Mep-003a/002a

[lukewright]

I have a mep-003a with something bad in the output control box. I know a guy that has a working mep-002a that he would sell for $500. My question is are the output control boxes interchangeable or are they different?

 

[Ray70]

They are interchangeable but diffeerent
It will physically fit but the CT has a different number of wire loops through it, so the ammeter won't read correctly.
I also used to believe the AC circuit breaker was different, but recently heard that the breaker is in fact the same.
So bottom line, it will work in a pinch, but at a minimum your load meter will be completely inaccurate.

 

[jamawieb]

They are the same. Only difference is the number of wraps on the ct transformer on the bottom of the input box. Ive swapped many around. For $500 i would buy it. Many parts are interchangeable between the 2 machines. Control panel, injectors and pump, starter, cutoff solenoid, fuels pumps and the list goes on.

 

[lukewright]

They are interchangeable but diffeerent
It will physically fit but the CT has a different number of wire loops through it, so the ammeter won't read correctly.
I also used to believe the AC circuit breaker was different, but recently heard that the breaker is in fact the same.
So bottom line, it will work in a pinch, but at a minimum your load meter will be completely inaccurate.

So if I were to swap the boxes and test with a volt meter and the 220 was putting out 220 and the 110 was putting out 110 would it be safe to use?

 

[jamawieb]

So if I were to swap the boxes and test with a volt meter and the 220 was putting out 220 and the 110 was putting out 110 would it be safe to use?

Yes. The only thing the wire loops control are the ammeter and your trip point for the breaker. Instead of tripping around 14kw its going to trip around 8-9kw

 

[lukewright]

Yes. The only thing the wire loops control are the ammeter and your trip point for the breaker. Instead of tripping around 14kw its going to trip around 8-9kw

Could I put the 003a breaker into the 002a box? For what I’m using the generator for it will be pulling 10kw most of the time.

 

[Ray70]

No the issue is not the actual breaker it's the number of winds of wire going through the current transformer.
The difference in winding affects the ammeter reading and the functionality of the breaker ( it's not your typical thermal style breaker )
it is possible to take 1/2 the loops of wire out of the CT, but it's a bit difficult to work inside the AC box, but no different than replacing the Ct/CVT1 assy.
I think the 002 box has twice the number of winds that the 003 does, so you should be able to disconnect the ends of the wires and pull 1/2 of the loops out of the 3 holes in the CT/CVT-1 and that should make everything work correctly again.
It's a bit tedious but for $500 it would be worth the effort.

 

[Chainbreaker]

For the $500 spent on the -002a if you were to harvest the AC Reconnection box off the -002a & convert it for use in your -003a as mentioned above, it won't end up costing you anything but time if you were to then part out the -002a.

On the -002a the injection pump alone, if a working AMBAC model, is worth anywhere from $500+, if a PSU model IJ pump probably worth less but maybe not. Then if you were to part out the rest of the -002a you're going to make a nice profit on the deal, or just keep it for the common spares for your -003a (fuel pumps, stop solenoid, oil cooler, control panel parts, etc. etc.)

Or even better... do the conversion to utilize the SX460 AVR in place of the AC reconnection box, on either the -002a or -003a (or both!) thereby completely eliminating the AC Reconnection box and have both units working.

 

[Guyfang]

If you are going to just switch boxes, the -34 TM tells you to adjust the R2, (I think) in the Box. I am not at my normal computer to look for the page its written on.