What generator repair covers
- No-start diagnosis: controller faults, weak battery, fuel pump feed and lift pump
- Cranks-but-won't-fire calls, checked without risking a hydrolock
- Control-circuit and fuse problems
- Raw-water circuit and wet exhaust service, separate from the main engine's cooling
- Routine service: oil, filters and fuel filters
- AC output and transfer-switch troubleshooting when the genset runs but power doesn't reach the boat
The $150 visit fee is credited to the job. You get the price in writing before any work starts.
Small cruiser generators are their own system
A boat's generator is a compact diesel with its own raw-water circuit, its own wet exhaust, its own start battery connection, and an electronic controller that manages cranking and shutdowns on faults like low oil pressure or high temperature. It is serviced as its own system, not as an extension of the main engine, right down to winterizing.
No-start with no prime
If the genset doesn't even try to prime fuel when you hit start, the usual causes, in roughly the order Brad checks them, are a controller lockout or fault, a battery at the genset that's too weak to run the controller and fuel pump, a blown fuse on the fuel pump feed, or a failed lift pump or fuel shutoff solenoid.
Don't keep cranking a wet-exhaust generator that won't start. Repeated cranking without a fire can fill the exhaust with water and hydrolock the engine. Close the raw-water seacock while you troubleshoot a no-start condition.
Runs, but no power at the outlets
If the genset itself is running but AC power isn't reaching the boat's outlets, the problem is usually downstream: a tripped breaker, the transfer switch, or the shore/generator selector, rather than the generator's own output. Brad checks the whole path from the genset to the panel rather than assuming the unit itself has failed.
Related work
If it's the main engine rather than the generator giving trouble, see marine engine repair. Heading into winter, generators get their own line item in boat winterization.
Where Brad works on generators
Common questions
My generator won't start and doesn't even try to prime, what's wrong?
A controller lockout or fault, a weak battery at the genset, a blown fuse on the fuel pump feed, or a failed lift pump or fuel shutoff solenoid are the usual suspects, in roughly that order.
It cranks but won't start, is it safe to keep trying?
Not indefinitely. Repeated cranking without a start on a wet-exhaust genset can fill the exhaust with water and hydrolock the engine. Close the raw-water seacock while troubleshooting a no-start condition.
The generator runs but there's no AC power at the outlets, what should I check?
That's usually downstream of the genset itself, a breaker, transfer switch or shore/generator selector rather than the generator failing to produce power. Brad checks the whole path, not just the unit.
Does the generator get winterized the same way as the main engine?
No, it's treated as its own system with its own seacock, strainer, pump and wet exhaust, separate from the main engine's winterizing.
Generator down and the weekend's coming
Text a photo and describe what it's doing (or not doing), and Brad will tell you what to check first.