Generator shuts off on plane


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#boattarded

New member
Hey gang, recently my generator is shutting down underway. Most of the time it happens when I get on plane, but has cut off before reaching plane. This wasn't the case until about a year ago. Had I been lucky before or is this a thing.
The technical: 1999 400ss, 6.5 Kohler.
I don't run often with it on but sometimes it's hot out here.

Any ideas?
 
Any build up on hull side pick up? before it goes thru ball valve and strainer... does it do it when stationary? Do you have the wound coil for cold start before it idles up to speed? And of course the obvious... impeller in good shape? not slipping on shaft? Just some thoughts
 
#boattarded said:
Hey gang, recently my generator is shutting down underway. Most of the time it happens when I get on plane, but has cut off before reaching plane. This wasn't the case until about a year ago. Had I been lucky before or is this a thing.
The technical: 1999 400ss, 6.5 Kohler.
I don't run often with it on but sometimes it's hot out here.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

My gut would say cavitation - with the speed of that boat and rough water capabilities you might be losing water flow, etc.

However, since this did not happen before, my gut must stink.

Mmmmmm....can you replicate, meaning always in smooth water it is ok, but in chop it does this, or vice versa etc.
 
My 02 37PC didn't have a SCOOP style intake for the generator. It was just a plain round hole with a plain thru-hull flange. My generator was not designed to be run while the boat is in motion.
 
Getting back... Impeller is in good shape and the generator runs fine stationary and when just cruising. Once I start to run faster than just a normal cruise it will cut off. My intake is just a hole i. The bottom of the boat. The only that has changed about the boat is the bottom coat. I feel like it's even all the around d the intake. Maybe the surface change of the new bottom coat is affect it.
 
Puzzling to say the least.... I have same set up. Round thru hull,bottom paint, and I can run at 34 mph with no shut off. I’ll send pic where it’s mounted in eng bay. See if yours is same. Also holds true w my a/c. Runs no problem at same speed.
 
Perhaps you had some kind of growth inside your lines and there's not enough water flow at speed to stay running....just guessing

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
I plan to clean strainers(period maintenance) tonight and maybe even look at the lines. I will check for growth issues.
I will be out all this weekend on the boat, so I may try a few tests.
 
most likely, there is too much turbulent water going past the water intake. If the generator does not have enough flow, it will overheat and shut off automatically. If it works fine in every other scenario, this is most likely the issue. You won't be able to duplicate it. After the 1st time this happened to me, i consulted my mechanic and that's what he told me. Stopped using it when it hit 30 MPH.
 
Wow... took me a while to get back. I think I figured it out. At the least, the generator is running and will run on plane. To backup, the generator start shutting off after running for 5 to 10 minutes. About 2 weeks ago we were spending the weekend on the river at a music festival and while out on the hook the generator started shutting off erratically. It might run for 5 minutes and sometimes for 30 minutes.
I went through the normal trouble shooting for water, oil, coolant etc. I watched a youtube video and saw that one guy mentioned that the anode should be checked. When i pulled the cap, the anode wasn't attached to the cap. I had to needle nose it out and once out it had a lot of calcium build up on it. I believe the anode was blocking water or slowing water flow.
I have purchased a new one to install, but i cleaned of the calcium build up, screwed the anode really tight on to the cap(more than the picture shows) and put it back on.
The generator runs perfect and while on plane. I ran it this weekend up to 30mph and it didn't shut off.
anode.jpg
Back in business.anode.jpg
 
I didn't realize running the genny while underway was an acceptable practice. According to the Formula manual the generator should not be run in conjunction with high speed operation of the boat. My guess is water flow through the genny is dropping. I also do not run the A/C while underway due to water flow issues. As was said above the intakes do not have scoops and are, I believe, behind the steps in the hull which would mean they are in turbulent water flow. Just my .02
 
I run mine while idling on river in a no wake zone to get to the lake, running the a/c if it’s real hot out.
It gets warm in the cabin ,have a small fan blowing on the helm.
Never an issue running on plane either.I will check the anode, thanks for the tip.
2002 330ss
 
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Anode405.jpg
Hope this loaded from my phone. I know a lot of boaters that run at cruise speed(which is much slower than a Formula SS) run with the generator on. 30 is not high speed for a Formula.
The new 430 SSC's will run wide open with the generator on for the AC. I heard that from Formula at the Ft Lauderdale show.
 
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