My 2007 Fischer Panda generator on my 330 Express developed an issue last August 2024. After running great for 60+ hours last season, it started shutting down after approx. four minutes due to an overheat issue. The Engine Temp idiot light would turn red each time it shut down. Having owned a few (non-Panda) generators in the past, the first thing I checked was exhaust water which seemed to be ok - plenty of flow and only slightly luke warm. I changed the impeller anyway. On that model generator, the raw water pump is a bear to get to, being in the lower right-rear of the unit and partially recessed into the lower section of the soundproofing shell. You have to do most of it by feel. Wasn't fun. While the impeller pump cover was off, I back-flushed the raw water intake line and found a little rubber piece of an impeller. That gave me some hope that it would fix the problem, but no such luck.
The next step was to check to see if the thermostat was stuck closed. This generator has a Farymann engine; the newer Panda's have Kobota engines I'm told. I bought a new thermostat for a little under $200 off eBay. (The Panda tech support people recommended checking eBay since they would have had to "order one from Germany". They even provided me a link to the eBay seller.) When I removed the thermostat cover, there was nothing there; just an empty seat. Apparently someone had tried to cure a previous overheat issue by removing it. Who knows.
At this point, I threw the towel in and paid a visit to my local boatyard (Hawthorne Cove - a Safe Harbors marina). They worked through the problem and found that the fresh water pump had failed. The clue was that the heat exchanger was cool, but the fresh water feed hose going to the heat exchanger was hot. They yanked the pump and found it was cracked. It also failed to pump water in a bench test. That pump is electric and not gear driven. All is well now and the genset runs (with thermostat installed) for hours and hours just fine. The pump was about $200.
The next step was to check to see if the thermostat was stuck closed. This generator has a Farymann engine; the newer Panda's have Kobota engines I'm told. I bought a new thermostat for a little under $200 off eBay. (The Panda tech support people recommended checking eBay since they would have had to "order one from Germany". They even provided me a link to the eBay seller.) When I removed the thermostat cover, there was nothing there; just an empty seat. Apparently someone had tried to cure a previous overheat issue by removing it. Who knows.
At this point, I threw the towel in and paid a visit to my local boatyard (Hawthorne Cove - a Safe Harbors marina). They worked through the problem and found that the fresh water pump had failed. The clue was that the heat exchanger was cool, but the fresh water feed hose going to the heat exchanger was hot. They yanked the pump and found it was cracked. It also failed to pump water in a bench test. That pump is electric and not gear driven. All is well now and the genset runs (with thermostat installed) for hours and hours just fine. The pump was about $200.
