Genny starting procedure

[Carverlvr2]

I recently acquired this 2004 366 with a Kohler 7.3e genny. My old boat (‘92) you had to shut off shore power, turn off the boat a/c breakers, fire up the genny, after a couple min turn the a/c breakers back on. With this boat, the previous owner said I didn’t have to do any of that and can just fire it up and everything switches over.
A. Is this correct? If not, what is the proper procedure?
B. If so, should I shut off breakers on shut down?
C. When I do crank the genny from the dc panel I hear a loud clicking from behind the panel until the genny fires up. Is that normal? I’m guessing it’s relays that take over once the power is flowing?
D. I also checked the oil before firing it up and it’s red…is that normal? Manual said just use 10w30 and that’s not red.
E. Last question. Maybe. The muffler is a water lift and exits below the water line in the middle of the hull and I guess the rest exits toward the swim platform. With the water exiting under the boat, how do I know if I’m getting good water flow?

[bud37]

Regarding "D".....if it were me I would change the oil and filter and see what happens from a fresh baseline especially if you have no idea what the previous owner put in there in regards to additives etc. What color is the coolant in that engine ?

Would you have some pics of the muffler install etc ?

[buster53]

Ok, I have a 2001, 356. Your 366 replaced the 356 so a lot of similarities. Anyway, true, you don’t have to do anything before cranking up your genset. The chattering you are hearing behind your panel is as you said, the transfer switch transferring power from shore to genset.
As far as the red oil goes, hate to ask this…are you sure you checked the oil and not the antifreeze? I know there are red antifreezes available and may be in your engine.
If you did check the oil and it is red, I would change it immediately

[buster53]

.delete

[Viper]

Source of the post I recently acquired this 2004 366 with a Kohler 7.3e genny. My old boat (‘92) you had to shut off shore power, turn off the boat a/c breakers, fire up the genny, after a couple min turn the a/c breakers back on. With this boat, the previous owner said I didn’t have to do any of that and can just fire it up and everything switches over.
A. Is this correct? If not, what is the proper procedure?
B. If so, should I shut off breakers on shut down?
C. When I do crank the genny from the dc panel I hear a loud clicking from behind the panel until the genny fires up. Is that normal? I’m guessing it’s relays that take over once the power is flowing?
D. I also checked the oil before firing it up and it’s red…is that normal? Manual said just use 10w30 and that’s not red.
E. Last question. Maybe. The muffler is a water lift and exits below the water line in the middle of the hull and I guess the rest exits toward the swim platform. With the water exiting under the boat, how do I know if I’m getting good water flow?

As mentioned, when you turn on the genny, the system automatically switches the source from shore to ship and vise versa when you shut the genny down. The intent is so you don't have to worry about turning the mains off and on or switch sources, however, to prolong the life of the auto switches (solenoids), it's best to turn your breakers off before turning the genny on or off.

Ya I'd make sure you're checking the oil and not the coolant. In any case, you should change the oil and filter to the manufacturer's recommendations. Because the boat is new to you, if you haven't done so already and aren't sure when the fluids in your other equipment have been changed; engines, trannys, etc., I recommend you do them too. Same goes for impellers.

If your genny exhaust branches off, you likely have an exhaust/water separator which makes it difficult to tell if you're pumping water. One way to check is to take a temp reading of the exhaust elbow on the genny with a IR temp gun. Your genny should have a temp sensor on the exhaust that is designed to shut the unit down if the exhaust overheats due to the lack of raw water.

[Carverlvr2]

Thank you all for the info! The Start up sounds way easier than I’m used too! As for the oil, I’m positive it was the engine oil I was checking (small yellow screw-in dipstick at the bottom center of the genny) and a search on the Google machine showed a few synthetics that wipe with same dark red color so I’m hoping that’s the case and I’ll go through the bottles of extra oil he left and see if any match up.
I’ll get some pix of the muffler set up this weekend and post here.

[bud37]

Just me, but unless that oil that has been sitting around from previous owner is still factory sealed I would not use it, ya never know what someone has done before and oil is cheap. gennies not so much....

[Carverlvr2]

Bud37, I totally agree. Only going thru the bottles to see if I find one that matches in color so I know if it’s just brand specific. Also just read on Bob is the oil guy that it’s normal for engine oils to turn red during their normal life cycle before going to brown or black. I’m going to change the oil and filter either way.

[km1125]

Source of the post ...... it’s normal for engine oils to turn red during their normal life cycle before going to brown or black. ....

Been around all kinds of engines all my life and I would never say it's "normal". It might happen in certain cases but I have never witnessed it myself in all those years of checking and changing oil on thousands of engines. (personally or professionally).

.... Because the boat is new to you, if you haven't done so already and aren't sure when the fluids in your other equipment have been changed; engines, trannys, etc., I recommend you do them too. Same goes for impellers.
....

100%!!

Not sure why this process doesn't get more widely adopted in the "new to you" boating community. Somehow there's an implicit trust that the previous owner (or whoever did the work on the boat) did everything they said when the boat was sold. Addressing these items gives you a good baseline and 100% knowledge when these things were done.

[Viper]

Ya I agree, I've never seen oil turn red before. I don't doubt that operating conditions affect the oil's chemistry but I've never actually seen a gold oil turn red before going dark. If it does it must be happening within a very short window of operation as I've checked oil at numerous stages in a countless number of engines.