MEP-003a no output after new battery

[Pigzsnout]

I've had this generator for a little over a year. Runs great and produced electricity as it should. Recently had a battery go bad unbeknownst to me. I was working out of state and asked my dad to start it up and let it run for a few minutes. ( I do this once a month regularly ) when he tried to to start it, he said it turned over a few times and then the starter began to click. He said he disconnected the batteries and charged them independently with a 12v charger. Hooked it all back up and tried again with the same result.
I changed the dead battery today with a fresh 850CCA battery and it started up in just a few revolutions but it's not producing power. Nothing from the 110V plugs and nothing from the 220V plugs either. Gauges are all reading zero.
Read something about holding the starter knob in the "start" position and watching the Hertz meter. I did this and it went 65htz while holding the knob but as soon as I released it, the gauge went to 0htz.
Any recommendations?

 

[Triple Jim]

I would check to see if you have 24 VDC present in the control cabinet. If the bad battery effetively became an open circuit while the generator was last running, you may have had a capacitor on a fuel pump short, causing the 24v breaker to trip. If that's the case, remove the bad capacitor, reset the 24v breaker and see if things go back to normal.

 

[Pigzsnout]

So I checked the 24v DC breaker that's located to the left of the start/stop switch on the main control panel. It tested out at 25.8v on both terminals.
I know that when I pull on the breaker the engine immediately shuts down.
I again tried the "hold start switch after engine is running" and the Hertz gauge pegged out at 65htz while holding in the start position but as soon as I release the knob the Hertz gauge flatlined.
I tested the 110v service plugs and got .308v each plug. I've even tried the drill plugged into the plug while turning backwards by hand with no success at exciting the generator.
This is a backup generator for my house as I live in South Mississippi (Katrina ground zero) and I need this running in case we have a storm this year.

 

[Guyfang]

Do you have the Quad circuit MOD on your set?
Have you down loaded the TM's?

 

[Ray70]

On the older 003A's another thing that can cause random "no-power" is a poor connection at one of the bulkhead fittings on the back of the control cubicle or down on the AC reconnect box. Try removing and reinstalling all of the wire harness connectors.
It sounds like it worked while you were holding the S1 switch in the start position, but quits when you release the switch. This could also be an indication of a voltage regulator issue.

 

[glcaines]

Do you have the Quad circuit MOD on your set?
Have you down loaded the TM's?

Does the Quad Circuit MOD apply to the MEP003A? The instructions I have (TB11-6115-741-24 (1) says it applies to TQG generators and doesn't mention the 003A genset. My MEP003A genset was manufactured 07/1992 so it was one of the last of this series. If the quad circuit mod does apply to the 003A, did the manufacturers include the mod on the later models of the 003A? If not, is there another set of instructions that does apply to the MEP003A? I use my MEP003A as backup power for my house several times per month so I need to keep it as reliable as possible. Actually, it ran during a power outage yesterday for about 6 hours. Thanks much, as always.

 

[Guyfang]

Do you have the Quad circuit MOD on your set?
Have you down loaded the TM's?

Shoot me in the head! I mixed up your thread and another thread! Sorry.

 

[Pigzsnout]

Other than visually inspecting all of the components on the VR is there a way to test them?
Are they serviceable or I replace it with a new/used one?

 

[Guyfang]

Thats the nice thing about the 002A and 003A. Yes if you have the test equipment and read the book, you can test and repair the VR. There is also a member here in SS that sells new, modern VR's. Depends on how you want to work it. Have you maybe read the -34 manual and gone through the trouble shooting? Might help you.

 

[Triple Jim]

A regulator failure can cause no output, but it's more likely to cause too much output... overvoltage. You can disconnect the wire from terminal 17 of your regulator and tape the wire end so it doesn't accidentally contact something, and run the generator briefly. If the regulator was causing the no-output problem, you will now have about 170 volts instead of 120, or 340 instead of 240.

Removing that wire effectively takes the regulator out of the circuit, and you will get unregulated full output.

 

[Pigzsnout]

A regulator failure can cause no output, but it's more likely to cause too much output... overvoltage. You can disconnect the wire from terminal 17 of your regulator and tape the wire end so it doesn't accidentally contact something, and run the generator briefly. If the regulator was causing the no-output problem, you will now have about 170 volts instead of 120, or 340 instead of 240.

Removing that wire effectively takes the regulator out of the circuit, and you will get unregulated full output.

I tried that and I got nothing at all.

 

[Ray70]

A bad CVT1 can also cause no power, however, I think the test you tried per Tripple Jim's suggestion also takes the CVT1 out of the equation. I still think you need to double check all your connectors. If nothing is found there, might need to start looking at the Gen head.

 

[Triple Jim]

A bad CVT1 can also cause no power, however, I think the test you tried per Tripple Jim's suggestion also takes the CVT1 out of the equation. I still think you need to double check all your connectors. If nothing is found there, might need to start looking at the Gen head.

CVT1 is where all the current for the exciter field comes from, so if the windings at X1, X2, and X3 are bad you can't get any output. I don't see how all three would fail at once, but it might be worth checking their resistances against the values in TM5-6115-585-34.pdf

Also, that CVT1 output is rectified by the diode board A4, so it and its wiring should probably be checked too. It's located in the box under the generator's main output lugs.

 

[Guyfang]

I've had this generator for a little over a year. Runs great and produced electricity as it should. Recently had a battery go bad unbeknownst to me. I was working out of state and asked my dad to start it up and let it run for a few minutes. ( I do this once a month regularly ) when he tried to to start it, he said it turned over a few times and then the starter began to click. He said he disconnected the batteries and charged them independently with a 12v charger. Hooked it all back up and tried again with the same result.
I changed the dead battery today with a fresh 850CCA battery and it started up in just a few revolutions but it's not producing power. Nothing from the 110V plugs and nothing from the 220V plugs either. Gauges are all reading zero.
Read something about holding the starter knob in the "start" position and watching the Hertz meter. I did this and it went 65htz while holding the knob but as soon as I released it, the gauge went to 0htz. (Here is the big clue guys. The set makes power, as long as S1 is in the start position. The gen set makes power. After the initial excitation, releasing the S1 turns over the excitation and voltage regulation to the VR. So its probably not a main gen failure. Could be in the VR. Or the AC output box. But I think not the Main Gen.)
Any recommendations?

Open this up to see what I wrote.

 

[Guyfang]

CVT1 is where all the current for the exciter field comes from, so if the windings at X1, X2, and X3 are bad you can't get any output. I don't see how all three would fail at once, but it might be worth checking their resistances against the values in TM5-6115-585-34.pdf

Also, that CVT1 output is rectified by the diode board A4, so it and its wiring should probably be checked too. It's located in the box under the generator's main output lugs.

This is a good place to check.

 

[Guyfang]

The card is in the AC output box, and is kinda a PITA to get at and see. Or is for an old fart like me. Here is a picture of what it looks like.