MEP002A No Power Output and Guages Not Working

[mkcoen]

A couple of years ago I bought a MEP002A for my inlaws. They picked it up and it's been sitting in their driveway getting started once a month but nothing else. FIL decided to hook it up to the house this weekend and said he was getting power to the accessory plugs and then shut the generator down, wired it to the house and now is getting nothing. He also waited until now to tell me the gauges aren't working (they were when I tested it). I told him to undo the house connection and start it back up to see if there's something in that but haven't heard back yet.

Is there anything that will trip a switch to kill the power output with the generator still running? I told him to check the CBs by the accessory plugs and he said they were up so shouldn't be that. What about the gauges? They were working fine here in TX but now that it's in the 4 Corners area of NM they're not (and not like I can just run over and check).

 

[cuad4u]

After the engine started did he hold the START switch in for 5 seconds to flash the fields? Let's look at simple things first.

 

[Isaac-1]

Also how did he "wire it to the house"?

 

[mkcoen]

Also how did he "wire it to the house"?

He's using a manual transfer switch with 120/240 setup.

 

[Chainbreaker]

I would also have him drop the front panel and take a quick look inside the control box. Anything appear burnt (paying close attention to the AC VR board), or loose or disconnected?

Also, another simple thing to verify: Is the AC Output Reconnection Switch turned to far right and set to 120/240?

 

[mkcoen]

I would also have him drop the front panel and take a quick look inside the control box. Anything appear burnt (paying close attention to the AC VR board), or loose or disconnected?

Also, another simple thing to verify: Is the AC Output Reconnection Switch turned to far right and set to 120/240?

I had him check those and walked him through the switch. I actually had him switch it back and forth a couple of times just in the off chance there might be some corrosion in there. I'm guessing I'm in for a road trip around Thanksgiving to either figure it out or bring it home. I've got a spare MEP002 that I've been using for parts for my MEP003 and I'm sure there's enough good stuff left that I can swipe (like gauges and such) to get it running here. It's tough trying to diagnose something over the phone (or on a web forum) when you can't physically touch it or know what it's doing at a certain time.

 

[87Nassaublue]

How much does he know about electronics, wiring and these units? How much load did he put on the unit or what all did he try to power at once? We really need more information to help. An 002a is only 5kw. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a lot of power to run a house with AC, kitchen appliances, lights, etc. Something obviously went wrong. I would suggest, disconnecting the unit from the house and then checking the unit out. I'd also recommend after you have the generator putting out again to do a load test. I heard of someone overloading an 016 and took out the VR.

 

[mkcoen]

How much does he know about electronics, wiring and these units? How much load did he put on the unit or what all did he try to power at once? We really need more information to help. An 002a is only 5kw. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a lot of power to run a house with AC, kitchen appliances, lights, etc. Something obviously went wrong. I would suggest, disconnecting the unit from the house and then checking the unit out. I'd also recommend after you have the generator putting out again to do a load test. I heard of someone overloading an 016 and took out the VR.

Never actually had it hooked to the house just to the disconnect box and nothing was working. He knows more about household electricity than I do (a LOT more) but almost nothing about the MEPs. I walked him through basic operations when he picked the unit up 2 years ago and provided copies of all the manuals but that's been a while. First thing I recommended was undoing whatever he had done and trying the generator again. I haven't heard back so don't know if he didn't get around to it or it didn't work.

 

[dependable]

Is there anything that will trip a switch to kill the power output with the generator still running? .

Maybe the little DC breaker on the panel? I forget if that shuts down the motor, or just the power, been using the 802 more lately.

 

[jamawieb]

If he doesn't have anything registering on the meters, then it's more than likely in the distribution box. It's either the exciter, linear reactor, or CVT1. If you have an extra distribution box, just take it with you because it may take to long to test all the items I listed in a short amount time. More than likely it was nothing that he did but when they are not used much and then you put a large load on them, things go bad with old electronics.

 

[87Nassaublue]

Hmm, sounds like he couldn't have hurt it if he didn't try to pull any power from it yet. It sounds like it's time to break out the TM and the schematics and start tracking down the cause of some of the symptoms. I had a simple power feed connection that took down a 016D. Keep us posted on the progress. Its sounds interesting.