004 contactor trouble

[Jimc]

so a friend of a friend brought over an 004 for me to look at. he got it and said it wasnt making power. he took it to a generator shop and they couldnt fix it so he had nowhere else to go. i am not familiar with the 004 at all but i started this up and within 5 min tracked down the problem. well the pic below is of the main power contactor. i do have power on the one side but not the output side. for those of you guys familiar with this unit, to save me some time is there anything i should be looking for? common problems with this part or maybe the contactor is fine and its not being energized so i should be checking something elsewhere?

 

[1800 Diesel]

so a friend of a friend brought over an 004 for me to look at. he got it and said it wasnt making power. he took it to a generator shop and they couldnt fix it so he had nowhere else to go. i am not familiar with the 004 at all but i started this up and within 5 min tracked down the problem. well the pic below is of the main power contactor. i do have power on the one side but not the output side. for those of you guys familiar with this unit, to save me some time is there anything i should be looking for? common problems with this part or maybe the contactor is fine and its not being energized so i should be checking something elsewhere?

Bear with me as I ask a real basic question...you are closing the main breaker switch on the panel, correct? If so, is the amber light coming on? Awhile back I had some problems with voltage variations on the 004 I'm working and zewerzuk mentioned that same component could be the problem. As I recall, the contact surfaces can arc (over many cycles of opening & closing) and either have high resistance connection or no continuity....but I haven't heard of all three phases not showing voltage on the output side, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I'm only on my 2nd 004 at this time and there are others on here that know way more than I do....for starters I would check voltage at the main breaker switch (below the amber indicator light) to confirm the main breaker is getting the "signal" to close. If so, then I would open up the main breaker assembly and look at contact surfaces & general appearance/condition of the internal parts....others can provide more electrical details & theory...let us know what you find....

 

[Jimc]

Thanks for the info 1800. I will check over this tomorrow in more detail. The guy dropped it off and i literally have only 5 min in this thing so it probably is something dumb that i failed to do since i dont really know the operation of the unit.

 

[Jimc]

Ok i went out this morning and fired it up and now its not making any power at all. Something intermittent i guess. I guess ill start pulling things apart so i can get access to everything and look for something obvious. Any ideas on the components i should check out first.

 

[212sparky]

When you started the unit, did you hold the start switch to flash the field? I hold mine for about 5 to 8 seconds after it starts running. You should also see the voltage come up once it is flashed. Also you are pulling the throttle out to 60 hz right?

 

[Jimc]

You know i should really dig into stuff a little more before i post lol. I see what is going on here. You really have to keep it i the start position for awhile for it to start making power. Guess it takes slightly longer to flash the field than on my 003.

 

[Jimc]

Haha 212 i think we were posting at the same time. Thanks

 

[1800 Diesel]

You know i should really dig into stuff a little more before i post lol. I see what is going on here. You really have to keep it i the start position for awhile for it to start making power. Guess it takes slightly longer to flash the field than on my 003.

I would have mentioned the requirement to flash the field during start-up but since you said there was power at the main breaker, I figured the unit was putting out voltage...I don't release the start switch on either the 002-003 series or the 004-005 series until I see the freq meter swing over to near 60hz....

Kevin

 

[Jimc]

Thanks 1800. My 003 starts producing voltage really quick. You dont ever have to really worry about it. This 004 has a slight lag. First time i started it when i had voltage i must have just cranked it a touch longer than i did the next morning. After a couple min i remembered these gensets needed the field flash hence my second post up there. Well all is good and the guy is glad nothing is wrong with the unit. Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

[212sparky]

Thanks 1800. My 003 starts producing voltage really quick. You dont ever have to really worry about it. This 004 has a slight lag. First time i started it when i had voltage i must have just cranked it a touch longer than i did the next morning. After a couple min i remembered these gensets needed the field flash hence my second post up there. Well all is good and the guy is glad nothing is wrong with the unit. Thanks to everyone for the input.

Is the contactor working correctly now?

 

[Jimc]

Yes contactor is just fine. That was a simple matter of flipping the breaker switch.

 

[Munchies]

Wow, lol. You would be a great friend if you got your buddy the operator manual for that. I have an 005 manual handy, and the control systems should be 99% identical.

 

[Jimc]

thanks for the offer munchie, i did find all 3 004 manuals for free download on the web. i dont think he has any manual for it so i will definately give them to him.

 

[Munchies]

Sounds good. If you need any misc stuff for the 004 post a wanted add , I know I have a few misc items.

 

[Jimc]

ill be sure to do that. he is coming over right now to pick this thing up. im sure down the road if he has problems he will be bringing it to me so you never know.