MEP 1040 Fix-up Thread

[DieselAddict]

Congrats on getting it running.

 

[CallMeColt]

So I just wanted to come back and follow up with this as I still am not convinced it should have died the death it did so quickly even though I know I played a big roll.

I noticed while editing my part 3 video on the screen that L1 & L2 were 11 volts different while the generator itself was evenly loaded. The current on L2 shows slightly higher likely because of the lower voltage. Because it was in the green area, I didn't think much of it. Thinking maybe this was a sign?

With no load & warming up, it was only off by a few volts.

 

[kloppk]

Interesting the DCS shows both the L1 & L2 Genset and Bus Voltages being different and the same voltage.
Maybe verify the voltages at the lugs with a good meter to figure out if they are indeed different.

I noticed your Oil Pressure is kinda low. My 1030 runs around 59 PSI on the DCS.

 

[CallMeColt]

Interesting the DCS shows both the L1 & L2 Genset and Bus Voltages being different and the same voltage.
Maybe verify the voltages at the lugs with a good meter to figure out if they are indeed different.

I noticed your Oil Pressure is kinda low. My 1030 runs around 59 PSI on the DCS.

I can't confirm anything with the way it is now, it won't let itself run.

I figured it might be like the older units and the PSI just runs lower. But, it was also running hot at the time & that thins the oil a bit.

Video Part 3 is uploading now. I had to split it up to a Part 4 because it went longer.

 

[CallMeColt]

 

[3grst01]

Master yoda is not impressed with the thermal dynamics behind the design and engineering of these.

 

[DieselAddict]

I have the feeling you had a few shorted windings on the stator that was causing the voltage imbalance. loading it up to the hilt just caused the damage to progress to what you ended up with.

hope you can find a stator that isn’t ridiculously priced.

 

[CallMeColt]

I have the feeling you had a few shorted windings on the stator that was causing the voltage imbalance. loading it up to the hilt just caused the damage to progress to what you ended up with.

hope you can find a stator that isn’t ridiculously priced.

I'm thinking that the whole thing was pulled apart, they determined this problem, then slapped it back together & sent it to DRMO. That is why I suspected it had the engine replaced/removed from the get-go.

This may be a dumb question as someone who fixes these often, but the voltage should be exactly the same on each leg, right? Say, 120v... maybe only 1v apart?

 

[DieselAddict]

When I was watching the video I thought the phase voltages were off more than I had seen on other machines. I’ve not seen more than 1 or 2 volts difference on these smaller machines. That was on the 80x series. On the few 10xx series machines I’ve run, they have all been spot on.

I’d recommend doing a winding test on any machines that shows an imbalance of more than 1 or 2 v under a 240v load. Obviously if you are doing 120v loads, that can cause the phase voltages to be off but if you are not flowing current on the neutral, I’d expect the voltages to be even.

 

[kloppk]

...This may be a dumb question as someone who fixes these often, but the voltage should be exactly the same on each leg, right? Say, 120v... maybe only 1v apart?

Out of curiosity about that I rolled my 1030 out this morning to do some tests to see what the voltages on the legs would be with un-balanced and balanced loads.
The loads were a pair of 1,500 watt 120 volt heaters.

No load. Both L1 & L2 voltages at 120 VAC



1.5 KW load L1 to Neutral & 1.5 KW load L2 to Neutral. AC Voltage right at 120 each as expected.



3 KW load L2 to Neutral. No load on L1. L2 dropped to 118 volts while L1 went up to 122 volts



Similar voltage shifts when the 3 KW load was on L1 to Neutral and no load on L2.

 

[CallMeColt]

When I was watching the video I thought the phase voltages were off more than I had seen on other machines. I’ve not seen more than 1 or 2 volts difference on these smaller machines. That was on the 80x series. On the few 10xx series machines I’ve run, they have all been spot on.

I’d recommend doing a winding test on any machines that shows an imbalance of more than 1 or 2 v under a 240v load. Obviously if you are doing 120v loads, that can cause the phase voltages to be off but if you are not flowing current on the neutral, I’d expect the voltages to be even.

Out of curiosity about that I rolled my 1030 out this morning to do some tests to see what the voltages on the legs would be with un-balanced and balanced loads.

Thank you for this, both you you.

So you got a 5v shift with an imbalance. I had more than that with little to no imbalance. This is making me really think I did have an issue that was there before I started & I just finished it off.

I fully admit it was running it hard & maybe if I kept it light, it could have gone on for many more hours without a problem, but the point of my hard, 6 hour test is for my purposes, I'm running the generator at it's worst case use so when I sell it, I'm confident the customer will get something that has been fully vetted.

Side note: This generator was never going to be for sale since the means I got it was intended for my business only.

With that said, I would probably only push one of these newer ones in the 6 hour test in the future to 110%. And I know to look for that imbalance.

My goal with this unit was to learn. I did & still am. And it still can be repaired.

 

[Guyfang]

I have said it a million times. Now, one last time. Why test at more that 100% load? If it pulls its rated load, be happy. The six hours was my standard in the Army. But "Just" 100% load.

 

[CallMeColt]

I have said it a million times. Now, one last time. Why test at more that 100% load? If it pulls its rated load, be happy. The six hours was my standard in the Army. But "Just" 100% load.

Us Murinz sometimes don't listen to well & push things to hard. I knew what I was doing. Lesson learned. Now I have parts instead of a generator. Plan to take it a bit more easy moving forward.

 

[CallMeColt]

 

[CallMeColt]

Thank you everyone for the help.

If I ever get somewhat caught up with other stuff here, I will fully take it apart and confirm. There are a few places that do rewinding in my area, so maybe I can have it rewound if that ends up being the issue.

 

[moarheavyduty]

Utility power is currently out at our place and have been listening to my 1040 sing while watching your video series. Sounds like you figured out the issue and hope you can find a way to fix the machine. I noticed the voltage difference while watching and took a couple pics of mine running tonight for the thread. This is just the natural imbalance in the house with the loads that are currently on. (I have the set point on the machine @ 121V ) Thanks for sharing!

 

[CallMeColt]

Utility power is currently out at our place and have been listening to my 1040 sing while watching your video series. Sounds like you figured out the issue and hope you can find a way to fix the machine. I noticed the voltage difference while watching and took a couple pics of mine running tonight for the thread. This is just the natural imbalance in the house with the loads that are currently on. (I have the set point on the machine @ 121V ) Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for thinking of this thread & showing your unit under an unbalanced load. Seeing two units that have perfectly matching voltage on each leg, even with a slight imbalance, definitely makes me feel more confident in my conclusion.

 

[CallMeColt]

Just wanted to come here & share something I found on another post... the MEP 1050 has the same generator head as the MEP 1040. At times, I can get those for a good deal. So, I may be able to get one for just the head to make this MEP 1040 work. Thread below;

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/mep-1050-mep-1051-4-1050-4-1051.157878/post-2594126

 

[jmenende]

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.

View attachment 925479

I have run the 1040 for a good 3 years of constant outtages here in PR. Unlike the 803a, my unit never sheds a load. Even when I run the inline 30 amp water heater with the rest of the house running all I get is the overload error and some flickering lights. After Colt cooked his unit, I toned down on its abuse and will go to a solar water heater. They just dont make them like they used to and I may go back to the 803a. lol

 

[jmenende]

Just wanted to come here & share something I found on another post... the MEP 1050 has the same generator head as the MEP 1040. At times, I can get those for a good deal. So, I may be able to get one for just the head to make this MEP 1040 work. Thread below;

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/mep-1050-mep-1051-4-1050-4-1051.157878/post-2594126

I can confirm this is correct. I even tried to rewire my 1050 to single phase but the computer would not allow it. I wrote on this subject a year back. The 1050 is by far the most spacious and easiest to work on of the ammps units.