Just Purchased my first MEP803A!

[Light in the Dark]

That I did, and they were made the same month they were installed, factory fresh.

 

[rickf]

I am going to go out in a bit and watch my voltmeter on my 003 and see what it does. It does not swing that I know of and those batteries on that set are FAR from new, they were having trouble in my Dodge diesel so I relegated them to this genset and they have no problems with it.

 

[Mweiss]

These engines and radiator can be flushed and drained. There is a petcock drain at the lower corner of the radiator, and one on the engine block near the fan belt. Just follow the black hoses from the coolant tank, and you will find both.

When I drain and refill one of these, I always do so with the roof off, and thermostat out. After its been flushed, I backfill the system through the water pump to level, then reassemble, and tip the machine and finish at the radiator neck. Its still not foolproof... but it helps.

That sounds like a lot of work and requires a crane or heavy machinery to tip the generator. I'd opt for the vacuum method, as it seems much less dangerous.

 

[Mweiss]

Pro tip, Never take the battery cable off of the battery while the engine is running in anything equipped with an alternator!!!! The resultant spike can take out all kinds of electronics on the vehicle/machine. This was something they did back in the days of generators on cars and it worked fine there, They produced 13.5 volts of DC power and that was it. An alternator produces higher voltage and it is also AC voltage which is converted by the diodes in the alternator. Which are one of the first things to give up the magic smoke when you do that.

I got that idea from another post I read on checking the charging system somewhere on this forum. But your concerns are taken with due concern.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Floor jack and lumber, tractor with forks, engine stand with a chain... only pick it up 4-5" on one side to tip it.

 

[Mweiss]

Floor jack and lumber, tractor with forks, engine stand with a chain... only pick it up 4-5" on one side to tip it.

Presently, I don't have access to a forklift. Excavator is still down. A high pressure line in the rotex burst open. Repair is going to need financing, as I've zero savings at this point.

Today, solar is not generating enough power to overcome the base load, so I'm running the generator. Estimate it will need to run for four hours to charge the battery bank from 29% to near full. Been running for 3/4 hour and have put 7kWh into the batteries so far.

 

[Mweiss]

I put a clamp on ammeter on the battery terminal and started the engine. I saw 8.3 amps current into the battery., But the meter sits on the border of red-green and doesn't move.

 

[rickf]

As I have said, these meters are not the most accurate things in the world. Minimum bid gets you minimum quality.

 

[Guyfang]

c. Set multimeter for DC volts and connect across BATTERY CHARGE ammeter terminals.
Connect positive lead to positive terminal and negative lead to negative terminal if you observe
or think battery is charging. Multimeter should indicate up to 50 mV (25 mV equals +10 amps
on BATTERY CHARGE ammeter).

d. Reverse multimeter leads if you observe or think battery is discharging. Multimeter should
indicate up to 25 mV (25 mV equals -10 amps on BATTERY CHARGE ammeter).

e. lf multimeter indicates millivolt reading and battery charge is not within ±10 percent of equal
ampere reading, or ammeter is not indicating, replace BATTERY CHARGE ammeter.

Do this test and write in what measurements you recorded, in red text color.

 

[Mweiss]

...
Do this test and write in what measurements you recorded, in red text color.

I did this test last week and read about 2mV across the meter. Started at 4 or 5mV then settled to about 2 mV.

I didn't buy this at auction. It was not cheap. I spent a fortune on it, with the understanding that it was fully functional.

There was a cheaper unit nearby to me, but the fuel gauge didn't work, and I can't be bothered with repairing stuff like that. I've a heart condition, am on borrowed time and just want something my wife can operate without issues once I'm gone.

 

[rickf]

And yet you are fighting everything that is said? We are trying to help but you seem to want to contradict all that is said. These sets are going for 3-5 grand right now, I don't know what you paid but they are 25 plus years old. Stuff goes bad. A volt meter will cost probably 25 bucks? If you need it for someone else to see what is happening put a simple digital meter in wired directly to the batteries. You will not get anymore accurate than that.
That is the last piece of advice I have to offer. Other than if you really wanted something that is spot on user friendly you should have gotten a consumer use standby system that starts automatically, transfers automatically and shuts down when power is restored.

 

[Guyfang]

You wrote:
I did this test last week and read about 2mV across the meter. Started at 4 or 5mV then settled to about 2 mV.

I didn't buy this at auction. It was not cheap. I spent a fortune on it, with the understanding that it was fully functional.

There was a cheaper unit nearby to me, but the fuel gauge didn't work, and I can't be bothered with repairing stuff like that. I've a heart condition, am on borrowed time and just want something my wife can operate without issues once I'm gone.



e. lf multimeter indicates millivolt reading and battery charge is not within ±10 percent of equal
ampere reading, or ammeter is not indicating, replace BATTERY CHARGE ammeter.

The answer is in front of you. Why do you think it started at 5mv and went down to 2mv? because the alternater senced that the batteries are ful, and stepped down the charging rate. And this step you did not perform, or did not include in the post:

d. Reverse multimeter leads if you observe or think battery is discharging. Multimeter should
indicate up to 25 mV (25 mV equals -10 amps on BATTERY CHARGE ammeter).

I wish you much luck with your gen set and troubleshooting.

 

[Ray70]

I am going to go out in a bit and watch my voltmeter on my 003 and see what it does. It does not swing that I know of and those batteries on that set are FAR from new, they were having trouble in my Dodge diesel so I relegated them to this genset and they have no problems with it.

Just as an FYI, don't compare an 003 to an 803, the charging and gage systems are completely different.
803 uses an alternator and an ammeter, the 003 uses a small stator under the flywheel and a volt gage ( as you stated ) on the control panel, so an 003 only shows battery voltage, not charging or discharging current so it never swings very much at all.

 

[Mweiss]

And yet you are fighting everything that is said? We are trying to help but you seem to want to contradict all that is said. These sets are going for 3-5 grand right now, I don't know what you paid but they are 25 plus years old. Stuff goes bad. A volt meter will cost probably 25 bucks? If you need it for someone else to see what is happening put a simple digital meter in wired directly to the batteries. You will not get anymore accurate than that.
That is the last piece of advice I have to offer. Other than if you really wanted something that is spot on user friendly you should have gotten a consumer use standby system that starts automatically, transfers automatically and shuts down when power is restored.

Not "fighting" your responses, just reporting my observations.

If you read them through, you will find that:

I measured 8.3 amps with a clamp on ammeter on the battery cable.
The in built meter measured, 2mV stable after peaking at 5mV at startup. It is nowhere near 25mV across the meter.
Reversing the meter leads just puts a minus sign in front of the same reading.
Unless the panel meter has an internal short, something else is causing the low mA reading. It seems like whatever feeds that meter isn't connected properly. I was surprised the seller didn't notice that and correct the issue.


There are no MEP803A units for anywhere near 3-5 grand in my area. I had looked at a "cheap" unit for $5,500 near me, but the fuel gauge wasn't working and the owner refused to come down on price. So I spent significantly more to get a fully working, "just reset" unit from out of state.

 

[rickf]

What you are not saying when you keep referring to the high price of the set you got was the free trailer and free delivery! Those trailers are far from cheap!! they bring top dollar with the off road crowd. The genset is fully operational with a bad voltmeter. As I said before put a digital one on there wired to the switch and full battery power and you are done. You will know exactly what is going on. I would do the same with the frequency meter. Modern digital meters are day and night more accurate than the old military stuff. You want it to show correct go that route. If you want historically correct buy a new military meter for 5 times as much and do not be surprised when it is not all that accurate. But please stop bashing a long time member here that went out of his way to help you. If you ever need parts for this machine these guys are all going to remember this thread and probably be very hesitant to sell you anything. I cannot speak for them but I would be knowing that old NOS stuff is not always the best stuff. And if I sold you something that did not live up to your expectations then I would also be getting bashed.

 

[Mweiss]

Pardon me if I seem a bit cranky. It's not been a good year for me. Two heart attacks, $182K in medical debt and just about everything breaking/failing around here.

I spent the extra money because I was under the impression that the unit was completely rebuilt and fully functional.

As I said, I could have bought a much less expensive unit with a broken fuel gauge and dealt with it myself, if I were much younger. With my heart condition, my time is short now. I have maybe 2-5 years left and I want to spend that time doing things I enjoy. So I spent the last of my retirement savings to get a generator that would hopefully need nothing more than normal maintenance.

I realize these things are like gold in the northeast and we're used to paying 3X what they go for down south, or if you're one of the lucky ones that get one for $1200 at auction. Finding one up here for less than $6K is just about impossible. All I'm saying is that for the premium I paid, I expected it to be darned near perfect.

I could spend the money and put in a digital gauge, but if it's not getting the required voltage, it too is not going to give a reading. I'm not looking for accuracy, just 10% of the actual value is enough to tell me if the battery is charging. But my hunch is something isn't wired correctly, or the shunt is bypassed because there's not enough voltage across the meter to deflect it. What makes it even more difficult is the lack of number markings on the wires. I'm not going to cut up the wiring harness just to trace the meter wires back to their origin. I've got too many emergencies to deal with at the moment.

 

[rickf]

You do not seem to understand what I am saying about the gauge. Hook it directly to the batteries. Have it triggered by a switch on relay. You turn the switch on and the meter comes alive. No shunts, no resistors, nothing. It shows the exact voltage that is in the batteries at any given second. If it is charging you will see a rise in the voltage up to the maximum the alternator is putting out. This is not rocket science. As I said before if you wanted something your wife would not have to fuss over you should have gotten a commercial unit and you most likely would have spent less. You say you cannot afford the high price of electric up there but you are running a genset for 4-5 hours to charge batteries at 4:00 a gallon for fuel. So that is 16 to 20 dollars for the 4-5 hours. Electric from the grid may be high but it is nowhere near that high! You could sell that generator and trailer for what you have in it so this is not the end of the world. Buy a commercial set for 5,000.00. And I have also had two heart attacks and a possible third that was not reported until too late to diagnose. I have no plans on dieing anytime soon. Certainly not in two or three years. Eat right, exercise and things can improve. Less stress, you seem to stress about minor things like a voltmeter. Let it go. I seriously doubt that the seller told you the set was "completely rebuilt". He probably told you it was "reset" and that is a completely different thing. A reset means they go over the whole unit and check everything and if it needs repair or replacement it is done. If it checks out, that is good, leave it alone. The military is not going to completely rebuild a small generator, it is not feasible to repair it for more than a new one costs. They simply deadline those and scavenge them for good parts. I am not going to say anymore, this has drug out far too long due to a bad voltmeter. You were told what to look for on the stock one and I have suggested cheaper and more accurate alternatives. Good luck in whatever you decide to do with this set.

 

[Light in the Dark]

I've worked too hard, and too long at this to let a single customer be unhappy, with any aspect of what I have worked on. Mark I have taken the DC Ammeter gauge out of my personal machine (which I verified as worked just this AM) and its on its way to you via USPS. You will need to reuse the (3) black gauge panel screws with your gauge, to reinstall in the face plate.

There is nothing more that I can do for you. You were given a dozen photos, you were given videos of the machine running, and of the load bank test. You were given the complete TM writeup for the 2-200kw class of machines, and what they do and DONT do in Tier reset, prior to sale. I provided you with a N/C trailer, and 5 hours of my driving time (plus a half a tank of diesel).

I hope this gauge puts your mind at rest with the machine, and the transaction. Any complaining hereafter is just unwarranted.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Your gauge was delivered just a little bit ago, Mark.

 

[Mweiss]

Hi Rich, received the gauge today and installed it. Unfortunately, still the same result. Barely moves when the battery is charging. There is only 2-5mV across the gauge (an amp clamp on the battery cable shows more than 8 amps going into the battery), which indicated to me that it is not a gauge problem at all. It's something further back. I tested the old gauge on the bench. I found that it reads full scale with 50 mV across it. The generator is sending about 2mV to the meter, which is why it isn't giving much of a reading. Maybe if somebody knows why, it might be a simple wiring error, but I have not the time to delve into those diagrams and try to sort out where the unlabeled wires should be connected.

I would have thought that given the number of units you've processed, that a gauge not indicating like the rest of the units would have caught your attention. After a reset, one would at least expect all the gauges to be working.

Anyway, given that I can't see any number markings on the wires to the meter, I have no way to trace them out without cutting apart the wiring harness and separating the wires physically and following each to it's destination. I don't have the time to bother with that. And I shouldn't, at the price I paid.

I rejected the cheaper, local generator because the fuel gauge didn't work and I don't know how complicated it would be to fix that and the guy didn't seem interested in fixing it before selling plus he would not come down on price. Hence, I considered it worth the extra money to get 100% working unit from you. I was not expecting a "fixer-upper".

While I appreciate your generosity with the shipping and the trailer and sending out the replacement gauge, I was expecting the unit to be 100% functional at that price. If I were forty years younger and had energy, eyesight and time to fix mechanical stuff, I could have bought a much cheaper unit and worked on repairing it myself, but I don't have much time left, nor the stamina and vision to be doing repairs. I bought this particular unit so that my wife could easily operate it after I'm gone.

Sorry if I sound grouchy. It's been a terrible year, all around.