MEP 1040 Fix-up Thread

[CallMeColt]

Everyone,

Finally got myself one of the new generation AMMPS MEP 1040 generators.

Is marked as a "parts" unit that didn't power or anything when slave cable was hooked up.

All I've done is look at it & get it unloaded. Took the batteries out & collected the loose stuff inside.

Going to put the batteries on the NoCo & see if they can be rehabilitated.

Once I know more, I will report back. Plan to do some videos on this one for my YouTube Channel.

 

[CallMeColt]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C32oTvhrOPy/?igsh=c3pidWU5bnlzcmRs

 

[spotrep]

Awesome. I'm excited to see you tear into this thing. Please put it on youtube!

 

[CallMeColt]

Awesome. I'm excited to see you tear into this thing. Please put it on youtube!

I plan on it! Already recorded most of what I need to so I can make a Part 1.

 

[CallMeColt]

When I get the first video edited, I will be back to post about it. Waiting on some parts & stuff to come in.

 

[spotrep]

When I get the first video edited, I will be back to post about it. Waiting on some parts & stuff to come in.

View attachment 917905

id really like to see some fuel efficiency comparisons too! obviously there are published efficiency numbers- but it would still be cool to see.

 

[CallMeColt]

Have been digging in a bunch on this the past few days. Found a hole in the radiator! Looks like I'll need to repair/replace. Everything else is coming along. I've been documenting for YouTube. I should have a complete video series on it eventually showing everything on it getting it going. I will then do basic maintenance videos. Probably some comparison videos to an MEP 803A. This all takes some time, so it won't be a rush. It also takes money to get repairs done.

 

[spotrep]

Cant wait to see you get into it! there's not much on youtube about the AMMPS, but they look intriguing. although they're definitely out of my price range!

 

[CallMeColt]

Sourced a new radiator & it is on it's way.

Spent 8 hours with it today. Lot's of words to be had but some good work got done. It will start, run, and produce power all on it's own with not slave cable or "bypasses" like I had to do before.

This projects has a LOT of video to sort through!

 

[CallMeColt]

Leaving the top cover off until the radiator comes in, but it is running happily.

Found a seep in the fuel feed line. That will be an easy fix.

It will need the front motor mounts done sooner than later as well. Gotta source those without paying the full Cummins price!

 

[spotrep]

How is it working on these? looks pretty tight compared to 803's. Also im sure these are more complicated. Do they have tier 4 emissions equipment on these?

 

[CallMeColt]

How is it working on these? looks pretty tight compared to 803's. Also im sure these are more complicated. Do they have tier 4 emissions equipment on these?

I have yet to do anything really complicated as far as repairs go, so my answer is they're not to hard to work on. I have not found it any worse than the TQG series. But, my time is much greater on those as well as the complication of the projects. A lot of this generator is controlled via stuff that isn't really end user serviceable, so it that way it is more simple.

As all military equipment, they are emissions exempt & have the stickers on the engine saying so.

 

[spotrep]

I have yet to do anything really complicated as far as repairs go, so my answer is they're not to hard to work on. I have not found it any worse than the TQG series. But, my time is much greater on those as well as the complication of the projects. A lot of this generator is controlled via stuff that isn't really end user serviceable, so it that way it is more simple.

As all military equipment, they are emissions exempt & have the stickers on the engine saying so.

Gotcha! as far as tier 4 stuff - Rules for thee and not for me when it comes to government owned equipment. that does make the units more enticing though.

 

[CallMeColt]

I'm noticing the TM sucks for part numbers. It seems like they pulled a random number from the supply list when making it.

Can't for the life of my fund the engine side vibration mounts. While I'm doing work, I want to replace them so I can just use this machine & not have them fail. Part number in the TM has failed me after a few hours of search, as well as the NSN.

Part # 28137-3. NSN 5340015903805.

 

[fb40dash5]

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

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Something in there? I was guessing they'd look a lot like the ones in my Jetski, and if I'm looking at the right thing in the pic I found, looks exactly like what I thought it would.

 

[Light in the Dark]

This is the supplier. Give them a ring and the number and see if they will sell to you, or at least direct you to where you can purchase

Hutchinson Aerospace and Defense Corp. HQ: Vibration Isolation Mounts - HUTCHINSON

Complete Solutions to all of your Shock, Vibration, and Noise Problems - Hutchinson industrial shock and vibration mounts, and isolators.

hutchinsonai.com

 

[CallMeColt]

Bit of a setback today.

So, I had everything going alright with my 6 hours test. Only issue was the AUX fuel pump didn't kick in but I left that to a back connection I made during replacement.

At 1hr 20min to go, it shut down due to overtemp. It was the pre-overtemp... basically the 240deg one.

So, Everything was going okay. My best guess is that it just slowly got hot because I was running it hard. The MEP 803A I just did, I ran at 12,000 watts for 6hours. Apparently these can't take it, unless there was an underlying problem. The panel did show a warning, but the contactor never opened and for almost 5 hours, the generator ran fine. A little smoke as it stepped up but otherwise it was running smooth & happy.

After letting it cool, I went to start again. It cranked, and I got some while smoke (figured it was un-burnt fuel from the abrupt shutdown.) It seemed to be struggling a bit. Then, an "Excitation Failure" fault came up & it shut down. L2 was getting nothing. Cleared the fault, completely cut power with the breaker, and tried again. It did start & no fault, but I could clearly see the voltage was not right. Around 35 volts each leg. I also could hear a whine, like the generator was struggling. I shut it down.

There was smell of burning electrical stuff. Oh no!! I hope that running at 12,000 watts, it didn't burn something up.

~95deg air temp. Coolant system seemed to be working fine. Fan kicked in.

I checked the Quad Winding breakers and they are set. Looked for a bit at the TM & I see where the connectors are. Going to see if I can find a Work Task for tests further. Hopefully something just needs to be reset or a wire somewhere is loose/rubbed through.

I'm thinking that running it hard had it really close to overheat, then some sort of malfunction on the electrical side but more load on & cause the few extra degrees to make it shutdown, then going to restart is showing that issue.

Dinner time now.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Rated power for a 3TNV84T... it should do 12K without an issue mechanically. It is possible that they sized the fan in the MEP platform for 10KW power though (which is why the AMMPS is so quick to throw the code for making too much power).

If you were drawing too much, the system should have shed the load. Good luck determining the gremlin.

 

[CallMeColt]

If you were drawing too much, the system should have shed the load. Good luck determining the gremlin.

My thoughts exactly. I have a lot to learn with this new platform, but it would not make sense that it would only put a warning on the screen instead of open the contractor, unless the battle short was on.

Reading the TM, it does say something about setting for the Warning, so I wonder if it is adjustable? Either way, there is also an over current fault that is a Fault, not a warning.

I doubt the unit would eat itself. Definitely thinking there is an underlying issue.

Just found this thread that you had made a while back that will be helpful;
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/mep-1040-fault-2335-excitation-fault.210901/

 

[2Pbfeet]

White smoke can happen for a variety of reasons, and there is a nice summary of things to consider here

Causes of Diesel Engine Smoke - By Color

There are many common causes for diesel engine smoke from burning oil, fuel or regeneration issues and can be diagnosed by its white, blue and black colors.

www.capitalremanexchange.com

(As a general rule, I think it is useful to be able to narrow the list of potential issues by understanding smoke color. FWIW: white smoke from a blown injector can be like watching a smoke grenade go off, copious amounts of white smoke, but not always.)

I would go through the TM troubleshooting steps, but from miles away, white smoke after being run hard isn't something I associate with an electrical gremlin.

All the best,

2Pbfeet