# Westinghouse WGEN 12000 DF



## Lildog56 (Dec 20, 2021)

Hello All
Any one on here experiencing starting problems with the WGEN 12000 DF Westinghouse generators , got one that's brand new and starter is not engaging into the flywheel , westing hour has sent us 2 starters and stated there is a problem now there wanting us to take it to a service center for repair , not easy to load 350 pound gen set plus closet service center is about 70 miles , not happy with Westinghouse at the moment.


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

It might just be a weak battery. Cou;d've sat in the store for months before you got it. Try charging the battery overnight and try starting it again in the morning.


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## Lildog56 (Dec 20, 2021)

OrlyP said:


> It might just be a weak battery. Cou;d've sat in the store for months before you got it. Try charging the battery overnight and try starting it again in the morning.


Just trying to find out if anyone on the forum has experienced this problem , Purchased unit in Feb. Battery is good starter bendix is not engaging into the flywheel has not damaged the flywheel but it will eventually if not corrected , it doesn't do it every time but makes a terrible sound when it does , all wired in as a home backup in a generator house , here we are in storm season and don't really want it in a shop for god knows how long .


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Starter gear teeth dont have enough room to mesh with flywheel ring gear somehow.
Can the starter be shimmed away from the ring gear? Some car starters can do that.
Other strange thing could be the flywheel ring gear is damaged badly. Are the teeth edges smooth or like peened over?
Could be one or 2 spots on ring gear is damaged, might be able to clean that up with a file.
Another possibility (remote one), the engine bearing worn too loose allowing flywheel starter ring gear to get too close to starter drive gear.

You might be able to remove the engine cowl cover, and view the interaction of starter drive gear with flywheel starter gear and see what is going on.
You can take a metal file and clean up the gear.
And grab flywheel and see if it can lift up like too much play in the bearing.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Another possibility, the flywheel is not fitting properly on the tapered crankshaft journal, could be flywheel nut came loose and is allowing flywheel to rock around misaligning its gear teeth to the starter drive teeth.
I have rarely seen how the flywheel itself , the tapered bore is damaged and does not fit properly anymore to the crank.
See if it is tight and also has no runout, look at flywheel edge as it spins, should not move in and out.


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## Lildog56 (Dec 20, 2021)

sdowney717 said:


> Another possibility, the flywheel is not fitting properly on the tapered crankshaft journal, could be flywheel nut came loose and is allowing flywheel to rock around misaligning its gear teeth to the starter drive teeth.
> I have rarely seen how the flywheel itself , the tapered bore is damaged and does not fit properly anymore to the crank.
> See if it is tight and also has no runout, look at flywheel edge as it spins, should not move in and out.


Ring gear looks fine , Westinghouse is now saying the same thing mis alignment of starter and ring gear and setting up for us to take it to authorized repair center , one main reason for my purchase was the available service centers come to find out the three in our area have permanently closed but still listed on there website , now closet 1 is about 100 miles , they won't like me after tomorrow.


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

It might be cheaper/easier to take it to a local small engine shop. Especially if you have experience with someone local. Just might not be worth it to drive 400 miles for a freebie that’s not really free…😉


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Something odd must be off to prevent the starter drive from meshing properly.
Depending on how the starter mounts, it might be possible to use a small thin metal shim. for example if a round bore place a short shim on the bore edge to force the starter drive gear end further away from flywheel ring gear. May only need 10 or 20 thousands". Since I cant see what it has, I cant really help, but a little ingenuity can fix a lot of things.


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## Lildog56 (Dec 20, 2021)

Well pretty obvious there's a problem with this model generator , Westinghouse replaced the unit picked up and delivered another one to us on the 4th start cycle it did the same thing 
Pretty Sad situation !!! WGen 12000 DF


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Lildog56 said:


> Well pretty obvious there's a problem with this model generator , Westinghouse replaced the unit picked up and delivered another one to us on the 4th start cycle it did the same thing
> Pretty Sad situation !!! WGen 12000 DF


did the replacement include a new starting battery?


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## Lildog56 (Dec 20, 2021)

Yes 


sdowney717 said:


> did the replacement include a new starting battery?


new unit we uncreated assembled , charged battery , filled with oil , started unit ran for about 10 min killed it hooked it up started it checked power out put all good killed it restarted it again ran for 5min maybe forth start did the same thing , 5th time started rite up , Westinghouse is aware of the problem but apparently hasn't got it resolved .


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Lildog56 said:


> Yes
> 
> new unit we uncreated assembled , charged battery , filled with oil , started unit ran for about 10 min killed it hooked it up started it checked power out put all good killed it restarted it again ran for 5min maybe forth start did the same thing , 5th time started rite up , Westinghouse is aware of the problem but apparently hasn't got it resolved .


Ok, at least it is working better than the other one. I would keep testing the starting and see after 50 cranks how often it fails. You dont have to actually start it, just test to see if the starter drive engages the engine without grinding. Keep dong that and keep the battery charged.

Looking at online reviews they are all 4 and 5 star mostly.


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## anderep (9 mo ago)

i don't have any problems, just got mine last Tuesday.
running house and 3 AC units, pulling 9.83kw on propane. generator charges battery while running.
also ran with 3hp well pump running and two AC units, prior to installing meters.


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## anderep (9 mo ago)

Lildog56 said:


> Yes
> 
> new unit we uncreated assembled , charged battery , filled with oil , started unit ran for about 10 min killed it hooked it up started it checked power out put all good killed it restarted it again ran for 5min maybe forth start did the same thing , 5th time started rite up , Westinghouse is aware of the problem but apparently hasn't got it resolved .


is the ring gear integeral to the flywheel, or is it heat shrunk on? i wonder if it is moving back and forth, perhaps the bolt wasn't torqued to the fly wheel.


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## Mbaeng2 (6 mo ago)

Purchased this same model generator in March 2022. it behaves exactly the same way, starter will not engage ring gear on about every 4th try. Have you found any resolution to this?


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## Pullmarkbird (6 mo ago)

Has there been any update to this issue, from Westinghouse?


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## MattWolf (5 mo ago)

anderep said:


> i don't have any problems, just got mine last Tuesday.
> running house and 3 AC units, pulling 9.83kw on propane. generator charges battery while running.
> also ran with 3hp well pump running and two AC units, prior to installing meters.
> View attachment 11726
> ...


 Do you have other up-close photos of your WGen12000DF with the Power/Amp meters on it? I'm looking to do the same to my WGen12000DF. Where did you place the split core current transformer and route the cables? I liked how clean yours looks.


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## MattWolf (5 mo ago)

Mbaeng2 said:


> Purchased this same model generator in March 2022. it behaves exactly the same way, starter will not engage ring gear on about every 4th try. Have you found any resolution to this?


I also had the same problem. I removed the starter from the engine and remount it making sure the surface was clean before and have not had the problem since. Make know since that this corrected the problem but ill check back in a month or so with an update. Good luck troubleshooting.


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## sdowney717 (12 mo ago)

Are these starters a sloppy fit on the engine? So that the starter slides out of a proper alignment. Poor manufacturing process. By design car starters fit well, bad engineering design and manufacturing has gotten to this now.


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## Damian (4 mo ago)

Lildog56 said:


> Hello All
> Any one on here experiencing starting problems with the WGEN 12000 DF Westinghouse generators , got one that's brand new and starter is not engaging into the flywheel , westing hour has sent us 2 starters and stated there is a problem now there wanting us to take it to a service center for repair , not easy to load 350 pound gen set plus closet service center is about 70 miles , not happy with Westinghouse at the moment.



I have exactly the same issue with a brand new WGEN 12000DF purchased in Canada June '22.

The very first start attempt out of the crate and the starter would spin but not engage the flywheel. The subsequent start attempts during that first few minutes all worked as they should and I just put it down to a 'one off' - starters do that sometimes. Due to the fact that I have been waiting on my natural gas installer for the past few months, the generator has had zero use (it's intended for home back up only). Today I attempted to start it, and sure enough the starter is not engaging the flywheel roughly once out of every 3 or 4 start attempts. Clearly there is something wrong with the starter, solenoid,solenoid/starter wiring, alignment etc. Battery is fully charged - brand new unit that's only ran for 10 mins total.

I spoke with Westinghouse US they said they would send a starter (I am vehicle tech by trade and explained that I am happy to fit a new starter), but then they realised I am based in Canada, so I had to speak to their Canadian dept Mecanair based in Quebec I think. Initially the Quebec dept wanted me to return the genset to them! But, I mentioned about the fitting a replacement starter rather than shipping this monster to who knows where and they were happy to do that. 

BUT, now looking at your post it's clear this may not just be a starter issue. Mecanair have requested my details for shipping etc and as it stands now they are going to look into this further before making a decision. I told them that after seeing others on this forum having the exact same issue, it seems pointless sending a starter and that if there are other underlying issues with flywheel alignment etc it will need to be addressed by them. 

Got to be honest I did a lot of research before buying this generator, and it's not a cheap purchase at $4,292.87 CDN.

Did not expect this from Westinghouse for sure.

We shall see where this leads.


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## GenNut (4 mo ago)

Lildog56 said:


> Hello All Any one on here experiencing starting problems with the WGEN 12000 DF Westinghouse generators , got one that's brand new and starter is not engaging into the flywheel , westing hour has sent us 2 starters and stated there is a problem now there wanting us to take it to a service center for repair , not easy to load 350 pound gen set plus closet service center is about 70 miles , not happy with Westinghouse at the moment.


 I purchased the Wgen 12000df earlier this year (1-2022) too and have had the same problem. I emailed Westinghouse customer service and had 2 replies. 1 wanting a pic of serial number and receipt & a 2nd asking me to describe problem further. I did both and there has been no response to my many emails since. Not happy at all


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## tabora (Sep 6, 2018)

Damian said:


> Did not expect this from Westinghouse for sure.


This is not the Westinghouse of old...

The generators are designed in the USA and *made in China or Vietnam* under license.


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## Damian (4 mo ago)

tabora said:


> This is not the Westinghouse of old...
> 
> The generators are designed in the USA and *made in China or Vietnam* under license.


Yep. No surprise there.


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## Hdfatb (1 mo ago)

I have had the same problem every other start it doesn’t mesh with flywheel so it grinds until I cut battery to starter. Contacted Westinghouse and they sent another starter it did the same thing. I called American Express they canceled payment. As it stands Westinghouse is sending me another unit and picking this one up but from what I’m reading and from closer inspection of flywheel it is a poor design and it will probably happen with replacement.


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## Metalcig (7 d ago)

Damian said:


> I have exactly the same issue with a brand new WGEN 12000DF purchased in Canada June '22.
> 
> The very first start attempt out of the crate and the starter would spin but not engage the flywheel. The subsequent start attempts during that first few minutes all worked as they should and I just put it down to a 'one off' - starters do that sometimes. Due to the fact that I have been waiting on my natural gas installer for the past few months, the generator has had zero use (it's intended for home back up only). Today I attempted to start it, and sure enough the starter is not engaging the flywheel roughly once out of every 3 or 4 start attempts. Clearly there is something wrong with the starter, solenoid,solenoid/starter wiring, alignment etc. Battery is fully charged - brand new unit that's only ran for 10 mins total.
> 
> ...


Hello,

Since im also from Canada and was looking to purchase that generator, i was wondering if you were able to get your issues resolved and wanted to know how helpful was mechanair with after service. That is an expensive unit, but it seem like it is the only one that would fulfill my need (power and low thd). I just want to make sure that i don’t throw 4 200$ away.

I would really appreciate having your feedback and if possible knowing where you purchased your generator.

thank you!


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