Kohler Generator Surging and Stalling


kai330

kai330

Member
The Kohler gennie on our boat starts fine, but surges up and down in RPM continually. After several minutes it will cut out entirely from time to time.

Any ideas on what's up?
 
Not to scare you but I had nothing but trouble on my 2008 34PC. Where are you located? I may recommend a Kohler mechanic that know all about the issues with the 7.3 ECD you have.
 
BuddyB said:
Not to scare you but I had nothing but trouble on my 2008 34PC. Where are you located? I may recommend a Kohler mechanic that know all about the issues with the 7.3 ECD you have.
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Boat is in N/M Michigan. We have a 2002 w/ 5kw gen set.
 
Plugs.

Same thing was happening to mine (almost exact) - spent $10 and replaced the plugs. Been running fine ever since.

Obviously it could be something different causing your problem, but this is such a simple thing to try.
 
Have the same problem,same boat. It does not stall though.
Generator starts fine, then surges continually,I changed plugs and filters.
I removed bowl on carb, all clean.
7.3e kohler, generator runs fine with choke on, so it’s running lean.
Next step is to rebuild carb and clean the solenoid.

Anybody got any other ideas ?
 
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Ian330ss said:
Have the same problem,same boat. It does not stall though.
Generator starts fine, then surges continually,I changed plugs and filters.
I removed bowl on carb, all clean.
7.3e kohler, generator runs fine with choke on, so it’s running lean.
Next step is to rebuild carb and clean the solenoid.

Anybody got any other ideas ?
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I bought a new carb (pretty pricey) because I had some rust in the bottom of the bowl. Check out all the parts and make sure nothing has deterioriated in the carb. IMHO, the carb is a poor design and why it cost so much compared to a lawn tractor carb is beyond me.

My guess is the carb.
 
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Removed the carb, cleaned everything,replaced one O ring and adjusted the choke.
Now it runs, no surging.

thanks
 
AmazingGrace - had to replace the carb on my generator too and agree the $$ Kohler wants is ridiculous. I found that the engine in mine was a Honda motor and went to a local Honda parts dealer who was kind enough to get a couple of different carbs from his warehouse so that we could 100% match what was on there. Cost was less that a 1/4 of what Kohler wanted.
 
gustaf said:
AmazingGrace - had to replace the carb on my generator too and agree the $$ Kohler wants is ridiculous. I found that the engine in mine was a Honda motor and went to a local Honda parts dealer who was kind enough to get a couple of different carbs from his warehouse so that we could 100% match what was on there. Cost was less that a 1/4 of what Kohler wanted.
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Unfortunately mine is a Kawasaki, FD501D and the price is similar either through Kawasaki or Kohler.
 
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