Kohler Generator Maintenance Must Service

You're the only kind of service guy that I would allow to work on my equipment. Most service people get in and barely do the job and get out. They don't care about going the extra mile like you did with cleaning out the dirt in the battery area and other things that you did. I commend people like you for doing what you do....

My generator stopped working and said engine high speed. I was about to call a tech to come look but watched your video. The little set screw had come loose and the linkage was apart. Took me 10 minutes to fix it and it's running great now. You saved me a service call brother. All YouTube videos should be this good. Thank you.

Thank you. Today, of your big three, I found 2 on my unit. The 4 bolts (10mm) were all a little loose, the battery was a little low on water, but the tiny set screw was tight. 2 1/4 quarts oil did the trick. Wiped down, cleaned everything. AC PF53 oil filter, same as my riding mower uses. Blew out air cleaner, it was very clean. Reset system, back to auto, really enjoyed it. Thanks!

Sir, I’d like to thank you for generously posting your knowledge for all to see. I really do think it’s great that you are willing to share what you know with the rest of us. I never have a problem hiring competent service people to take care of things I see as important, especially things like generator service. But when getting that service starts to become more troublesome, and I get what I feel is double talk, I sometimes feel I need to do things myself, or get raked over the coals, if you know what I mean. That’s where people like you step up and save the day. Thanks so much. And I’m grateful there is a medium out there where you can do that. Keep up the great work!

Nice to see a professional who is knowledgeable and cares. Seems to be getting harder to find these days! Great job!!

Thanks so much for this video. I've been servicing my 20 kW generator for over 10 years now and never knew about the bolts, set screws and brushes. I serviced mine yesterday and found all were fine. My battery needed water after replacing it after only a year. So, I agree that it gets overcharged. My last one had a hole in the side! The biggest challenge is the rear spark plug. I accidently dropped the new one behind the heat shield and it was quite a long ordeal to get it out. I had to remove all panels (top, back, front, sides) to gain access. Then, I had to partially remove the heat shield to get it out. Note that if I had the socket on it, it probably wouldn't been able to get dropped in there. I usually only replace the oil and filter every year and the air filter and plugs every 3 years or so depending on the number hours on the generator. Thanks again!

Man I wish all service techs I had to deal with were as thorough and considerate as you.

Great job young man. You are a true professional.

Also, thanks for the advice to check the tightness of the bolts under the air filter housing and the set screw on the control rod. Mine were all tight but that helps those of us who do our own basic maintenance.

Just replaced the slip ring and brushes today. It was a hell of a job and I am shocked I got it to work. Fired right up. They melted and I don’t know why. I was quoted on a whole new rotor assembly or a whole new generator, even though it only had 162 hours…..my local dealer had never seen the issue nor do I think it was ever inspected. The guys on the smokstak forum helped me tremendously! This is a great video as I’ll prob take on my own maintenance now.

Great video, thanks for sharing, love getting insight from the guys that actually do the work!

Your video helped me figure out an issue I was having with the spring to the stepper motor. Everything is fixed thanks to the few shots of the spring in this video! Thanks!

My stepper motor fasteners got loose and one of the control conductors became abraded. I had to pay through the nose to have it replaced, all because of a loose bolt. Thanks to you I know to regularly check for loose fasteners. Thank you.

very thorough video. you seem like a great technician. And that place looks like a beautiful property.

With my Champion standby gas generator I don’t need to check the batterys (mine use two) because they are sealed and don’t need any kind of maintenance aside for changing the oil every 100 hours, because they don’t have any overcharging issues neither, but for the people who has a Kohler generator this tips are very helpful 👍

Thanks, you R incredibly helpful. Very thorough with a lot of integrity for what you do. Solved my issue with no start by cleaning the holes where there should have been tubes according to sb722 in 2011.

Lots of great maintenance tips- thanks !

I have a 17RES and recently found a nut on the floor of the generator housing and no idea where it came from until I watched your video. 1 nut off, two loose, only 1 tight. Yet it has been running fine, until now. Great piece of maintenance advice. Nuts replaced and tightened, it still doesn't really want to run. With a little help on the throttle, it will start, but soon the auto-throttle takes over and opens wide and the unit shuts down. Any suggestions?

If things are vibrating loose over time, it's worth using some Loc-tite or similar on it. Batteries are also a consumable and should (rule-of-thumb) for lead-acid be swapped out after 4 - 4.5 years or so, and at the latest 5-6 years. I once dropped a large wrench on a car lead-acid battery's terminals and got one of the nice weld marks you speak of, quite exciting when it happens!

What a really great video! Thank you!