MEP-002A Reconnection Switch in 1 phase 120v springs back when selecting 240

[n5yzv]

So, I've had this generator for some time. I think I got it in 2011. After sitting since 2012, I pulled it out, drained the fuel and such then fired it up with new batteries. 5 second crank, and it was running..... covering me with all kinds of leaves and dirt it had accumulated over the years. I'm addressing any issues I run across, most have been minor. The major: The Voltage Reconnection switch (switches between 3 phase 208 // 1 phase 120v // 1 phase 240v.

I have no knob. So I wanted to verify what setting it is in. I power up, took voltages and I was unsure. So I shut it down and tried to rotate counter clockwise. No movement. Then, I turned Clockwise. It moved and stayed in that position. I powered up, took voltages: 120v. So the knob, if it existed, would be pointing straight up. One more to go.

Well, when I move from straight up, to right, it just springs back. It does not "stay". The movement between 12 o'clock and 3, move very clean. No feeling of grime. It also springs back really nice!

Any suggestions would be wonderful, preferably not buying a new switch, as I plan to put it into 240v/1 phase and leave it there.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[Guyfang]

You could try cleaning it with compressed air and then shooting some contact cleaner into it. There is a thread about how to do this, in the forum. Look it up, and read it. Much good info. If I wasn't using a Ipad, I would find it. My fingers are too fat, the letters are too small.

But I have the feeling you may need to start saving your pennies, for a bit, to get a new switch. Before you go to the big auction site, look for it here in the forum. Can't be more expensive!

But try and clean it, and try and work the switch back and forth some more. Do not force it.

 

[n5yzv]

Well, I just came back in the house with success. I put a pair of vise grips on the knob shaft (no knob). One hand on it, the other on the back end of the switch and I just started "feeling it". I noticed that clockwise felt like a "softer" stop rather than counter clockwise. So, I gently went clockwise. Again. Being the "switch wisper'er". After a few rounds of going forward a little, then back for the various "stops", while testing for voltage at each (yes, shutting down in between), I landed on the 240v 1 phase. Needless to say, I feel relieved.
Thanks for the response, as my next step would certainly be that. I figure this switch will last some time, since I never plan to move it again!!

 

[Triple Jim]

Glad you got the problem solved, Mark. 73 de AA3DN

 

[GREENMV]

Murphy’s Law, does not always have to win.