MEP018A regulator failure

[cranetruck]

Well it finally happened...again...no AC output. Apparently a regulator failure. When I received the genset from Kenny, 5-6 years ago, there was no output and I replaced the power transistor in the regulator, which restored output. It has been running fine ever since, until today when I had trouble starting it and it ran below 3,600 rpm longer than usual and when it picked up speed there was no output.
I'll be replacing that 2N5631 transistor again, but meanwhile, a question; do all of you follow the exact starting procedure as shown in the TM where you are supposed to turn the voltage adjusting knob "fully counterclockwise" before starting? I have never done that and may have suffered the consequences this morning... Any comments?

 

[jbk]

i dont turn it down either. and thats never caused a failure. had one reg. failure my fault switched out an old style reg. with the new style and i didnt change the vol. adj. it had a different ohm value. took about a min. to do the reg. in.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Is there any way to take the regulator off line until the set is up to speed?

 

[cranetruck]

I may be jumping to conclusions here, I need to check the field flash system first, the CB2 in the diagram may have tripped. It's a bit cold this morning to work with bare hands, but will check on that later today. The regulator may be okay.
Bottom line is simple, the engine must be tuned to start right away.

 

[PeterD]

I'd think that turning fully counter clockwise (the lowest voltage position) would certainly reduce the load on the regulator for low speed operation. It does make sense to me to turn it down...

 

[cranetruck]

Okay, so I put everything back together, started the engine and did a field flash. The engine was loaded down a bit during the quick procedure, but still no AC output, so I'll find my spare power transistor and replace it after all.