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Sudden gen power lose
Have a 17.5 Power Tech with 2366 hrs
Gen has been running fine for quite a while, ran for 4 days straight in the Keys in April with 85 deg temps & heavy loads.
Running it now in Ak with 90 deg temps. Runs for a little over a hour the suddenly drops all voltage (drops to about 4-5 volts). There is no voltage drop prior to total lose (replaced voltage regulator about 1 1/2 years ago).I can restart immediately and voltage comes right back, runs for about another 1/2 hour then drops all voltage again. Never has any drop in voltage unit it completely fails.
I fear I already now the answer (electrical end of gen is failing), any thoughts on what else it could be. At the beginning of a 4 week trip and need gen to recharge battery’s while dry camping at relatives.
Chuck
2000 Featherlite H3-45
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Leesburg, FL -
4 Replies
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Chuck seems like we are on the same boat my generator has stopped producing power as well, I’m sure I need to rebuild the generator head but we will see im going to take that on once I’m done with the front windshields on the bus.
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Ralf:
Turns out my voltage regulator went bad again (just replaced 18 months ago). Called manufacture of voltage reg (not Power-Tech) and they said the operating temperature of the regulator is 36 Deg to 140 Def. Turns out the discharge vents/louvers for the armature hot air comes out right on the back of the electric box that houses the regulator and in the exact spot where the regulator was mounted inside the box. I made a custom bracket and located the regulator outside and under the electric box in the path of the cooling fan (for the sound box). The air in this area is around 120 deg compared to 160 near the armature air discharge.So far so good.
Note of caution:
Parts of the voltage regulator produce high voltage (enough to knock you on your butt if touched), be careful where you locate it for your safety and others.
2000 Featherlite H3-45
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Leesburg, FL -
Glad to hear you got it figured out, I’ll have to mess with mine soon as I want to get back to dry camping pretty soon.
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I’ve replaced a couple voltage regulators on my Kohler and discovered the fan that ventilates the air in the generator compartment was not functioning. Generator engine will not overheat because it is cooled by an outside water source but the powerhead and electronics will and they give no warning. I now check operation of the vent fan at every gen oil change.
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