mep 802a short circui

[Pete4570]

mep 802a short circuit

Hey guys! I live of the grid and am on my 4th junk generac generator so I've decided to switch to an mep 802a before my current generator pukes its guts out at 3600 rpm and leaves me stranded.
I bought it at auction with 4.02 hrs on it and other then a couple odds and ends that i fixed it runs fine. I,m testing it on my existing auxiliary hook up and the moment the charger switches over to draw on the generator the short circuit light comes on, and opens the ac circuit interrupter. the generator makes perfect power and the 110 plugs on the front work fine with power tools, and i have a welder that functions just fine on this aux. plug, the wiring is correct and i don't see any broken or warn wires. the load on the generator should be only about 40 amps so I cant see that tripping the overload (nor dose the light come on) so please hit me with your best guess! is it common to just have a bad relay or balist? if so how can I test for this? thanks!

 

[Bmxenbrett]

40a is to much for a 802. Do you have a ground rod? Did you disconnect the neutral buss bar? Have you checked for ohms between the chassis/power lugs and power lugs to power lugs?

 

[Dieselmeister]

Depending on the type of charger you have, the inrush current of your battery charger could be too high (sort of like starting a large motor). What is the current draw of the charger, and does it also show the inrush current? Are your 40 amps at the 110 volt setting?

 

[Pete4570]

40 amps on 220 single phase, this is what i was afraid of, my electrician told me to get the 803 but I'm looking for the better fuel economy of the 802 and the draw on my current generator is less then 30 amps once the charger switches over.

 

[Pete4570]

no I haven't checked the ohms, and the buss bar is disconnected, I did install a grounding rod after i had problems and it didn't make a difference. I'm thinking the starting load may be to high........

 

[Pete4570]

It's an outback charger and I believe there's a way to show the draw on it but I honestly haven't checked and that's just what I'm going to do when I get home today. this was the exact scenario I was afraid would happen lol, stay tuned it may be for sale shortly lol

 

[Pete4570]

It's an outback charger and I believe there's a way to show the draw on it but I honestly haven't checked and that's just what I'm going to do when I get home today. this was the exact scenario I was afraid would happen lol, stay tuned it may be for sale shortly lol

 

[Suprman]

40amps x 220v is 9020 watts. If you were 40a at 110v you would be at 4400 watts. The 802 will do 6000 watts continuous and still be happy. Its not going to do 9000. Is your charger converting it to 24 or 48 volt dc to charge a battery bank?

 

[Pete4570]

40amps x 220v is 9020 watts. If you were 40a at 110v you would be at 4400 watts. The 802 will do 6000 watts continuous and still be happy. Its not going to do 9000. Is your charger converting it to 24 or 48 volt dc to charge a battery bank?

48vdc and I believe it’s just the starting load, I need to look farther into it) after that is between 19 an 30 a continuous .

 

[Farmitall]

40 amps on 220 single phase, this is what i was afraid of, my electrician told me to get the 803 but I'm looking for the better fuel economy of the 802 and the draw on my current generator is less then 30 amps once the charger switches over.

The 802a is only rated for 26 amps in the 120/240 setting. Pulling 40 amps is 9600 watts (I X E= P) which is almost double the rated capacity of the 802a......not going to work for you.

 

[Suprman]

You are going to need an 803. Or a DC gen. I have high current 28 volt ones but not 48.

 

[Guyfang]

no I haven't checked the ohms, and the buss bar is disconnected, I did install a grounding rod after i had problems and it didn't make a difference. I'm thinking the starting load may be to high........

In all probability, Bmxenbrett brought up the ground rod question, not to correct your problem. He brought it up to possibly save your life. Never, ever, start a gen set up without one hooked up. And you know, when you did run it without one, and there had been a real short circuit situation, you could have been in for a "significant emotional experience". I ah, have been hooked up twice in my life, to voltage that would not let me go. Its something you do not want to experience. Ever. So how about getting into the TM 9-6115-641-10 manual, and reading up on safety, and correct operation of the set. Be a shame to read about you in the paper. That TM will also tell you the max allowed load.

 

[Pete4570]

I’m going to check the draw on my original generator when I get home. This is what I was told by my electrician but may or may not be what’s actually happening

 

[Pete4570]

I got it figured out a max draw of 23 amps and I have it running the house now! Turns out the relay terminal was bad and any load of the main prongs would trip it, just a little scotch bright and a quick crimp solved the issue - I want to thank all of you for your help and safety advice!

 

[Light in the Dark]

Glad to hear you are operational! I am about an hour east of you, glad to know other SS members 'in the neighborhood'.