Fischer Panda issue

[BrinkOut376]

During an over nighter this week I kept tripping the breaker on my cockpit cooler. At closer look and after toggling through generator remote display in cabin found that it was only producing 89-91 volts at 47 KHZ. Supposed to be 120 and 60. This was under load or with no load at all. Shut system down and same readings. Any thoughts or ideas?
Jason B

 

[wspitler]

Given the low frequency, it would seem the diesel engine is not getting up to speed (3600 RPM). Could be a governor issue (mechanical governor) or lack of fuel, or worse, a mechanical drag by the generator. There are also several capacitors in the voltage control box that are designed to supplement voltage when a load is added, but those should not be needed with no load. I'd try starting it and monitoring the voltage/frequency with 0 amps. When it is running try tapping the fuel shutoff valve to see if it could be stuck partially open. Make sure your fuel pump (electric) is running and the fuel filter is clean. Either might slow the engine. Check the connections to the shutoff valve for corrosion, it is powered "open" along with the fuel pump itself. I'd put in a new fuel filter as well. Good Luck!

 

[BrinkOut376]

Wow. Great info. Really appreciate the info. This is a 13 month old unit and recently had a fuel pump replacement. Issue started with breakers tripping on cockpit cooler. Then found this issue. Thank you. Will update once solution found for future reference.

 

[BrinkOut376]

well generator saga continues. The fisher panda tech said had a bad control board so he swapped it and some other associated design problem part out under warranty. I went ahead and had him do the 200 hr service which included checking valves, etc. Now generator will run and shut it self down after 10 minutes. Override, runs 3-5 min and shuts down again. I believe it is temperature related. Already paid to have impeller replaced just in case. Water flow good and strainers clean. Any ideas? Never had overheat problem until 200 hr service and new control board installed....

 

[HMBJack]

Check your Check Valve. It's located on top of the remote fuel tank on the fuel line feeding your fuel pump.
If there is any material in your tank, it could be partailly clogging the check valve and restricting fuel flow.
The check valve is a simple ball valve that looks like a barbed fitting. Easy to access, remove and examine.

 

[BrinkOut376]

Well we figured it out. Apparently the fuel pump was malfunctioning. It would run for about 12 minutes until it got hot and then quit. Could restart once. Run for 2-3 minutes and quit. No restart and no error lights. override button on fuel pump would not start the pump. New one installed and it appears to be working. Logging for others research. Less than 200 hrs on unit.

 

[BrinkOut376]

Well, we didn't find it. Timeline of issues. started in June of this year.
Generator not creating enough volts or Hertz. - Control board replaced under warranty. At that same time 200 hour service done by FP Authorized rep.
Generator quits after 12 or so minutes. Inspected and saw that overflow bottle was low and could smell coolant when investigating. - Impeller replaced by FP Authorized tech
Generator quits after 12 or so minutes, FP authorized tech finds bad fuel pump. Replaces.
Generator quits after 12 or so minutes, FP authorized tech finds bad control board ( same one replaced when this all started).

Original issue low voltage/hertz. Engine would run continuously without issue and did so for 200 hours.
Now engine will not run but for 12-15 minutes before shutting down. No errors on remote control pad.
Thoughts Anybody?

 

[wspitler]

When you say "control board" not sure exactly what you are referring to. There is a voltage control box that contains a couple of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in addition to two solid state relays and, depending on the version, two or more capacitors. They can control the fuel shutoff valve which shuts down the fuel. The only fault as I remember it that will shut down the fuel valve and not be indicated on the panel is an overheat of the generator itself (not the diesel engine, but the synchronous generator windings). You can bypass the auto shutdown functions by providing un-interrupted 12V power to the fuel valve, but if you have a real problem like an overheated winding, it could be dangerous. Not recommended! Watch the voltage/frequency/amperage when it shuts down and see if it is a voltage control issue. You will have to be monitoring it when it does it. Also watch for a high load being added, like AC compressor or water heater coming on line. If it does it when a load happens, look for a bad capacitor or, in my case a bad solid state relay in the control box. One of mine showed melting and tested bad causing the engine to shut down when a load was added. If your tech changed the entire voltage control box, then that rules out the internals I just discussed. There are relays that could be overheating, but I don't have a schematic in front of me to give you an idea of where to look for them. As for an overheated engine, you should see a panel fault. However, remember the coolant tank is not circulated by the belt driven impeller. The impeller drives seawater. The coolant bleeding procedure is in the installation manual and an air lock could cause and overheat, but that should have shown a panel fault.

 

[grady33]

My 06 FP shut down a few weeks ago. Replaced fuel filter which was old original and also the fuel Filter. There was some sludge and Debris In diesel. Also had to replace 2 of my 4 batteries which powered the twin YAM plus generator. Started up and running fine now.

closest FP service tech is 65 miles away at least and need to do valve adjustment. Has anyone tackled this?

 

[wspitler]

My 06 FP shut down a few weeks ago. Replaced fuel filter which was old original and also the fuel Filter. There was some sludge and Debris In diesel. Also had to replace 2 of my 4 batteries which powered the twin YAM plus generator. Started up and running fine now.

closest FP service tech is 65 miles away at least and need to do valve adjustment. Has anyone tackled this?

I did it and it wasn't a major job. Once you get access it is pretty straight forward going by the manual. I waited until my annual pull of the hatch on my 330 and have done raw water impeller, oil change, fuel filter and corrosion control at the same time. I do find that a good batteries with good terminals is necessary to ensure reliable and quick starting.

 

[magicalbill]

A general statement here, not associated with any particular problem.

I have a Fischer Panda generator on my Marlin. I asked my diesel tech about keeping it reliable. He told me the best thing I could do to contribute to it's longevity is USE IT. He told me most of the problems he's called out to solve evolve from infrequent use.

I've had mine 2 years. I have 230-odd hrs on my Yams and 190 hrs on my Fischer Panda. I use a stabilizer in the diesel fuel and try to rotate the fuel supply once every couple months or so.

 

[grady33]

A general statement here, not associated with any particular problem.

I have a Fischer Panda generator on my Marlin. I asked my diesel tech about keeping it reliable. He told me the best thing I could do to contribute to it's longevity is USE IT. He told me most of the problems he's called out to solve evolve from infrequent use.

I've had mine 2 years. I have 230-odd hrs on my Yams and 190 hrs on my Fischer Panda. I use a stabilizer in the diesel fuel and try to rotate the fuel supply once every couple months or so.

Exactly! We run ours every time we’re offshore fishing! Only had bad starter and fuel pump so far.

 

[grady33]

I did it and it wasn't a major job. Once you get access it is pretty straight forward going by the manual. I waited until my annual pull of the hatch on my 330 and have done raw water impeller, oil change, fuel filter and corrosion control at the same time. I do find that a good batteries with good terminals is necessary to ensure reliable and quick starting.

suck a pain to change impeller. What sort of corrosion control are you doing?

 

[wspitler]

The impeller isn't such a pain if you replace the studs with ones that have a female allen head. See pics. For corrosion control I focus mostly on the electrical connections and terminals. Clean them with plastic safe electronic cleaner and coat with Corrosion-X, silicon paste or one of the LPS products. I spray the rubber parts/hoses with a food safe silicon spray. I also use a diesel additive and full synthetic 15W-40 Rotella or Mobil 1 oil. I run it frequently and have only adjusted the valves once in 300 hours and then only as preventative maintenance.

 

[Sparkdog118]

Did you happen to see the impeller that was replaced? If it is an overheating issue, there could be some pieces stuck in the heat exchanger. That is if the impeller was in pieces when it was replaced. Generators have a habit of chewing up the impellers. Just a thought.

 

[Angler Management]

I'm not sure what the issue is, seems like ghosts. I found some ghosts in my relay seats when I was having fuel delivery issues... the two relays (one for start and one for fuel pump), the seats were corroded and tripping the relays in a way that I couldn't easily figure out. Might want to really clean the contacts to those relay seats...

Also everyone probably knows this but I found out the hard way, the Panda doesn't charge it's own battery unless the battery charger circuit breaker is in the "on" position. Figured this out when my genny would die after one hour on the hook, but would restart the next night no problem, then die.

 

[BrinkOut376]

Well they just replaced the control box again and as they fired it up found a broken belt......... new belt installed. Up and running at the dock, will see how long it stays running the next trip out. Will update as soon as we get to try it out.

 

[wspitler]

Broken belt? Pretty rare given the age of your generator. I'd be suspicious of the impeller if the belt was broken. Hope they checked it or the new belt may not last long. I put a new belt on mine at 250 hours and the one I took off looked new. Did they change the entire voltage control box? If so that may have been your original problem. Frustrating I'm sure. Hope it becomes as reliable as mine has been.

 

[BrinkOut376]

Yes the broken belt has me bothered as well. It doesn’t make much sense. This is the third control box they have installed on the unit. If these gremlins continue I may have a cheap low hour generator for sale. I have little faith that the “issue” is resolved.

 

[BrinkOut376]

Surprisingly, and thankfully, the generator ran an entire trip (10 hrs ). It was the first trip since last update. Now that we have performed shakedown trip we are trying to fit in overnighter to really put it to the test. Weather has been $#!+ for a month and looks bad for next 10 days. Thank you all for input. It all adds to the database of ideas and info to mine in the future.
JB