Generator Repair - Troubleshooting - Runs But No Power
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2017
- My UST 5500 watt generator stopped generating electricity the last time I was off grid. In this video I show you how I fixed it. Thanks for watching. Be sure to check out our other shop related videos.
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I tried a grinder and hooked my drill to it so I could turn it in reverse easier and it worked!! I’m blown away crazy that it worked
My biggest problem with repairing generators is the skill checks and the murderous person trying to kill me while I am fixing the generator. This video is a huge help.
Never thought I would find a dead by daylight reference here of all places lmfaoo
I am a 57 year old woman living alone, I just want to say thank you for this video. I have never done this type of thing before, but everything you said worked and I fixed my generator! Thank you!!!
Thank you for the kind comment, I'm really glad it helped you.
Awesome job Cindy Soto!!!
Hell yeh Cindy
Cindy, I am very proud of you! Many ladies, or men for that matter, would never take on such a challenge.
One chick to another. So happy for u. I know how good u must feel right now.
Hi, Well done you fixed it. In your case it is just a capacitor (24microfarad 400VAC) and you are correct, it is OK to fit a higher working voltage part so 450VAC is OK. The part is not polarity sensitive, so you could have wired it either way but it's good practice to retain polarity if in doubt.
In your case it's a capacitor (2 terminals) not and AVR. An AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) contains a number of electronic components and usually has at least 6 terminals (4 for exciter winding and voltage sense and 2 for the rotor brushes).
Appreciate the video, got my generator back online with your help
I did it .plug a grinder in outlet with generator on then started to pass it backward on a plywood panel . holding button on grinder and in 10 seconds it turn on. I praise the Lord.and thank you for the video God bless you and your family😁😁😁😁😁😁
Excellent! I appreciate the feedback and God bless you!
Thank you so much man, I literally have the same generator and was confused when I didn't see a AVR on the bottom but your video help a lot thanks
Thank you. So easy fix. Worked like a charm.
Thanks for the tip about not letting the gas run out. Makes a lot of sense. David
You're welcome, Thanks for watching.
Retired now what? Well picked up a lawn mower repair addiction.,but to much rust and too little profit.Then i got my 1st pressure washer.To heck with lawn mowers they dont squirt squirrels in trees.Im getting pretty good .Fixed 50 this year doubled my investment and love them varmints.Now generators thank you ist one fixed today.I love fixing what'dý others cant. Thank you.
Thanks for the troubleshooting tips. That cap was definitely overheating a bit. During Irma I ran one generator for about 4 days and then it quit producing, fortunately, I had a spare that was available and just rolled it into position and fired it up. I have not had time since to troubleshoot the Generac 5500, but now that I have some ideas, I guess I will get the tool kit and get busy on it.
Your welcome, and good luck on your repair.
Great job!! Glad you were able to fix it on your own. I find it very satisfying to repair my own equipment and especially NOT having to purchase another of whatever it may be if at all possible....lol.
I'll be damned. Hooked up my corded drill into the outlet with a Phillips bit in it and barely clamped the chuck of my cordless drill onto the Phillip's to spin the corded drill. Had my multimeter plugged into the out and and spinning the corded drill produced 10 volts and after about 30 sec of that my corded drill started running off the generators power.
Nice!
WE CAN'T HEAR YOU and you showed us the old AVR upside down for the numbers friend, but got it right with the new one. You did it!!! Thanks for that. I enjoy these generator repair vids, so a thumbs up.. !
Sorry about that
Great info and easy to understand. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for posting. I'll be checking which AVR I have on my Gennie and have it on standby. Cheap and easy fix when you have no power to order a replacement.
Great video. Glad that you were able to fix her up!! Nice job!
Don’t forget about generator safety th-cam.com/video/I1jT3ANENvI/w-d-xo.html just hoping everyone stays safe and keep children safe when using generators. Thank you
Great video. Found the melted AVR in my 2005 Prosource 6800w generator . Ordered new item thru e-bay as noted-works great. 6/13/2020.
Very nice!
Nice job of troubleshooting and repair!
Thanks!
I’m glad I come across this video! I’ve got the same generator that runs bur does not put out any voltage ! Thanks
You're welcome, thanks for commenting.
Cheap generators use capacitors as regulators. Better generators use proper AVRs. The capacitors tend to fail after a while. Higher voltage ratings means better insulation properties. Stay with same or higher rating. The ‘u F’ is the Micro-farad rating of the capacitor. Best to stick with the same rating or as close as possible. Good vid. I give you a 👍.
wrong name but right course of action....now it inspires me to check my capacitor too...
Thanks so much,I saw your video and I tried everything you said,and I saw the problem on yours and out nowhere I just order the same element that was swollen on yours regardless mine was not swollen at all,once I received the part I went ahead to install it,and ir worked just fine,thank you very much
You are so welcome
had an older one given to me, first I changed the breakers, at least one was bad anyway, then I got it going with the drill trick.
Good deal, yeah the drill trick will work sometimes. Thanks for watching/commenting.
Great video man. Thanks so much
You inspired me man. I overloaded my generator and it stopped producing electricity. I took off the panel of my generator like you did but did not have a capacitor or breaker that was bad. Kept following the wiring to the housing for the copper coils (the actual generator?) and found the capacitor that was melted. Ordered a replacement for $16. Bing! Thanks for sharing your video. Saved me the cost of a new generator.
There is a capacitor on the AVR also and it will over heat also.
Had the same issue poss 8years ago . Replaced the capacitor for $50-.. And works like charm
Nice video, thank you. Probably demanded too much current that's why AVR blew.
Yeah we were running it at at least 4000 watts continuously. At 8000 feet you loose about 20% of overall performance. I also made it a habit of letting it run out of fuel under load. Live and learn, thanks for watching.
Awesome video man! I have one just like this and I bet mine has the same problem. Big thanks!
That sir is a capacitor. 24 microfarad.(mfd). Capacitor is used on ac motors or generator. Excites stator coil. All A/C single components need them. D/C motors or 3 phase motors don't need them. All capacitors work the same, just need the same capacitance value +/- 5%. never use a replacement capacitor with lower voltage value. You did great job finding and fixing issue. You probably did nothing to blow capacitor, They get weak, leak, and blow up. Almost all capacitors today are junk. Old ones used a oil that can't be used on capacitors today.
Jason WB my generator is a 7000 watt Troy bolt and it shuts off when I turn all the power on my food trailer
Not quite. AC brushed caps impede arcing by smoothing so that the commutator and brushes don’t fry. Where as in brushless like here are used to generate the initial magnetic field.
Typically when a generator is over revved it causes the breakdown in the cap. Running out of fuel under load in this case is definitely the cause of such revving and subsequent fault.
*Edit. One can put a higher rated cap on and equally install two in parallel. In this instance though if one is to over rev two would best in series which splits the voltage in half on each.
This can also be helpful if you have a faulty governor in which case you would keep blowing caps.
barreraruben
Do you know how much current your trailer draws?
Good comment. I'm not critisizing but i dont believe all single phase motors require a capacitor. A shaded pole motor like a bathroom exhaust fan for instance.
Great information. Thanks
I'm digging this music between work!
It might be a good idea to get an extra AVR to keep with the generator for an emergency fix IF you're off grid working and it goes out again. For the $24 it would be worth it if you had to replace it again.
I agree and spare glass fuses. Thanks for commenting.
I found a small Coleman Powermate 1500 in the garbage this past week, which needed quite a bit of work just to get running. When I finally did, I too found that there was no power to the outlets. I remember seeing this similar black box that had a broken tab, and wondered what it was. Now that I know, I'll try going back and see if that is the culprit. Would be nice to have a smaller generator without spending the money on a new one!
Yup, a general rule is never shut a generator off under load. Always turn off the breaker, or pull out the cord to whatever you are powering before turning off the generator.....
They should design the generators to automatically stop generating power if the RPMs / Hz drops too low... but then they might not sell as many new generators... hmm
Alright thanks for the help now i can open the exit gate and probably escape the entity’s realm
That;s good news.
Thanks for the vid, just got two gens from the dump, one had brushes gone, the other I think is the avr. Not as big as yours but beggers can't be choosers, lol. If anyone finds one from the dump, make sure that It's not an inverter one and there is no smell from the alternator.
Nice score, good luck.
@ aaron moat Why not an inverter one?
@@KennerIAm Because its really hard to find what's wrong. Some of the parts are cast in resins and can smell and look OK but are not. I got two and still can't figure what's wrong, lol
Awesome I will try this on my generator. Thanks for sharing
You bet
Great work! Thanks for sharing! Just picked up a Yamaha EF2600 for a song, runs great, no power, gonna dig into it tomorrow. 😁 Never worked on a generator before, but I'm no stranger to mechanical work, should be interesting!
Good luck!
@@TheHandsOnChannel Thanks! Took an extra week or so to get around to it, but I ended up just having to replace one full wire and shorten/solder two others, and it replace one missing screw to hold the outlets in place. Runs perfect, starts first pull, just ran a 1500W heater on it for half and hour without issue! 😁
@@onesadtech Nice work and thanks for letting us know. It might just help someone else with a similar problem.
I have found over the years if a generator has set for a while, flashing the field will excite the circuits into producing full voltage. The best way I've found is to start the jenny, plug in an electric tool with the switch turned on...then plug a test cord into one of the outlets and just BRIEFLY touch the two leads of the test cord to a 12 VOLT BATTERY...just stroke the terminal and instant 120 volts. You may have to adjust the speed governor up or down to tune the output voltage as it is determined by the rpm. This trick will usually work if not being used over a period of time is the problem...gennys like to stay busy. Good luck.
Is it the amperage that counts?
This is good advice sir thanks you.
It even cranked, ran and sounds way beautiful after replacing the 24 micro farads capacitor! You may want to have an extra just in case. $26 is worth to have an extra when you need it you'll have it right on your emergency replacing parts kit place. I just come up with that one. I try to have extra parts for all I can and sometimes I know I have them but where? I have to create this place in my cabinets so whenever I need something I better go there first lol.
This guy would survive Dead By Daylight
Just noticed this video is three years old. LOL Hope I wasn't too late with my comment and the generator is still working.
Your Generator engine sounds fast, it may be running more than 3600 RPM which would change the frequency to over 60 - 62 HZ. That could be what fried that capacitor it uses to regulate the voltage. You might want to check the RPMs and reset them if that is the case. It may save you from having the same problem again. Your Multi Meter should have a frequency setting on it. Check at one of the 110 plugs.
Sally Safety here...I sure hope that those are OSHA approved sandals that you are wearing ! Nice repair BTW .
Hope this will help me through my studies
You made it man! Thanks for sharing!
The part was definitely a capacitor that is used to flash the generator each time it is started. Microfarads and voltage are listed on the unit so any capacitor with the same values will work! I am guessing that you would not want to run a bleed off resistor between the two terminals however!
Dorian on his way and got out the generator . Runs great , panel meter shows output but no power from the outlets , thoughts ?
Good job. These capacitors are so inexpensive, I like to keep an extra on hand....
24 microfarad capacitor. Capacitors are electronics components that pass AC and block DC current flow. They store charge, smooth and filter power, and yes, even out of circuit, they can store enough charge to hurt you. If this had been a large electrolytic capacitor out of a vacuum tube television, tube radio or audio equipment, you might have found yourself picking yourself up off the ground (if you were lucky)... Good (and lucky) job! For future reference, always know what you are touching before you touch it...
Thanks, you are correct about capacitors being potentially dangerous. I normally discharge any cap I work on but since this one was melted I wasn't worried about it. My confusion was weather it was an avr or a capacitor. This is a brush-less motor and Ive read they use avr not a cap. The new part said gen cap avr @9:24. I guess it really doesn't matter what they call it, it works now and I didn't get electrocuted. WIN WIN.
I read where Ben Franklin got across a battery of leyden jars, (antique capacitors)
sed it was about as bad as sticking a red hot branding iron into a keg of gun powder.
Thank you so much for making this video, I have the same exact problem and have tried re-magnetizing the motor with no luck. I'm going to go open up the panel and check the avr right now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You're welcome!
What is the black square down around the 4 and 5 o'clock position? It looks like it could be a
rectifier and brushes assembly.
Nice video mate thanks
Rite on thnx man big help👍👍
GREAT JOB, BRO!
ALWAYS TURN OFF ALL ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES BEFORE STOPPING OR STARTING GENNY... GOOD PRACTICE.
If u check on those 5k and 5.5k gen sets, if they have fuel shut off solenoid, they are more likely to have some independent coil for running the solenoid and charging the battery. I normally use that 14v DC to self excite the gen set. U jst undo the lugs from the brushes and take note of the polarity then connect the charging output to the brushes in respect of polarity. Run it fo about 5 sec and stop it then reconnect that avr to brushes done.
I am currently working on the exact same generator right now. My problem is it needs to be excited every single time with the drill to put out. There is no AVR, it has 2 diode sets internally mounted on the rotating windings, which help excite the main windings. I suspect one of the diodes are bad, which I think I can fix but have to remove the armature. They use this same setup on some locomotives only on a bigger scale. DO NOT--repeat- DO NOT rev up any generator to try to get output. The windings will let loose with tremendous force. As a side note, The unit will run fine even if both fuses are blown. They are for the 12 volt battery charge DC output circuit, and for the circuit that will power the fuel shutoff/solenoid valve when engine/generator switch is set to off. It powers the solenoid as long as it can from the generator until it stops turning/putting out. The ignition will shut off unless defective. But I believe the fuel shutoff solenoid is a safety function so all fuses must be good. When switched to off, this actually grounds out the ignition coil.
When replacing a generator, consider An Aurora diesel, very reasonable w/all copper wiring They're very quiet, reliable & efficient! w/remote starting capability.
You can get these _a.c. metallized film capacitors_ out of *old ceiling fans-* just *parallel the values* to get the value you need. That way you don't have to wait for the cap to arrive on a slow boat from China- and you can have your generator up and running in minutes.
Great video you have given me a lot of tips of what to look for thanks .Question my generator is still producing power to charge batteries just no 110 was yours doing the same could you let me know it would be appreciated Thanks very much Dale
IDK if mine was producing 12v power or not sorry.
OK thanks your video was very helpful, gave me things to look for and I have to fix it not buying a new one.Thanks again Dale
Field is the word he was looking for eh?
P.S.
My God!
@some ppls comments huh? Wow.
Good video brother...
I have one. and do the same thing thanks for the video I fix 2morrw 👍👍👍👍
No problem 👍
Great work!!
Thanks a lot!
I tried the reverse method and it worked for me, thank you!!!
Awesome, thanks for sharing.
I have this same prob except mine busted through.. Exact same model. Could you provide me with a link to where you found the part?
Good job man !
Thanks!
It’s a cap and given its AC it’s not polarised so doesn’t matter which wire goes where hence both wires being the same colour. Most are cans so you are very lucky to find a melted plastic casing.
In future, check fuses then cap before anything else. *Edit If it keeps blowing you might want to either up rate the cap or put another cap in series.
This will split the voltage over the two so minimising internal arcing which gives rise to the failure as the dialectic material breaks down.
Thank you SynKronos, I was able to see is a Capacitor of 24 micro Farads. But I didn't know the following explanation you gave us!
Uprating will means to go higher on the micros like a 30 mf?
How could you connect a cap in series? I work in the air conditioning a/c field. Many equipments use capacitors. We use them connected having a cable from lets say a condenser unit contactor leg to a common connection (C) written in Caps of three connections. Then we connect a cable from the compressor to the connection H for hermetic, and the cable for the fan to the F marked connector, that way the capacitor gets charge from the contactor, kicks it up to the compressor and fan and both start. But this in series connecting a capacitor I don't know. For those with more questions about a/c you can reach me at 7864396047. If I know the answer to your question I'll give it to you. Mr. SynKronos if you can illustrate us more, please do so. Thank you!
I was just given an old homelite generator and I think the brushes are bad - problem is homelite doesn't make the originals anymore. Can I use others like you used a bigger cap?
Not sure but I'd try it. Brushes aren't that different I'd just look for some that mount the same way. Good luck.
Here just incase I wake up in a entity consumed area having to repair 5 of these
It could happen!
Yeah Bubba, I know this video is old and you’ve already figured all this out but if I’m assuming correctly, you figured out, you had a brushless generator
Good video, had the same problem
Thanks man.
so this is a capacitor ?? that keeps the field excited?? and usually costs how much? is this something most generators have , Champion?? ONAN? thanks for the video
Yes to all the above. Thanks for watching.
When you have a brushless generator you have capacitors. If there is a generator with brushes (I think most of the consumer generators use brushes) this device is a current regulator to keep the voltage stable according to the load. Its similar to the regulator in a car alternator.
Thanks, the new part said AVR on the front that's why I referred to it as such.
capacitor
@@TheHandsOnChannel The capacitor is the main part. Other parts of the AVR are encapsulated with the capacitor. What youi have IS an AVR. I noticed that your generator head has a place for the half-moon style AVR but the designers decided to either go cheap or whatever didn't include that style in the design.
I have the same generator but 2500 single pole 110vlts.
It’s kicks start but doesn’t produce power voltage.
I know exact what to target.
Thanks for the video man!!!
Yeah buy a couple of them, mine went out again.
The Hands On Channel
Oh really, Not good.
Thank you for the heads up.
YOU CAN RESTORE THE RESIDUAL FIELDS TO THE ROTOR WITH A FLASHLIGHT BATTERY. THE GENERATOR WILL RECYCLE THAT TINY CURRENT, ADDING ON TO IT EVERY CIRCUIT AND RESTORE THE FEILDS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
I am assuming when people refer to an electric energy that is dissipated the reference is to the capacitor which possible it looses the residual charge over long periods of time not being activated . That is why techs recommend running the generators monthly or bi-monthly to not only test the gas engine but the electric generator via the capacitor. At least this is my thought of explaining the issue. I m not a generator tech so I could be wrong.
I've got the ,8500 that i boight at a yardsale. I out a new carb on it and it fired right up, but it's not producing voltsge unless it's at full throttle.
Good diagnostics - what song is it you play during the video? I see some didn't like it but I did. thanks.
Good work 👍👍👍👍👍👌
Thank you! Cheers!
do you think running it out of gas with a load caused it , or the part just went out of the blue ?
Not sure but my gut tells me it was from running 2 1500watt heaters and letting it run out under load. But the gen is about 10 years old, so who knows.
hi good vid,i have a suntom 6500 desiel genny which i have,nt used for years,rebuilt the frame,cleaned her up and she fired up with out a problem,but isn,t producing electric,yet the metre is reading about 100v but there is no current coming out,would the reverse drill trick work? or do you think its something worse? TIA.
I would check the breakers first then try the drill.
@@TheHandsOnChannel the breakers when off show no power but do when switched on but will try the drill tomorrow.thanks for replying.
Not sure of you can help!
I'm in CA, due to fire season Edison been shutting down power...
Long story short, I got this a nice Costco generator (Firmam H07552 7500 WATT DUAL FUEL ELEC.)
It powers the whole house (not the AC unit or washer/dryer)
Btw, we got no gas, so all electronic!
I have solar installed that is connected to the grid and requires 20A
When powering up the generator thinking it will power up the solar system and results in powering the whole house with AC, the solar system gives Abd error that frequency is not steady.
My question, how can I assure that the generator output frequency is steady ?
I was thinking like an AC unit where it needs a capacitor, what would you recommend?
Btw, I have the main grid breaker off in case power comes back and connecting the generator thru a 240V 50A RV outlet I have (back powering the panel)
Thanks
Sorry, I'd have to be there for something like that (too many variables). I know generators typically put out a modified sign wave __--__--__--__ something like that. Square wave, I believe it's called. Your system may require a pure sign wave signal to operate normally. If you have a system with batteries you might be able to use the d/c side of the genny to charge them. Good luck out there man. Maybe someone else can chime in with some suggestions.
The Hands On Channel thanks !
I used a power drill and and battery drill, it worked but when I shut it off , it had low voltage and had to do it again, do I have to do it every time I want to use it?
Awesome man thank you
Any time!
My capacitor has come in now just waiting on warm weather to install. Is it as easy as turning a drill backwards to charge that capacitor? Other websites and forums say to make some kind of cord and charge the capacitor by plugging it into an outlet for no longer than one second. That is a bit dangerous.
I asked around and no one had any, But good ol Amazon did and it was $16.
You shouldn't need to charge it since it's brand new, just bolt it in and try it. If that doesn't fix it your winding's could be bad inside the motor. Good luck.
The Hands On Channel I put in the capacitor and tried it and same thing, no power, tried the drill trick but nothing. Tested all the coils and they are good. Do you think its the rotor something inside there? I have $16 into this and don't know if I want to go any deeper. Do these capacitor based generators have brushes maybe they are dirty. Maybe charge the capacitor.
Mine is brush-less, you might check the fuse. Also you can check the motor/generator leads to see if you have any power on the generator.
The Hands On Channel I don't think mine has a fuse or at least I didn't see one. I tested continuity on all the coils and they are good. I'm not done with this yet. This generator has 120VAC as well as 12VDC. No 12VDC either.
Keep at it, good luck. Only other thing I can think of is a bad breaker or a bad/broken wire.
The drill trick does work ive done it it’s called flashlight the field I replaced a bad rotor and had to do it .
Nice job.
Thanks!
My Generac GP3300 worked great during Hurricane Dorian. But now it’s only putting out 12.5 volts. Does that mean the AVR is bad? (“Flashing” the generator didn’t fix it.)
If it uses a large cap it is usually a brushless generator no avr. These can produce very dirty power so no sensitive electronics. To test these generators just set multi meter on ohms and probe through hot and neutral outlets with breaker on and gen off. Usually .4-.8 ohms that tells you the stator is good then go to cap and test on meter. Very rare to have a rotor die but it can happen.
Some gens have an AVR that looks like a half-moon with or with out ribs, silver or black.
and for the most part have 6 wires leaving them. 4 together that go to a plug or maybe
just connectors and two other wires maybe red an white go to the brush set and it most
likely has a + near spade lug. Other gens like Troybilt and a 5KW power+ have a brush
holder, actually has 2 brushes and a rectifier bridge on the back of it. two wires from
st8r go to this fullwave rectifier to change slight amount of a.c. to d.c. making rotor to
have a lot more magnetic field to it and in return, you get ur 120/240 volts. I never had
any luck with the drill job but if the rotor has slip rings I juice'em with a battery, careful
to mind polarity. if gen is a brushless there is a capacitor in st8r circuit, it could be bad.
they don't last forever, but mind it could be good and u could get a zazzz . those button
type breakers could go and if one is for the 240 volts u will not get it but half instead.
After you "flash" it check voltage, mine was at 160 volts and since the avr didn't have that little adjustment screw, I heard it may be the capacitor.. What a rabbit hole
Well done.
Awesome!
Good fix
Thanks. It's still going strong.
1/2 drill motor, put the drill in the FORWARD POSITION, hold the drill in one hand , and with the other hand turn the chuck in the reverse rotation .
Good info, thanks !
Thanks for posting!!
I have the same generator but it's 7500W, its running but not sending power just like yours. My capacitor dosen't look melted but Im going to replace it anyway and hope it works.
Capacitors aren't specific to any equipment. If the equipment needs a 24uf 400vac electrolytic capacitor, then any 24uf, 400vac electrolytic capacitor will work. A higher voltage will also work as long as it isn't too much higher. It's the physical size and mounting of the capacitor is the limiting factor. We call it Form (physical characteristics), Fit (can it be installed where needed) and Function (will if funciton as intended). Note: I editied this to further specify "electrolytic". A capacitor that's made for DC circuits can be substituted in this instance.
An electrolytic capacitor is used primarily on alternators and electric motors that are brushless and they store line energy in the absence of brushes since the rotor or amateurs have no physical connections to the field windings and either excite or give a heavy amperage charge to the rotor or amateurs .
Cool thanks 😊