Fischer Panda Troubleshooting/Potentially Replacing on 330 Express

[Cregan13]

The Fischer Panda 4200 4kw on my 2006 330 has been trouble since I got it a few months back. Long and short is that it starts up, runs for 15-20 minutes, the oil pressure light starts flickering, it runs for another 15-20 minutes, and then it shuts itself down. If you wait 20-30 minutes, you can restart it and go through the same process. It is a rebuilt unit that the old owner put on, and it has 45 hours.

I had a Fischer Panda certified mechanic out there today, and he found that the oil pressure at start-up is 20, and then it instantly drops to 10. Those numbers are very low, he tells me. When it shut itself down, he tested the pressure again while trying to restart it, and it was zero. When we could restart it 20 minutes later, he put the oil pressure gauge on, and he could see the pressure steadily falling while it ran. He talked on the phone to the FP service guy at the factory in Fort Lauderdale, and there was no clear answer. He is going to research a little more before recommending a plan, but he thinks the next step is likely going to be removing the unit from the boat to tear into it and get at some of the seals and the oil pump.

The mechanic seems like he is shooting me straight and knows what he is talking about, but I just wanted to throw it out to the Grady-owning masses to see:

1. Has anyone had this issue before? and if so, was there any fix that could be down without dragging the unit out of the boat? and/or

2. Has anyone replaced their FP with something else? I have not been hearing great things about these, and if I am going through the trouble of removing it from the boat anyway, it may be a good time to replace it with something better.

All thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[wspitler]

I have a 2007 that has been great. I did have one of the load capacitor relays go bad, but the diesel engine has been flawless. I assume you have checked the oil level and type (15W40 diesel) If someone used 10W30 or newer light oil that could be a problem. There is not filter, but there is a screen that could clog with metal if the rebuild was shoddy. I'd change the oil, make sure it isn't overfilled as that could cause foaming. Also check the screen, but if it is clogged, there could be other problems with the rebuild. Those engines should run 2-3000 hours before needing overhaul. I change the oil annually and use Rotella 15W40 full synthetic. I'd be interested in your outcome. Good Luck.

 

[Fishtales]

Interesting to see what others say. Other than a starter change, mine has been ok. Low hours though. I was told it wouldn't start when the dealer winterized. I'll dig into it in the spring. May have to change it out again.....

 

[Cregan13]

Yes, i changed the oil and the oil pressure sending unit to no avail before I called the mechanic. He confirmed the oil level was good and there was nothing in the oil.

 

[wspitler]

Mine takes a good battery with low resistance connections to get going. The fact that there is a manual compression release designed into the engine makes me think starter speed is important. Whenever mine won't start right away, I clean the terminals on the starter and get a hot battery and it's good to go for another year or so. Valve adjustment may also affect starting. Not hard to adjust. I'd check the oil screen Cregan13 for your pressure problem.

 

[seasick]

You seem to have done the two things that FP recommends; checking level and pressure switch. Since the tech sounds decent and since he measured zero pressure, one would ask what could cause the low pressure. Foamed oil could do that and as was mentioned, an over filled oil tank is a possibility but the tech said the level was good. I assume he checked that before running until the motor shut off. If so, I would wonder if the reservoir is being slowly drained until there is low oil and then low pressure. I am not knowledgeable of the internals of the generator and can't start to guess what could cause the oil reservoir to empty. Could it be a semi clogged filter? Overheated oil could be thinning out also causing lower pressure but you would expect a temp alarm at some point.
Let us know what the solution is and hopefully it's something simple

 

[coastalbend]

You seem to have done the two things that FP recommends; checking level and pressure switch. Since the tech sounds decent and since he measured zero pressure, one would ask what could cause the low pressure. Foamed oil could do that and as was mentioned, an over filled oil tank is a possibility but the tech said the level was good. I assume he checked that before running until the motor shut off. If so, I would wonder if the reservoir is being slowly drained until there is low oil and then low pressure. I am not knowledgeable of the internals of the generator and can't start to guess what could cause the oil reservoir to empty. Could it be a semi clogged filter? Overheated oil could be thinning out also causing lower pressure but you would expect a temp alarm at some point.
Let us know what the solution is and hopefully it's something simple

I had a similar problem on a chevy motor I put in a boat. What I did not do was put a splash tray under the main journals ( required for marine and dirt track) , also I had a high volume oil pump, results were what you have, emptying the oil pan ( reservoir) and the oil could not return from top of motor fast enough. tray and stock oil pump kept the oil in the pan.