- 2,490
- 1,905
- 113
- Location
- Efland, NC
I've searched through the forum here and I've not been able to find this problem discussed yet.
On my MEP-003a I started it a couple of days ago to load test it. Everything started and ran fine except for the voltage. The voltage fluctuated above the setpoint. It didn't just bounce around but it changed in a shift. It would be fine at 240v then it would jump up to about 255v. After a short time (seconds) it would drop back to 240v. If I rotated the voltage knob the voltage followed the knobs movement but it continued to shift back and forth.
After it runs for a few minutes the fluctuations stop and the voltage is rock solid. After the voltage was steady I connected it to the house and loaded it up with the water heater, dryer, and heatpump on the house and the voltage stayed rock solid (80% or so load). I could adjust the voltage smoothly with the voltage adjustment knob. I verified the voltage was steady with a Fluke VM.
Today I opened up the control panel and all the wires are good and solid. Nothing looks burned or overheated on the VR board. Everything is very clean. When I started the generator after the inspection it had the same issue. The voltage bounces back and forth for a couple of minutes then steadies out. Today I didn't touch the voltage knob and when the fluctuations stopped the voltage was back perfectly to its setpoint of 240v.
This fluctuation didn't happen when the generator was last run around the first of November. I run it once every 4-6 weeks and load it up. I've been wanting to see how it starts and runs in the cooler weather. Both days when I've run it and noticed the fluctuations the temps has been in the 40s. The last time it was run in November the temp was in the 70s.
Tomorrow I'm going to take the voltmeter and check the output of the VR board. I've looked through the schematics and it appears that the exciter output is terminals 17 and 14 on the VR board and I should see a steady output around 3v DC. Can someone confirm that I'm correct there?
Has anyone else seen that problem?
Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.
On my MEP-003a I started it a couple of days ago to load test it. Everything started and ran fine except for the voltage. The voltage fluctuated above the setpoint. It didn't just bounce around but it changed in a shift. It would be fine at 240v then it would jump up to about 255v. After a short time (seconds) it would drop back to 240v. If I rotated the voltage knob the voltage followed the knobs movement but it continued to shift back and forth.
After it runs for a few minutes the fluctuations stop and the voltage is rock solid. After the voltage was steady I connected it to the house and loaded it up with the water heater, dryer, and heatpump on the house and the voltage stayed rock solid (80% or so load). I could adjust the voltage smoothly with the voltage adjustment knob. I verified the voltage was steady with a Fluke VM.
Today I opened up the control panel and all the wires are good and solid. Nothing looks burned or overheated on the VR board. Everything is very clean. When I started the generator after the inspection it had the same issue. The voltage bounces back and forth for a couple of minutes then steadies out. Today I didn't touch the voltage knob and when the fluctuations stopped the voltage was back perfectly to its setpoint of 240v.
This fluctuation didn't happen when the generator was last run around the first of November. I run it once every 4-6 weeks and load it up. I've been wanting to see how it starts and runs in the cooler weather. Both days when I've run it and noticed the fluctuations the temps has been in the 40s. The last time it was run in November the temp was in the 70s.
Tomorrow I'm going to take the voltmeter and check the output of the VR board. I've looked through the schematics and it appears that the exciter output is terminals 17 and 14 on the VR board and I should see a steady output around 3v DC. Can someone confirm that I'm correct there?
Has anyone else seen that problem?
Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.