Troubleshooting Generator With No Power Output - AVR and Brush Replacement - Flashing the Field

Part 1: Bought this generator used, advertised as good engine but no power output. Will go though common methods of troubleshooting to determine the cause of the failure and fix if possible.
Part 2: • Generator Head Install...
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[@puckthisdiscsmith9879]

Typically I look for the shortest videos bc my patience doesn't allow me to listen to people that like to hear themselves talk, lol. For some reason, probably bc I was desperate I watched this entire video. Thank you for being straight to the point and explaining things so well! I got my generator running again😊

[@tomporter2164]

as an electrician i am always asked to look at broken generators but i have always said no because i wasn't too sure what to look for. now with your great video i am a lot more confident now

[@185rick]

They're fairly simple to work on. The smaller cheaper gens use the brushes and slip rings. I do everything from 15kw to 4.5MW HIgh voltage gens. grind through the problems and youll see there is nothing special about them.

[@isettech]

Learn all about the various methods of excitation and regulation before digging into them. The brushless pilot exciter is my favorite version. Some regulate by core saturation (unregulated), and some use a capacitor much like a capacitor run motor to limit field current, and some use the AVR. Inverters use a 3 phase unregulated PM alternator and use the inverter to produce frequency and voltage regulated output. Very few inverter generators use a field winding. Most are magnets. In piloted brushless generators, sometimes the field rectification diodes fail. This is mounted in the rotor, so can be a pain to fix. I do prefer the brushless types, either inverter, or pilot exciter.

[@James1095]

The inverter generators are a different beast but there are only a few minor variations I've seen in the classic conventional generators. Once you've been inside a few of them they all start to look pretty similar, you'll see the same handful of problems over and over and be able to recognize most of them pretty quickly.

[@Sir_Gee]

👌🏻

[@SuperCyril2]

Yeah, I just went and bought a new one that works. I don't have time to spend on messing around with these. You have a lot of patience.

[@ShogunAutoworks]

You just gave a lot of guys familiar with small engines but not generators an amazing opportunity to fix and flip, or do repairs around the community to help prepare those who have generators stored up but not a lot of money to just buy new ones every single storm. Thanks man I have one here that's nice but same issue.

[@musterklammer]

Dear JamesCondon, after looking your Reapairguide, I was able to repair my "Briggs and Stratton 2100 Sprint" Generator. After looking to all parts and testing the resistance of the coils, I laid 12 Volt to the anker. I did clean up the brushes, because there was one of them not complete looking outside. After that, the Generator was making Energy like nothing has been wrong before. Many thanks, so I could rescue the machine from taking it to a junkyard. All the best to you and MANY THANKS

[@thomassecurename3152]

James this is the best in-depth I’ve seen. Thorough on steps and test results. Correct test equipment. Great explanation. Thoughtful analysis. My opinion you clearly show details on a power head that fails. Too many other vids show what’s good/right of which there is no comparison. Thumbs up, 5-*****. Tom.

[@jimwillson681]

James thanks for these videos! I bought a China Generator (DS4000s) as a backup. It will likely sit for years before I use it. After I bought it understanding it will need some spare parts I selected brushes and an AVR. The spare AVR arrived with the mounting tabs broke off. I disassembled (took the potting out) the broken AVR and discovered a few things that people should understand. First, the circuit board and workmanship were kind of substandard. Second, the AVR maintains the adjustable voltage (via the pot on the AVR) by using a MOSFET. The part nobody’s talking about is the MOSFET gets hot (the nature of a MOSFET) but it's incased in the potting material. Really kind of a bad idea, it will fail if it gets too hot and it will. Compound the heat issue with the fact they run the MOSFET close to max, using full load it won't last forever. All said and done my generator is rated to run just under 30 AMPs continues load. I think running it at 80% (20AMPS or so) of rated load will keep the AVR and windings healthy. Just wanted to share the discovery, the AVR was really difficult to take apart! I do want this generator to work when I need it. So: Drain the fuel bowl, I’m taking it off. Drain the fuel tank Check the oil before start-up (for fuel and level) Pick some good spares Know how the thing works! Thanks!!!

[@dennisburns7024]

I really enjoy watching you troubleshoot and repair generators! My wife and I are getting ready to buy a backup generator - probably a Honda EU7000iS to ensure we have clean power. Most are saying that all non-inverter generators produce dirty power. Our gas stove, refrigerator, well control panel all have sensitive circuits and I'm afraid they'll be destroyed by a non-inverter model. Is this a huge risk and have you heard of lots of people damaging their appliances from using dirty power? I'm guessing, there are a few million "dirty power" generators out there waiting to back up homes with sensitive equipment. If it's really an issue, the generator manufacturers should have a warning label indicating what their generators should and should not power.

[@lightsfoundry]

As long as your gen has an avr it should always provide good and safe power, the problems are usually with old generators that don't use avrs.

[@dennisburns7024]

@@lightsfoundry Thanks! I appreciate your knowledge and ability and willingness to pass it on!

[@CHRISINMCNEILL]

You done a great job of keeping it simple and step by step. No fluff intro to your video is a big plus in my book!

[@shaneweatherall8666]

This is the most well explained video I've seen so far on the obscure cause of a generators death. That was a lot better then the readings are wrong so lets just declare it dead. Please do some more generator videos James. The video was really helpful.

[@krkmofet4189]

Absolutely selfless contribution to human knowledge. Bravo

[@michaelstreck0925]

This was the first video of yours that I watched. Then I watched pretty much every other video you've published over the course of a week. Just got my generator back in action this morning thanks to you! Thank you so much! Great educational channel!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks. Glad to hear you were able to gets your running again.

[@joegarren6529]

@@jcondon1 ,,,

[@Charles_okocha_low_budget]

@@jcondon1greeting how do I contact you directly

[@thomasgibson8025]

Me too. He should be teaching small engine repair and generator repair at the local community college!!! I want to hang out with this guy fie a weekend to absorb his brilliance.

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

Generator safety kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2LNhWZ3g6qBrKs

[@jalilkianiani4876]

You are the best by far.

[@ericvaughn1126]

Just watched this one AGAIN before going to assess a unit for sale with no power tomorrow morning. Thanks again for the level of detail and clarity that you provide in ALL of your videos James!

[@jcondon1]

Good luck! That is a nice generator. Hopefully the power head can be saved.

[@johnnyortiz1750]

This video saved me $750 ! I went through all of what you did and ended up getting power ! All done by hand, too. Thank you so much for your content !!!

[@tonyfremont]

I've got that same radio shack meter. It still works fine. Thanks for making these videos. I repair small engines on the side, but generators were something I had little clue about. I have a lot of DC electronics experience, but AC motors, alternators and generators were pretty foreign to me, until I discovered you and Jeremy Fielding (I think that's his name).

[@jcondon1]

Thanks! He knows a lot more about it.

[@richarddovala7862]

Jim been watching for a while I have been a auto/heavy duty truck mechanic for 43 years and I have learned so much from you, as far as I am concerned you are the BEST, Thanks just a real treasure watching and learning!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks, I appreciate the comment

[@steverayrapp]

Thanks to your vid I was able to get my Powermate 8000 working again, the AVR was swollen and cracked on the back side. $68. dollars later with a new AVR and it works like a champ, I also cleaned the brushes with electronic cleaner. Now on to getting the engine to run better.

[@budgillett9627]

I know nothing about these generators but this helped me learn a little. I’m excited to watch more! You have a great voice and are so great to listen to! Thank you, sir.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@halcobb1627]

In my youth I was a repair man at a local Black and Decker repair center. We used commutator seating/cleaning sticks to treat brushes that weren't making good contact. They're available commercially. Hold against the commutator / slip rings while armature is spinning and brushes are installed to make them seat and conduct well.

[@josephgiustiniani2834]

This is great. I want to see when there is a hopeless case. When all the tests lead to the fact that it is now just a parts donor. Yes, I want to fix the generators that come into my shop, but at some point, you get one of these. Then it's a matter of telling the owner. He/she can now decide how to proceed. Thank you again for the great info you share.

[@bradstevenson2111]

Thanks, you just saved me a bundle. I had no idea that they could lose magnetism from sitting. Your detailed shot of hooking up the 12V battery did the trick.

[@jameshedrick6839]

I was always told to let it run once a month for at least 30 minutes to prevent loss of residual magnetism

[@davidmelhuish9190]

In the UK there is a vast difference between your grid and ours. It is so good to see this from both sides very educational.This is good so I watch with great interest.

[@ApprenticeGM]

Those "strange marks" on the brushes just mean they haven't worn into the slip rings because they are near-new. The slip rings are round and brushes start with flat / squared ends hence only the middle part makes contact with the slip ring. You can clearly see how the worn brushes are curved on the end to match the slip ring circumference. I'm surprised James doesn't know this basic part of brushes with all his experience working on generators.

[@Diohernandez]

I was thinking the same thing. When I've taken them out they have a curve at contact area to match slip rings. They looked perfectly fine to me and barely even worn from just few minutes of run time. That generator is basically new.

[@FlirThermograpy]

Thank you. I followed the logic and found my problems to be a very dirt slip ring. Cleaned both sliprings and the brushes, and was back to being fully operational. I had purchased a voltage regulator and repaced it, to no avail, so now have a spare voltage regulator.

[@mcarroll598]

Excellent video! The theory on the electromagnetism and how the generator produces power is awesome.

[@benkanobe7500]

I am going through your YT about no power and I am learning like it is a College level class on testing and diagnosing generators. Thank You so very much for posting these very high-quality You Tubes.

[@miketaylor6282]

Nice explanations for a total newbie like myself. I will definitely be watching your others videos! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

Don’t forget about generator safety kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2LNhWZ3g6qBrKs especially keep children safe when using generators. Thank you.

[@danblake3265]

You do a simple voltage check on exposed blue wires...LAST ?!???? and WOW that's the problem! If only you had said let's check all the simple stuff first instead of tearing the entire generator apart then putting it back together to do the simple text you should have done in the first place!!! I had the same problem and I went to the entire process like you just did.. thanks a freaking lot!!

[@isettech]

Just a quick note on "Someone has been here before" with the permanent magnets. Sometimes someone will flash a field backwards, or it gets hit with a high current in the stater that "Reverse flashes" the field, so the initial voltage when starting to build field, has to collapse to zero in a polarity reversal. Only time I have seen this is when "Someone has been here before". Be sure the polarity is correct when flashing or testing with your battery. Wrong polarity opposite the permanent magnets will result in lower voltage. If you get lower voltage, check the polarity. You want to aid the magnets, not reverse them. Hope this helps. It is possible you had your 12 volt battery backwards and reverse flashed it before testing the alternate regulator. The low voltage is an indicator. For testing if this is the case, a D cell flashlight battery can be used. Connect both ways and note the polarity which provided the highest AC voltage. This indicates the polarity of the field and may indicate it was flashed backwards. If you add a diode in series with your battery, and a current limiting resistor, such as 1 ohm 25 watt, you can bump the field with the unit running and the AVR connected. Done properly, it will get the field building to where the AVR takes over and the diode protects the battery from the high voltage. This can save time in troubleshooting.

[@emblems4life726]

isettech Great comment and suggestion!

[@raymondgarafano8604]

Hello Isettech, sounds like u do this for a livelihood. Is it possible that the AVR is not seeing enough a.c. volts from the exciter winding because 1 defective rotor 2 bad exciter winding. if even a short between a few turns that could be the loss of enough volts to not let the avr work? or soldered leads from field winding need to be re-flowed due to too high a resistance between them and slip rings. I had been given a power supply for a radiola 60 was told it was good, but it was also a good fifty yrs old, I ran a hot soldering iron ove the joints and yes there was power.

[@isettech]

@@raymondgarafano8604 I do related work. If you feed 12 volts into the field, then test the voltage into and out of the AVR, and the AC output voltage, the 12 volts of excitation should produce a higher voltage into the AVR so it can output higher than 12 Volts to the field, so if it was connected the voltage would build until the AVR limits field current. If there is a problem with the windings, the 12 volts of excitation will produce less than 12 volts for the AVR and field voltage, which would result in a collapse of voltage if connected instead of building. It is best to test with a funcitoning unit, then compare results when feeding 12 volts into the filed to see normal AC into the AVR and normal DC out at normal running speed. If the AC to the AVR is the same between two units, the problem is with the AVR. If the AC to the AVR is much lower, then you have a winding problem.

[@raymondgarafano8604]

@@isettech Thanks very much, If there is a problem with the windings, the 12 volts of excitation will produce less than 12 volts for the AVR and field voltage, which would result in a collapse of voltage if connected instead of building. Do you mean a problem with the exciter windings in the stator,? and that the field voltage will be less than 12 v.d.c. meaning that the specs will say the output from exciter should be 12 v.a.c. but due to a problem with the exciter winder u will get less than 12 volts? I have seen that happen, where a short between turns cuts out the overall effectiveness of the coils. so I guess I could say 1f there are 80 turns of a coil to get 120 volts, then each turn would = a volt and a half and if ten turns shorted at one spot the a.c. volts would never be more than 105 as due to a short 15 volts are lost. Do rotors ever burn out?? I know the brushless have on shaft or on board diodes to change a.c. in one coil to d.c. thank you very much again, these gens are a lot different than traction generators found on diesel electric locomotives with hydraulicaly operated load regulators running off the governor. it was known that for each throttle pos. a given amount of traction power was available and the gen was set so for each throttle pos. a given amount of field was sent to the gen otherwise 4 notches out on the throttle, there'd be 875 hp but if the field was for full throttle, the gen would not have the mechanical beef behind it. And at full throttle with half the field, the whole system would be underloaded.

[@isettech]

@@raymondgarafano8604 When you have a problem with a generator failing to excite, a troubleshooting method is to disconnect the field from the regulator and connect an external 12V battery to it, then measure voltages. With a failure to excite condition, there is very low or no voltage making troubleshooting difficult for AVR or windings. This use of external known power allows testing of the remaining components to find which is failing to excite. This does work on brushless as you power the stationary winding on the exciter Field, and then if everything including diodes are working, the excitation will produce some AC and power the AVR. If diodes or windings are bad, you will get no or less voltage to the AVR. If they are good you will get more voltage to the AVR that can build field until the AVR limits the building of voltage at the desired regulated voltage. Most machines with diodes and brushless, have one or two of the filed pole pieces with a magnet embedded to provide enough "Residual" magnetism to overcome the forward voltage drop on the diodes to ensure excitation starts. Not all brushless designs contain these magnets in the field pole pieces. If there are shorted turns in the AC stator, this type of test can sometimes result in high current in shorted turns and produce smoke. If there is shorted turns in the field, this simply results in lower than expected AC voltage to the AVR.

[@samspade9340]

I enjoyed your thorough troubleshooting video. I just picked up a Champion generator...after getting the motor up and running....the outlets do not have power however the generator has a set of led lights and they work. I am going to try your troubleshooting steps next. Than you for such a thorough video.

[@fmslickful]

This is one of the best generator videos I have seen, there really is something going on.... okay i'm going back to the video!!! can't want to see what is wrong!

[@jcondon1]

There is a followup to this. It is on the tile at the end of the video.

[@fmslickful]

@@jcondon1 Thanks and yes I did play that one as well.

[@chadcornett2585]

Thanks James just bought a brand new powerhorse 4000ES from northern tool for $100 because they said it needed a gen head watched your video did some testing found it had become demagnetized. Put 12 volts to it and boom it’s working perfect now. Thank you so much. Took a gamble and it worked.

[@jcondon1]

Very nice

[@floppy-button]

Electrician here. Great video, and excellent troubleshooting for a very difficult problem. For what it's worth, the marks on the brushes aren't particularly bad, just a little strange. You can actually resurface them pretty easily by smoothing them out with sandpaper; as long as it's not aluminum oxide paper it will be ok (even an Emory board should work in a pinch).

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

Generator safety kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2LNhWZ3g6qBrKs

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

What is bad about aluminum oxide paper?

[@floppy-button]

@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 it can contaminate the brush faces and cause them to have high resistance, hardening, and damage the surfaces they ride upon. Best case you get reduced output, worst case you're causing a fire or small explosion.

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

@@floppy-button I appreciate the response and knowledge. Definitely makes sense being conductive.

[@Stefan-ps6tl]

For me as an electrical student this video was gold. Thanx.

[@raymondgarafano8604]

good 4 U! bin into electric a lonnnng time, It is great, study as much and get to look at as much electical items as possible, always be curious ! heavy wire is most likely a series winding in generators and motors and transformers, lighter wire is for more voltage and in parallel with line in motors.

[@jeffhellings7384]

Vista mower

[@bernardzertuche7376]

Awesome video. This helped me troubleshoot a similar generator at work. Rotor had failed . Had over 10 volts to brushes with AVR disconnected and generator running .

[@safdarkt1]

The idea to pull out armature is pretty cool.

[@ronchernick9014]

Thanks for your practical experience and troubleshooting. I revived a Champion generator by watching this video.

[@jcondon1]

Good to hear! Thanks

[@Mikesorrento3344]

One more thought. Put a meter on brushes when generator is running. Remove AVR connection tabs to rotor, set your meter to AC and you should get ~5 VAC up to 10 max. Anything beyond 10 indicates a failed rotor.

[@LawsOnJoystick]

I get a definate over 10vac when I do this, the reading on accross the brushes is 80ohms with good brushes.when i flash the exitor accross the brushes , my output windings put out 90vac .my generator is fluctuacting 0-90vac when using.Any help would be greatly appreciated :/

[@vadneysean72]

I got almost 15. winding look a bit overheated

[@ME-ys6vl]

What does it mean if I get zero volts across the brushes with the generator running? Thanks!

[@Mikesorrento3344]

@ME, I’d say you have faulty brushes, or badly oxidized slip rings. What do you get for a resistance reading on brushes? How about resistance at the slip rings? Take scotch rite and clean slip rings.

[@bushratbeachbum]

How do I identify the sense and excite connections on the generator end? The avr replacement i got doesn't have the same plug type, I've identified the sense pair and excite pair on the avr but I don't know how to match them with the 4 wires on the generator end!!

[@E-bikeguy]

Good info, I brought a honda eb5000x from the scrap yard with a blown motor. When I ordered the parts to get it running I had no power so I did the tests you did on your video, still no power so my final test I put a 12v battery to the brushes then I had power, so happy now so thank you so much for this video without i might have trashed it

[@jcondon1]

Nice find! Rare for a Honda to end up in the trash. Glad you could save it.

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

Stay safe and carefully use your portable generator kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2LNhWZ3g6qBrKs here’s an advice about keeping your family safe while using generators. Keep children safe at all times when using generators especially. Thank you

[@blitzz7316]

Just fixed an old suzuki se4000sed generator, the carbon and brass oxidization on the sliprings stopped voltage from flowing, the new avr was bad the old one still worked fine.

[@joefahrenbacher4774]

Thanks so much. Took it apart and the brush holder was melted Replaced and fine. You showed me how to do it. Living off grid a generator is a lifeline

[@joelpearson8623]

Thank you for the thorough testing and step by step process of diagnosis. This is exactly what I was looking for to find out why our 40kw PTO driven generator just stopped producing power on Sunday. I believe it died the same way yours did. At least now I can test the rest of the components and verify it’s not something else. Thanks again!

[@raymondgarafano8604]

So how did u make out? did u get that gen to work? if it has NO brushes it could very well have a rectifier on the rotor but it could have a bad solder connection or just died/burnt out. if u have brushes try using a battery to excite the rotor.

[@joelpearson8623]

@@raymondgarafano8604 for years we’ve had to “jump” the field with the tractor battery. We ended up replacing the generator with a new one and sending the old one out to get repaired. I just didn’t have the time to keep diagnosing it. The windings looked poor, the brushes were definitely worn but the abrupt loss of power makes me think it was something failing in the controller board. Thanks again for an excellent video.

[@raymondgarafano8604]

@@joelpearson8623 Thanks Joel but I did NOT do the video, James Condon did.

[@garryharris9098]

Great video, I have a generator/ welder that will not produce power to the outlets or welder. Looking inside, it does not seem burned, but when it runs, the brushes spark a lot. I am going to use your video to check the armature and stator to possibly see why. Thanks

[@hamidjan9163]

i was looking for such video :) last night my 3Kva Generator stopped working .. Basically, the rotor struck with Armature because of a crack in the overall body of the Dynamo where the Bearing of the rotor is there. it means the rotor and armature got touched with each other. The wiring of the Armature looks pretty bad but the readings are 5O Ohm :) i think the wiring is still safe :) ............... Wish me good luck :)

[@timjames1274]

Thank you for this video James! I was able to easily diagnose our generator's fault, (dead AVR), thanks to this video. Greatly appreciated!

[@byronmorris1594]

Thank you for teaching me.

[@al-mu5xs]

Excellent video, very clear and detailed. Everything explained in terms a novice can understand. I'm having the same issue with my generator and with your video I'll now dig into it. Thank you!

[@frankpineda1832]

I have a Honda that is doing the same thing, thanks for the video, very helpful 👍

[@jcondon1]

Glad it helped

[@tomhoehler3284]

@corey Babcock Was that van parked down by the river? Just kidding!

[@Mikesorrento3344]

Here’s what I have found when no power output. 50% if the time, field needs to be flashed due to generator not being used for long periods. 30% of the time it’s due to bad capacitor (brushless) or bad AVR ( brushed). He rest is usually due to open (broken wire) stator or rotor. Occasionally, the connection to skip rings need to be resoldered or the bridge rectifier (diodes) is bad which is uncommon. I find bad stator/rotor much more prevalent with pure Chinese brands. American, including made in China (to American specs), Italian, German, etc usually don’t have stator/rotor problems...usually bad AVR etc. Nice video! Thanks.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks. Most I pickup that do not make power are Chinese made. Would say 50 percent bad stator, 30 percent loose wire on rotor slip ring terminal and 20 percent AVR, brushes etc. I ended up doing a part 2 on this. Put a new stator on rotor on it. In the end it only cost me $150 for both. What brands do you see with better stator/rotor setups? The ones I have worked on are almost all Chinese. The only ones that looks maybe better are generac 10000 wattt and above, Briggs and maybe Winco.

[@Mikesorrento3344]

James, usually the American brands and those Chinese brands made to American spec (Harbor freight, Champion etc) are usually decent. The Japanese, German, Italian made ones are usually bullet proof and exceptionally reliable. The pure Chinese stator/rotors made with copper clad aluminum windings are very poor quality and prone to failure... Anyways I like your diagnostic skill and hand learned a few things from your videos. So thank you for that. Would like to share more ideas. Perhaps we could talk live at some point. My email is: [e-mail] if you are ever interested in chatting. I generally pick up 5-6 gensets a month as a side business. Like to compare notes etc. Thanks

[@immeohmyoh]

@@Mikesorrento3344 Hey you two, i now have 4 Wen gens (2 3500s and 2 5500s) and none of them work! 2 quit after 5minutes and 1 no power anymore. Are Wens the chinese 'built to american spec' you speak of? or the bad chinese type. I don't know where they were from they were all bough 2nd hand, although i've heard perhaps aldi's. Must be popular here in Iowa.

[@JunPVlog]

Good job sir thanks for sharing new supporters here

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

To you and the many knowledgeable commenters I appreciate you all sharing your knowledge as that's essentially how I've dealt with life. If I need something, I get a job doing it type of thing. I can rebuild a transmission, wire a house but I never got into electronics the way I should have. You all are helping change that. 👍

[@bryanfarrow914]

At 19:56 you can see what appears to be 2 damaged 'tops' (coil retaining insulation) at position '9 o'clock' in the stator, which perhaps suggests that there are 'shorts' in the AVR/exciter supply coils especially when the output voltage is so low. Using a multimeter to check for earth faults is haphazard at best and won't detect an insulation breakdown properly unless it's a 'hard' earth fault. Also, it's pointless to compare the colours of the wire enamel between different rotors when wire enamels come in such a wide variety of colours, from light honey through to nearly black, even green.

[@johnclarke6647]

I bought a new 5000 watt generator five years ago and it stopped producing power after a few years ago. I pulled the generator cover and checked the wiring and found one of the stator Leeds on the terminal block was loose. I tightened it down and put lock tire on it and have had no further problems. I also unloosened all the wires on the terminal block and put lock title on each of them and re-tightened them. Sometimes repairs are simple, sometimes not.

[@jcondon1]

Sometimes they are easy. Just picked one up cheap that would not start. Ended up being that the spark plug wire was not plugged in all the way. Makes for a short video.

[@kerrygleeson4409]

Great review of the problem James bad luck but I learnt a lot from this vidio

[@jimhood1202]

I'm so glad that I kept looking for better genset troubleshooting videos. Yours is by far the most comprehensive one I've come across. I like your methodical approach, gradually getting deeper into the system. I'm happy this machine wasn't repairable since we got to see everything you had in your arsenal. Bad luck for you in this case but it made for a great video. Thank you very much for taking the time. Now, where's my meter?

[@roscoe454]

plug drill into it start gen twist the drill and leave a load on it so it dont drop voltage..some cases it works

[@anetworkservice]

Nice job. Thanks. I'm going to use your info to help me figure out my issue. I suspect my AVR. The one I have surges. Power, no power, power, no power. At times it will energize for a while and function. More recently it rarely keeps putting out power. You can watch the gauge pulse up and down. I'm wondering what the issue is, but feel much more confident looking into it after watching your video. You've given me a much better understanding of how these work. They are not the same as automotive alternators.

[@waynemacleod3416]

would have test AVR voltage before disassembly. look on the bright side you could just rig a DC source of some sort to it

[@dinnicusor5312]

I can only thank you for the very good information and the patience you have to make this video which is very helpful for me for a generator and I didn't know how to check it, I wish you good luck and more interesting videos

[@brianjohnson2059]

Here is a tip. Even I'd the windings are burned, you can put varnish on them and it can reseal them separating them when it dries. Shhh, don't tell anyone.

[@nopperfilmes3622]

Thanks for the detailed troubleshooting video. It helped me to fix my generator. It ended up being the AVR

[@ricdenali4213]

Great video, so the stator is bad, was the rotor bad too? Do they fail together normally?

[@jcondon1]

They normally do not fail together. I have never seen a bad rotor (burned up), only rotors where a wire broke from the forces involved at spinning at 3600 rpm. In this case I think the rotor would work. The main winding that make power are also good. It was the DPE sub winding that failed and without that the AVR will not power up. Might be possible to rewind just that coil. Also the resistance on that rotor was high. The AVR would have increased the voltage to compensate. So that could have cause the DPE winding failure (blue wires). Also there is no heat shield on these between the muffler and stator. The heat could have caused the breakdown on the stator wire insulation.

[@diehardfan173]

I thank you very much! The generator I’m working on, had lost residual magnetism. When I introduced 12 V to the brushes, it brought back the output…

[@joseavelar2599]

Thank you for the video and your time James .

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

Don’t forget about generator safety kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2LNhWZ3g6qBrKs especially it’s important to keep children safe when using generators. And keep your family safe too when the power is out. Just hoping everyone stays safe and use portable generators carefully. Thank you

[@jp040759]

The ropes are call wire lacing. Fantastic troubleshooting of this fault. I learned tons. THANX.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@joeljoanne8714]

Thank you sir.

[@RonLovell0087]

Thanks!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks Ron! I appreciate the "Super Thanks"

[@snowflakemelter1172]

I live off grid and get all my generators by repairing ones thrown away, I've always got 3 or 4 I use, loads of spare parts and ive sold many more I didn't need.

[@chriseller757]

You got anything for a briggs storm responder 6250

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

Your username is almost as hot as mine. I am jealous of the off-grid living though. Ever watch Marty T here on YT? His generators are smart washing machine motors rewired for water turbine generators, another thing I should have done.

[@purebloodheretic4682]

@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 The Rambro Dude?😁

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

@@purebloodheretic4682 Yes, RIP Rambro, you are missed and body bags now have pay to get launched into low orth orbit.

[@tmac3312]

Do you have a coleman Powermate pulse 1850 laying around?

[@dangsure6074]

Good thorough video. Thanks for sharing. Super storm Ria just passed leaving havoc. Generators are big issues now.

[@12DGJB21]

If you were to power up the AVR with an external 4-8 VAC power supply would the generator head start working?

[@James1095]

It likely would to an extent BUT the aux winding that powers the AVR appears to be shorted and this short would cause that winding to continue to heat and burn up as well as bypassing some of the magnetic flux in the stator core. I suspect this is why the output was lower than expected when feeding 12V to the rotor. It might not be too hard to cut out enough of the aux winding to disable it and eliminate the short though, or you might get lucky and find that the short is at one of the exposed ends. Given the recent date on the AVR module and signs that someone had been in there I suspect the original AVR failed shorted, burned out the aux winding powering it and then someone replaced the module which didn't fix the generator because the winding had burned out. I'd probably disassemble the stator and rewind the aux winding just because I can but that's not really cost effective if you value your time.

[@65csx83]

Thanks for that final touch back on the stator issue. It will let me get some sleep tonight.

[@mohamadanfas6679]

Yes, without that last picture i'am also would not going to get sleep tonight.

[@tonym6920]

That was a tough one James, 👍👍

[@Wqk14xhddv7]

I had to check my generator that is similar to this one . the Voltages ⚡️ at the connector 120 v 120 v across X and Y 250 Vac .. this video explores the Internal components .. 👍 ... there is no AVR MODULE ..

[@jesujesu2947]

Hey boss i have the same probs with my Ast8000E2 6.5 generator. now i know how to work with this sparky probs. Thanks a lot

[@56_mini55]

Hey man I appreciate what your doing! Convinced me to clean the carb on a generac 5000 from the 90s that never ran good.. for first start in 20 years I got no smoke or knock! Briggs 11hp lives again in the form of a minibike:) thank you for all your help

[@Xfactortype1]

A husky but you too huh? I wonder if hooking up a nine volt battery to the blue wires would then power up the AVR kinda like applying 12 volts to the brushes. If you get the 50 volts at the windings then you know the dpe winding is burnt shorted. IMHO be fun to see if it works

[@edwardanderson9966]

Very good Video. One thing to mention. Make sure the Brass Rings on the commutator are clean and shine. I had a good reading at the brush terminals and did all the test you showed in this video but did not get any Power and then I remember what my dad always told me and that was to make sure the rings are copper shine. Guess what after I clean the rings with a little emery cloth. Bingo worked Fine.

[@mynorperez4089]

Well ✔ done

[@mikejenkins7941]

Thanks for the info. My slip rings measured 83 ohms after I soldered the broken wire and generator still worked !

[@AquaGreenORAganicsWestLinn]

Rotor possibly has a flying short,

[@leocarvajal6967]

Right on the nose! Short circuit in rotor!

[@AquaGreenORAganicsWestLinn]

Flying shorts are extremely rare. Maybe 1 put of 1000 that go bad go bad in that way.

[@Thinker2-truth]

Thank you for the comprehensive generator video and not another Circuit Breaker video.

[@davef.2811]

All of those resistance and voltage parameters, are they in your memory from experience, or are they published in a troubleshooting guide along with a wiring schematic?

[@joelfedor6204]

Hi my name is Joel I grew up tinkering with many things trying to figure out motors the way you do there’s never been one of the things I’ve tinkered with I’ve done ground up restoration on cars motorcycles taking houses apart but you watch somebody do something that I am not familiar with sometimes it’s obvious they need a kick in the ass and told to go to hell are you my friend Take it to another level and I’ve always been one to give credit where credit is due I like your style you Dig in until you find the problem and then you explain it very professional and I was impressed I think you I actually enjoyed watching your videos.

[@joelfedor6204]

LOL I just wish you could’ve helped me more on mine I got so involved with yours project I completely forgot about mine but that’s OK again thank you.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks, I was worried about where this was going. Been kicked in the ass enough.

[@lukeWiz44]

Hey James, I'm rather new to this. Love the video! You mentioned in one of your previous videos "permanent magnets". Does this come standard on all brushed generators? Very curious!!! Thanks.

[@jcondon1]

Most modern generators with an AVR also have magnets on the rotor. Some newer generator like Powermate and some Briggs and Stratton do not have AVRs. Those generally do not have permanent magnets.

[@lukeWiz44]

James Condon thanks for your reply! Do some generators only have one set of windings? (AKA. One R1 and L1)

[@Savage-lx5yj]

@@lukeWiz44 Predicting voltage and power from an arrangement of coils and magnets, is mostly based on Faraday's law, for predicting the induced voltage in each coil, and also Ohm's law, which tells us the electrical resistance in each winding, which limits how much current, and thus power, the coil can supply to a load. Windings can be increased or decreased to meet power demands. Example: one coil may generate power for an exciter, another coil may be installed to generate power for a lighting or accessory circuit. Hope this helps Luke

[@ericbarbee4698]

Loved the video. very good job on step by step and the fact you posted one that was not a slam dunk is even better.

[@jerrypeal653]

I’ve flashed the field with a half inch drill plugged in trigger pulled engine running and spin the chuck backwards . If someone try’s this be careful drill may start to run mine did .

[@joelkuhar2985]

Your last comment about the rubbing on the inside and being taken apart before I've been there didn't get the stator rotor alignment right had power for about two minutes smelled plastic burning and by the time I killed the engine power was gone and the damage was done unfortunately second replacement alternator head I took the spark plug out and free spun everything by thank God I did that because that one was misaligned also had to torque the 4 bolts to get it right until it spun with no resistance lesson learned the hard way thanks for your video too

[@peterclark8134]

So glad the video is still 'around'. Great video explaining the principles of operation....Thank you Sir, learned a lot here.

[@jamilakhter8878]

Excellent job has done,i am associate electrical engineer from karachi pakistan.may god bless you forever.amen

[@jcondon1]

thanks

[@james.8985]

Using a Megger you can test the insulation quality of the windings to ground. CAUTION !! Besure to disconnect ALL electronics before carrying out this test. Keep up the great work 👍🇦🇺

[@codypatterson7740]

James my name is Cody I want to thank you for all that you do have been watching you for years but I've never rode in 2 you before because of you my generators running again you had a video that I watched the other day or you fix a husky generator that you had sold to a construction crew and after a couple of days they brought it back and said that it was not building any power and it was the brushes that was bad on it I had the same exact problem with mine at a nowhere just know power anymore thank you so much I don't know where I be if I woulda nothing your video was that a generator that's what that her doubt thank you again

[@phbrinsden]

I know this was a disappointment to you but for me it was a full trouble shoot routine and the one I wanted. I will refer to this if I ever need to do a trouble shooting routine. Very well made video. Thanks.

[@terrydenny5185]

James you are very good at diagnosis the problems of these generators. I thank you so much. You helped me find the problem with mine. Keep up the good work YOU ARE AWSOME !!!!!!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@johnobiro5202]

Great diagnosis James. I have just bought one that’s not putting any power out. I will use your instruction to diagnose mine. Thank you.

[@rrrsss4059]

You did a great job along with camera shots. My gen stopped putting out power, did some of your checks & my problem turned out to be a lose connection at the breaker. THANKS.

[@jcondon1]

Nice, you got luck on that one.

[@rrrsss4059]

@@jcondon1 It takes a lot of time to setup & video what you did. Very good JOB. I learned a few things from your video, at 71+ I am still in school.

[@bobleishman7215]

Great video, All of my test readings are good so I tried to put 12v to the brushes like you did and I got no change at all in the voltage reading...

[@ericchopin2115]

Absolutely superb video and diagnostics that were text-book.... Great Work James pity the unit has gone to that great generator graveyard in the sky!

[@tyleralbertson5050]

Fixed my generac following your steps, thanks for posting this video

[@apostoliccontender349]

Extremely helpful video, greatly appreciate the details you provided!

[@jamesmnoblesjr9062]

A valuable video full of Ohms, volts, DC/AC. For and applies to most motors made now:)))