MEP002A Generation question

[Tomh]

I just finished preping my new MEP002A and started it for the first time. Noticed that there are two voltage guages on it. I set the rpm's to 60 HZ. The guage on the right barely reads 120 when the voltage knob is cranked all the way to the right. The voltage guage on the left reads solidly in the yellow. Do I have problems? And if so where do I start? I did plug a 20 amp industrial grinder in to the convenience outlet. When I pulled the trigger the grinder ran properly and the "percent rated current" guage spiked with the surge and settled back to a little above zero. This thing has to be a real beast compared to my generac generator.

 

[Rapracing]

The one on the left is the DC voltage charging system for batteries. You can check to see that you are getting, I believe about 26.5 volts charging. That meter could be off a bit.

The other is the AC volt meter could also be off. Check the actual output.

What setting do you have your voltage transfer switch on?

Did you download the tech manual and read for operation? That may be helpful.

ETA: Didn't see the part on the grinder. It probably just had a spike when it started. How many amps - watts does it draw?

 

[AceHigh]

Get a cheap but good KillAWatt meter to verify the outputs.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386

 

[Rapracing]

Get a cheap but good KillAWatt meter to verify the outputs.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386

These are an awesome tool. I picked up several for myself and a friend from Amazon last summer. I had forgot about it

 

[Tomh]

Thank's for the response Raprace. You guys are so helpfull, it' indescribable. I did down load the manual. Checked it. The DC volt meter for the batteries is solidly in the middle of the yellow, which corresponds with what I read in the manual. The AC voltage meter may well be a little off. I'll take AceHigh's advice and put my KillaWatt meter on it tomorrow. I'm not going to say that this unit was abused, but.].... I changed all the filters, wich were really dirty, except fot the last one in line. Cleaned the fuel pump filters. Blew all of the old fuel out of the lines. cleared the check valve. Checked the IP plunger for sticking (It wasn't). Then removed the tank to clean it. Dept of forestry was using this unit, and it had about an inch of sawdust in the tank. The batteries were held on by rope, so I got some F150 battery boxes from local pull and save. Checked batteries. Both dead. When I picked it up the guy said that they were getting rid of the unit because the batteries wouldn't hold a charge. I'll check battery charging voltage tomorro and just bet that it's within spec and check the generator output with a KillaWatt meter. This thing really humms. Starts easy, puts out enough wheaties for me now. It has 4200 hours and I snagged it for $500. Going to put it down at the cabin on my farm.

 

[Isaac-1]

You might also have a bad capacitor on the charging circuit draining you batteries while the unit is off, a cheap fix is adding a simple battery cut off switch while it is not in use.

Ike

 

[Keith_J]

If the battery voltmeter is in the yellow, check the fuse above the starter lockout switch. Near the oil filter. This protects the charging system. It will blow if someone tries to hook the batteries up wrong.

 

[Ray70]

Tom, once you verify the actual AC voltage you are getting, if it is low even with the adj. knob cranked all the way up, I think you can adjust it further using the variable resistor (R12 or R17 depending on which regulator you have) on the voltage regulator board. Try looking through the TM manual or searching around on this site to verify this, if you need to adjust it further than the knob will let you now. Sounds like you have the AC selector switch set to 120V single phase now. Try it on the 120/240V single phase setting and see what you get there too.

 

[Tomh]

Thanks to you guys I have everything working correctly. Checked voltage at battery terminals before start and while running. Voltage while running was lower than before running but still above 24 volts. Would have run the batteries down. Checked fuse above the oil filter. Well.....the cap was missing and not fuse was found. Bought a new fuse holder to get the cap, installed new fuse. Now I get 26.5 volts at the battery terminals. Will check Ray70's suggestion for the AC voltage. Did check voltage at convenience outlet with a mult meter and have 120 volts with voltage adjustment knob turned about 3/4. The voltage guage still registers a little less than 120 volts. Other than that this unit really runs and generates well. For 500 bux, I'm not going to complain. Thank's again for your help Ray70 and Keith_J.

 

[Ray70]

Tom, sounds like you are actually ok on the AC side. 120V with the knob up 3/4 of the way is perfectly fine. I wouldn't even bother looking much further into it.
Maybe just try the 240v setting and see if you have around 240V between L1 and L3 on the buzz bar using your multi meter. Also see what your gage reads on the 240V setting compared to your multi meter on L1-L3. Sounds like you gage is just reading a little low but the actual voltage is good. Good Luck!