Genset fan

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Has anyone worked on the fan for the remote radiator of their generator? I’m dealing with an issue where my generator won’t stay running, possibly due to an overtemp shutdown. I’ve noticed that the fan doesn’t always turn on, though it spins freely by hand.

Are there any new technologies or alternatives to the squirrel cage fan? I’m working with a PowerTech 15K genset.

GregM

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Greg,

I had a similar problem. See this post. If it is the same problem I had, it is an easy fix.

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If addressing the fan doesn’t resolve the issue, consider the placement of the fan relative to the radiator. If the fan is located after the radiator, check the environmental temperature rating of the motor. It’s possible that the motor isn’t rated for high enough ambient temperatures and is shutting down due to an overload condition.

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Greg,

We had a similar issue with our 15KW PowerTech genset. The radiator fan and the blower fan (both squirrel cage types) would quit, leading to overheating and shutdown. We noticed power spikes in the 110V house lighting, which indicated that the genset was about to overheat. We managed to mitigate this by manually shutting down the genset after the power spike, and sometimes it would run fine through the night upon restart.

When the problem became too frequent, our PowerTech dealer diagnosed it as a faulty voltage regulator on the back of the control panel. To access the panel, you’ll need to pull out the genset, crawl underneath the coach to the access panel, remove it, and then climb in to remove the panel cover and expose the regulator. It’s a $250 part, unfortunately.

Good luck, and I hope it’s something different from our issue.

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Jim and Chris,

I replaced that part five years ago and remounted the second one on the outside of the genset motor side.

I’ve removed the fan and radiator and will be calling PowerTech for further troubleshooting. My initial call to them suggested the issue might be with the fan.

Before I took everything out, the genset was running fine, but then the large squirrel cage fan stopped working.

GregM

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This is for Liberty owners:

On our coaches, there’s a steel baffle beneath the floor under the generator radiator. Its purpose is to direct heated air away from the radiator’s fresh air intake. From observing another Liberty without this baffle, I can confirm that the radiator fan may cycle on its thermal overload switch if the baffle is missing. Without it, the fan draws heated air back through the radiator and over the fan motor.

Make sure the baffle is in place and not crushed, as this could impede airflow.

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Since my fan stopped after running for a while, I suspected that the thermal overload switch might be working as it should. I removed the motor and noticed some up-and-down play in the rotor, which suggests the bearings were heating up, causing the motor to overheat and trip the thermal switch.

I’ll check back in a day or two after flushing the radiator, applying some new paint, and adding coolant. Fortunately, squirrel cage motors are common in the A/C industry, so I was able to find a new motor locally.

GregM

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Job’s complete—only lost one sheet metal screw. If your generator starts but won’t stay running after 5 or 10 minutes, check for overheating issues, such as the fan on the radiator shutting down.

Greg

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Gregg,

Good job on only losing one sheet metal screw. I have been know to lose and gain screws doing jobs.

Hector

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