SW Pa. He may be a good one to ask for some guidance of ideas to try.:)

Really? I saw a guy that I thought was pretty smart until it come to ohm meters then he said you could not check a coil with one and I quit watching him can't deal with a smart la even if he is a good mechanic taarol fixes all

If you are a real mechanic and a electrician you don't need to consult with anybody what is what is this consulting stuff why does everyone want this guy to consult with somebody else that may not know what the hell to wipe their ass with

Good idea to check up with Mike @ SME. His knowledge of gensets and especially Onan would be a big help.

Yep I agree

I don't know shit about this stuff but that's exactly what I was thinking. That's probably why you can see a little bit of exhaust pop out of the bubbles, and the foam is brown.

This i agree

Changing new injector tips to the injector bodies shouldn't also be too hard nor expensive. I would definitely take the injectors off and take a look at them. Also some heavier load on the engine might help, but I wouldn't advice to run it loaded for too long if the problem persists.

@@hoakuroija1089 problem with that is having the right tooling and those injector nozzles are extremely precise and lapped together. You can't really change individual parts on the injector nozzles. They have to be replaced as an assembly.

Yes, yes, and soon please. Turn it off already and dismantle and clean it. Test as possible as you go. That is likely completely rebuildable if one is careful.

@Diesel Creek - Matt - the clue about cleaning is to NOT worry about getting it wet - any old water will be OK. In fact get it really wet with any old water to help getting the thing really clean of the silt - lots of water. BUT - when it is as clean as you can get it then give it a REALLY GOOD rinse with distilled water (de-ionized water) and then (as @KLS&C 85 suggests) get it completely dry. Since it was not run with power on it should be OK. An electrician might give a clue about a local brand name water repellent, non-conductive best suitable to final coat before running.

Yes, clean the electronics and flush it with alcohol after.

@@mrfrenzy. Not needed, steam clean the box and windings, air dry for a day, then run to warm the whole unit up, heat will dissipate the moisture. Water cleaning will not hurt it but this all needs to be done before he lets it sit, clean it, dry it out, then store it, otherwise the rust monster will have a field day.

Also gives time for the answer to appear in the comments. Let the commenters brainstorm the possibilities and suggest possible ways to zero in on the issue. So far from the comments I have read the bad injector letting compression air back to the fuel side seems the most plausible. Would also explain why the bubbles are only in one line. Also swapping around the injectors seems like a simpler first step rather than tearing into the pump.

I feel the same way which is why I have dozens of projects I’ll never finish lol

I had a Yanmar three cylinder in my JD X595 starting to miss just like yours is doing. I bled the injector lines at the injectors and there was always air at the missing cylinder. Just by chance I tightened the adaptor between the pump and injector line coming out of the pump while it was running and within seconds the engine ran smoothly so I loosened that fitting coming out of the pump then the engine started running rough with lots of air at that injector so I tightened the fittings all up and it’s been running great. I have new injectors for the engine but the pump was shimmed by a JD mechanic that gave me 27 to 28 hp instead of 23 hp. It had a 1,000 hrs when that fitting came loose but it sounded and acted like Matt’s generator.

If the pintle has sat in water for a long time, it could well be corroded and not sealing correctly, leading to low pressure, a poor spray pattern, and fuel dribbling into the cylinder causing the smoke.

"She's a squirter"

hw shoulda said key orn tack or corn tack

Also, elecchicken

@@rrazvanell: Damn, missed one! Thank you.

There must be a Dewclaw or two in PA you can befriend to sort out the copper knitting on that thing.

If you don't know it already, check out South Main Auto, it's superb.

I'm not a mechanical guy, I like the way Matt explains what each part does.

@@GuyRWood I am subscribed to his channel as well! One of the best diagnostic mechanics on YT for sure! I'll bet that you are a Mustie1 fan as well! Hmmm... Pennsylvania, New York state, Vermont... sounds like a trend!

@@GCSol Hey buddy... I AM a "mechanical guy", and I still welcome someone who explains what they are doing and how it all works... especially on diesel engines! I always seem to learn something new (or maybe I'm just re-learning something that I've forgotten-- happens more often than I'd like to admit!)

@@braxtonnelson7422 Get out and fix something 😉

You start to read few books about gasoline and diesel engines, there are many eBooks in z library website in PDF format, read them and watch RU-vid mechanical restoration car. then you will have enough confidence to work on them. Already you are handyman.

*combustion engines, electrical engineers don’t respect the word “motor” being used so much in automotive applications

This is great 😂

"That's waaayyy too much, perfect" ~Derek, Vise Grip Garage

Yep, VGG! He does a really great job acting as an idiot! He's far from that!

Engine porn

I was going to say the same. He can probably tell you how to fix/wire up the generator too.

looked SAE to me :D

I, as one, think how much effort does it take to just open the battery cable clamp before you put the clamp on the battery post. Too lazy for words. Michael said that, bye for now my friend. ( P.S. and I'm not even going to remind you to clean the clamp and post an grease them inside and out. )

@@michaeld.coulombesr.583 please for the love of God, don't be one of those guys greasing a fucking battery terminal.

@@brianwalk108 Greasy Terminal was my band's name, sadly we never charged, so we died out.

@@Robby4Jesus lol, touche

ru-vid.comabout Mike can explain anything that you might need to know about both the engine and the Genset. The diesel fuel being sold today has much less sulfur than the dyed diesel of a few years ago. The old high sulfur diesel fuel would not allow any algae to grow at the bottom of the fuel tank where the condensation standing under the fuel for long periods would\will allow algae to grow long strands that choke the fuel filter quickly. I use Killum to add to all my diesel equipment. Killum kills any algae before it can cause a problem. everyone owning equip that is idle for extended periods of time should treat their main tanks with Killum or a like product.

Some people don't need any advice from anyone on RU-vid especially tarrell fixes everything lol You can only use an OHM meter on a coil when he says to I don't watch channels with smart elec know it all,, this guy here is okay diesel Creek is cool he's not a smart ass you don't need to figure out where to send something this guy is going to fix his own stuff

Great Recommendation.

Watch Wes Work has a diesel injector and injection pump specialist in his area. See if they can give u a hand sorting out ur issues. That would probably be a great power source for the farm.

If it's that terrel, with those messed up teeth , he's smart but he's an a******..he doesn't know how to use an OHM meter and says you cannot check a coil with one and I said you're full of s*** that's when I quit watching his channel he was getting smart with everybody that did know a different way of doing things..then I saw his Union sticker and I thought well there's the problem

@@ronalddaub7965 Smallengine mechanic is not the same guy. check him out sometime. I would agree with your comment on the teeth guy and yes a coil can be checked with an ohm meter too.

I was yelling all of this same info during the video- funny stuff. A lot of novice comments he made I was like should he be doing a instructional video.....?

Could it have been compression coming back through a sticky injector

@@TH3GR33NG33K I never heard him say that it was an instructional video. It was a vlog or documentation of him working on his project the way he knows how. Unless he stated it was an instructional video, anyone who assumed it was or assumed he knows what he is doing, just isn't very observant or logical. The video is for entertainment, primarily. He did show a way to get the generator running and if people watch and read the comments, they can gather how other people would have done it differently and learn from all of this. Those people have to be smart enough to weed out the good information from the bad. We can learn from other people's mistakes. Luckily, I am good at learning this way and it is easy to find this information. I taught myself to do some tig welding, 20 years ago before youtube. Miller's website had good info. I was taking SMAW in college at that time and took TIG the next semester, so I was ahead of others in the class by doing some reading and trial on my own. Of course, there are plenty of people who may think this must be the proper way to handle this generator just because he has a video of it, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't make the video. I don't even take the opinion of a pro (doctor, mechanic, anyone) without considering what the downside may be if they aren't spot on and I will get more opinions from other pros and people in my shoes (patients, consumers, tool users, etc.) so I have a more rounded idea of how things may work out.

Wow thanks a lot!!!!

I completely agree. Love your content!

Fullt agreed. 👍

100% agree, definitely looks like bad injector that is sticking open intermittently. When it does stick open, it’s allowing cylinder pressure to bleed back past the injector, which caused that large pressure release when he initially cracked the line and then the air bubbles showing when he left the line cracked. That also explains the lower manifold temp and the smoke when the injector would briefly fire and the cylinder would try come back.

@@Dippinonthis I think the spark plug is misfiring.

One trick to see if some injectors are out of spec is to read their themprature,if you have an bad injector it will be much warmer than those others since the compression bleeds to it

@@mountainman5025 I hope you mean injector. No spark on a compression ignition system

I agree, I think it's injector related.

^^^^^^^^ THIS!

My Thoughts Exactly! I have had both a Kubota engine and a Iseki engine do this! (both 3 cylinders) Also, the great majority of the Onan gensets I have seen are either gasoline or propane.... (in the RV world) I would think that a diesel Onan would be the "Holy Grail" and worth investing a little time and $ into- It must be a lot more fuel efficient than its counterparts. I think she's a "keeper" for sure!

Or switch it with one of the other.

See I was sure someone already said it.

Some people do.

The red dye is the only difference. You don't want to be caught with a dyed fuel tank on your on-road vehicle during a traffic stop or other inspection. I think it's immediate impound.

@@leestokes6761 Buy an EV. Fit a tow bar. Get a trailer, add red diesel tank & generator. Connect to EV !

@@millomweb I think in Germany the rule is you're only allowed to use red in something that's bolted down to a solid surface. As soon as it moves, it's clear/green only. Might be different elsewhere.

@@Ragnar8504 UK is not that stupid - so generators run on red as does 'plant' (diggers, farm tractors etc.) and they can even be using red on the road !

Was thinking the same thing 👍

Excellent idea.

Ask him what hes been watching to know what that is 🤣

Squinter? Thought I heard him say she's a squirter!! Brings my back to the 90's and an old girlfriend in the back of my first Ford. LOL

@@electrickal1 welp when youre stuck on the side of the road there aint much more to do 🤣🤣🤣 and he did say squirter

76

Well if she is a squinter she was probably watching the sun too closely

who cares

Hi Gary; Please could you give a bit of advice; setting up a Hire, Sales and Workshop Company. Which way is best to recruit the eight talented individual that can know and fix Generator

Those kubota engines are practically indestructible.

Yes, N Ferraro, you're correct. If you hose the electrical components out with just plain water while all the geek is still wet it will help minimize the damage. Matt will have to clean everything with isopropyl alcohol and that is no guarantee that things will work for long. Hey, but it's worth a try. I've been there it's not a lot of fun.

In general, circuit boards can be washed after being in a flood. I spray them with Mean Green household cleaner/degreaser and scrub the board with a toothbrush or acid type brush. This will get the "mud" and other gunk off the board. Next, rinse with warm water. Now clean the board with 99% isopropyl alcohol and dry the board with a hair dryer. I've rescued many flood damaged circuit boards this way.

Yes. I agree with all of above. Clean and pure water is an insulator eg cooling high wattage broadcast transmitters with 5000volts plus. It’s the dirt and rubbish that cause the problems. I would have cleaned all the electrics and let dry for a few days BEFORE running motor. As soon as the motor runs the alternator is producing power. Might have got away with it this time. Looking forward to next episode. 😎

These old school Onans don't use computers or digital sensors. The new ones? You don't wanna know! I work on that stuff but all of the stuff own or reccomend to friends is, basically, World War Two Technology. Built from the '30s through the '90s. Easy to fix, hard to break.

Let me suggest that you label by # all the wires around the board with paper and transparent tape, so that everything can go back as before. Take several well lit fotos, before you start. Pull the board(s) out and drop them into an ultrasonic cleaning bath with DI water. To dry them, shake off excess & compressed air, then place on a wooden cutting board in your kitchen oven at about 140-150 degrees to sit for several hours. (I've successfully recovered wet cell phones that went into a toilet by accident several times using the oven technique!) Relay contacts may just need contact wiping with a dry, non-wax business card . Or use the same ultrasonic wash/dry process on them first if they look bad. Probably standard commercial off the shelf parts.

Much of the heavy equipment we use has the same particulate filters and DEF systems that our trucks use, so it all requires ULSD anyway. I also read that in the past the red diesel could be higher. Our receipt from the fuel truck has dyed ULSD listed for product dispensed.

That's the straight info there. There was a period of time when red diesel *could* have been different, but not any more. Even when it could have been different, it doesn't mean that it was in all cases.

Yup it’s all the same these days. And if your going to add anything to your fuel for lubricity then use 2 cycle oil. It’s designed to burn and also lubricate.

Totally agree..I've dished remote controls in the sink. As long as the electric parts were not "energized" when submerged, all you need to do is clean them out and dry very well..

Years back I worked at a sewer plant , plenty of times the 3 phase pump motors would be under water , flip the disconnect it would buzz and smoke a bit but it would pump down .

a good rinse of alcohol will help too. the alcohol will absorb the moisture. The biggest deal is not to turn on electronics while they're still wet

how do you deal with corrosion? most flooded cars or generator develop nasty green corrosion at terminals which lead development of nasty intermittent electric issues down the line

Yep. I routinely wash computer keyboards at work. Got some strange looks at first, but give them plenty of time to dry and they work fine.

Yup. 1 hour, 1000 hours - whatever. Run 'em up once a month, and new oil and filters every year. Cheaper than finding out it doesn't work when you need it.. For a standby, low hours is perfectly possible - test run hours plus the odd rare use in anger... Nice machine.

@@timwatson682 ...and donot forget to top up the diesel tank or when you need it it just coughs farts and dies.

@@johnmccallum8512 Oh yes... definitely - although the ones we had were big enough that you'd notice :) The other points were - is the battery any good?, and DIESEL not Petrol, for the baby ones.. Gennys - got to love them ..

#see cu gf D to 9

I agree. Wonder if he managed to get it up and running yet?! It's almost a new diesel generator that must be still worth something...

Would be cool if he didn't try to be AvE all the time

The colour die has only ONE purpose, if a truck is stopped, it's common for them to dip the tank to check for coloured diesel (colour can vary country to country) ... Getting stopped running a truck on the road with coloured diesel can be very expensive.

I remember many of those moments of joy a very long time ago when it came "alive." Haven't gotten grease on my hands in many years...and I do miss it although now I'd be inclined to use latex gloves. Great job. Many thanks for these vicarious moments/hours.

Why did you mention that ! I saw that and realised I had a little twisty smile on, but it’s ok, nobody can see under the whiskers.

What do you think that rattle is ?

It's not always trivial to remove and install glow plugs.

He say she got the glow plugs, he not think about them! Eh! Someone is awake! Eh!

@@erik_dk842 it is on that engine. They have a buss bar with finger nuts. Pull the buss bar and then remove the glow plugs