Large Diesel Generator - Shuts Down With An ERROR | Can I fix It?

One of my friends bought a large diesel generator from an auction.
There was a problem with the engine which they have repaired, but it also has another problem.
It only runs for around 10 seconds then displays an error on the control panel and shuts down.
Let's see if we can work out what the problem is, and hopefully repair it!
#electronicsrepair
Diesel Generator Error
Generator electrics troubleshooting
Repairing a diesel generator

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

A warning for your mate, generally three-phase gennies DO NOT like asymmetric loading (to the point of potentially destroying them) so if he wants to use it for single-phase loads he needs to try to balance them out across the three phases. Manual should have details of how much asymmetry it can tolerate before it gets REALLY cranky.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for that Morgan. I think he's got a 3 phase lathe he's planning to use it on, but I'll pass your comment on to him. Thanks again for your input 🙂👍

[@MCBatty80]

I saw someone using a phase balancer, not sure how much they cost though. Depending on the load they can be a little pricey ;)

[@BuyitFixit]

I think it's mainly going to be used for the 3 phase output, and possibly on the odd occasion it might be used for 240v, as he already has single phase mains at the farm, but not 3 phase.

[@inothome]

Not that he will use it for single phase, but that alternator does have the wiring configuration listed for single phase output, if down the road someone wanted that. But that controller would have to be set up for single phase as well, but those controllers are super easy to program and reconfigure. Most of the gens I have dealt with can go up to a 50% imbalance before it cautions against it. But they are also much bigger then this.

[@andreaudio]

Especially in such a small machine... You can "safelly" have 30% of unballanced load. In order to use an 3 phase alternator with 2 phase load, you can change the winding layout from star to zig zag. Considerer that you´ll lose bit more than 1/3 of the total power, but you would lost it anyway leaving one floating phase. This way you wont damage the alternator.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

You've got a good troubleshooting process. You took a had a problem you had minimal previous experience and systematically worked your way to a solution. Wonderful!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Paul 👍it's pretty much the approach I use when looking at most things, I've worked on things from thermal cameras , ultrasound machines all the way to tractors and now generators 😂😂

[@IANHANDS]

Thanks for that repair GOD

[@61special]

Thanks a lot for fixing the genny, Alan is well chuffed. The engine runs sweet as a nut. The bores we're like new, there was quite a bit of carbon in the head...the injectors were sent away to be tested and cleaned and Alan lapped the valves and cleaned the carbon off. The carbon could have been there because the engine would only run for a few seconds due to the generator fault...we'll never know... Can't wait to hook it up to the lathe, and if I can get my arse into gear I'll do a video.

[@BuyitFixit]

Nice one Morgan, glad we managed to get it sorted 👍

[@rival_son]

These type of hired generators are usually used as back up too so don't always run for long periods or at full load so that can contribute to the carbon build up. Glad you got a good one though and it's now working!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Rival son, I would have been more at home if the fault was on the control panel, that's more along the lines of things I normally repair (circuit boards under a microscope) but I have a go at pretty much anything from a thermal camera, to a farmers bale wrapper the other day (no video on that as I just got a random knock on the door from a local farmer who was in a bit of a pickle).

[@bobgorman9481]

We always used to put a dab of silicone sealant on the top of all trimmers etc when the correct settings were achieved. This prevented any vibration creep ,but could always be peeled off if they ever needed to be readjusted in the future.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good idea Bob👍

[@IANHANDS]

Hey Mr. Watch out using silicone. It is conductive ..

[@tomr6955]

​@@IANHANDSit's conductive??

[@zedcarr6128]

That engine, Yanmar, is a great engine. If it's serviced with semi-synthetic 10W30 oil every 500 hours or less it will serve its owner well, they are a great work horse. The white fuel filter is a Donaldson P550048, if there is room, I'd fit a Donaldson P550643 next time it's serviced which is about twice the size of the ''48''. I only put a ''48'' on this engine if there is something in the way that prevents me from fitting a ''643.'' The Racor 500 Sediment Trap Filter has been added and makes the Donaldson filter redundant as it's a 10 micron filter and the Donaldson is a 30 micron. Just take the filter element out of it and use it as a sediment bowl. If you clean the tank out and make sure it's fuelled up with clean fuel everytime, you can do away with the Racor Filter and just put an in line plastic strainer in or cleanable strainer sediment bowl in its place. That Racor Filter assembly is over £300 new, and I'd sell it on Ebay.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for that, I'll pass the info on to my mate who owns it 👍I think he recently serviced it after sorting out the top end, but I'm not sure if he added any of those filters or not. I just got told it had an electrical problem and it was beyond his remit 😂😂😂

[@edmondhung6097]

Just for curiosity, can it run on fully synthetic used in diesel car engine?

[@zedcarr6128]

@@edmondhung6097 Putting full synthetic oil in a generator like this isn't necessary. Just change the oil and filters every 500 hours of running or less, and it will be well serviced throughout its life.

[@deanjenkins8359]

@@BuyitFixit.

[@notyoung]

Thank you. As long as you have a local "wizard", auctions can have good deals ;-) My best power deal was a 5KW Generac generator that the seller on Craig's List (US sell/swap/giveaway site) was asking $150US, but he couldn't keep it running when he tried to start it for me. I thought the throttle linkage looked a bit bent so I offered $80US. I got it home, got things straightened to my eye and I'm still using it 12 years later. Always satisfying to get things running properly ;-).

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍and good spot on the throttle linkage. This was probably the first time I've looked at a faulty generator, I usually repair smaller things and often down to component level such as a FLIR infrared camera multimeter, or Milwaukee power tools.

[@philiptombs9990]

Excellent fix. Logical diagnosis & putting the clues together. 👍🏻

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Philip👍. First time I've worked on one so it was a bit of a learning curve😂

[@MrEwool]

Excellent video, love that kind of work where you follow the fault around and eventually find the problem, funny thing is that the problem is often that someones been doing something they shouldn't 😂

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Morten, yes it was a bit odd. I've no idea why someone would have even been in there? Unless they replaced that board?

[@MrEwool]

@@BuyitFixit yeah only explanation as to why the wires where in the wrong place, goes to show how import remembering to put things back where you took them 😁

[@VintageProjectDE]

That is neat! And reminds me of my commissioning days. And the projects where I was a customer of FG Wilson. :D (Nice factory, if I can trust their FAT pictures) When you showed your first impressions, I wondered if the governor was knackered. Frequency at 54 Hz seemed a bit off. And the voltage was a good indicator to look for the excitation. The frequency probably should be adjusted when used with power tools. 10% may be too fast for angle grinders and circular saws. Slurry pumps probably won't care, though. Your diagnostic method is great! Pulling the throttle gave a bit of a tangent, as speed usually only affects the frequency, but you caught that really fast.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍yes first time looking at a generator, but I learned a lot! and we managed to fix it 🙂

[@mikecass8306]

Well done again Mick, great forensics 😀

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Mike 👍

[@RODALCO2007]

Great analyzing and eventually finding the solution and fix it.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thank you 👍

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Probably bought well, given it started off faulty but didn't need expensive parts to fix. Always tricky following someone else's attempts - adjustment fiddled with and in your case wires connect to incorrect pins - great job !

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍 Yes, it's hard to know what went on with it previously. I've not had much to do with generators prior to this, so it was a good experience as I now know a lot more than I did.

[@ratgreen]

Nice job, love fixing someone elses mistake. Seems to be most of my career. Adjusting the throttle caused the over speed frequency alarm because genny's run at a fixed rpm to get the frequency they require (50hz or 60hz)

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍 Yes it's the first time I've ever looked at one, so it was a little out of my depth, but I have a bit of a knack at looking at problems and working my way through them. Thanks for commenting 🙂

[@johnrauner2515]

Yeah that was the only dumb thing he did. But as he says, this is the first time he's looked at one of these so fair enough. I was sure it would trip the over speed cut out on the controller which it did. But he should have tested the frequency with his meter before trying this because if the frequency was correct then engine speed would not be the problem.

[@Ragnar8504]

@@johnrauner2515 He showed the frequency on the control panel and it was a bit high for my liking (53.something Hz). I'd expect a generator to run above mains frequency but not by almost 4 Hz.

[@Mind_and_BodyMastery]

Love you diagnosis of the system, reminds me of when my father and i diagnose a HVAC & R system. Don't just say its broken, you make sure to see everything is working and go into more detail on maybe it could have been a maintenance adjustment issues.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍Yes it was the first time looking at anything like this, so it was all new to me. I learned a lot so if I ever need to look at another at least I've gained some experience now 🙂

[@rory9174]

Fantastic bit of detective work. How you are able to so quickly determine where to concentrate your effort, I will never know, but you my friend are a cut above the rest.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Rory. Once I knew the voltage from the actual main generator part wasn't correct, I knew the problem had to be around there. At least it didn't require a new board, which is what I had been thinking it might have been.

[@eliotmansfield]

If you know the general principles of how something works, you can isolate the fault by elimination and using the good old mk1 eyeball to spot things like the wiring diagram on the inside of the cover

[@johnrauner2515]

It's just a case of looking for the bleeding obvious based on the clues in front of you. He sniffed about by running it to see what clues it presented and then he followed the obvious one. Which then led to the next. There were only 3 or 4 steps he needed to take to find the fault and fix it. And incorrect voltage suggested to me right at the start somebody had been messing with it who shouldn't have been. To coincidental that all 3 phases had exactly the same wrong voltage. The only way that could happen is because the exciter adjustment or input had gone bad or been tampered with. It looks like this one doesn't have independent voltage regulators for each phase, just a single exciter adjustment for all 3 and I'd assume the board can adjust that according to load, but it looks like that adjustment will effect all 3 phases. So you will need to be wary of load imbalance because the phase with less than the rest will see it's voltage climb. This would also be an excellent stand by generator for the guys house. I know he only has single phase, but it wouldn't be that hard to load balance his house well enough for the generator to handle. Keep the single phase switchboard he has and put contactors in circuit after it to switch the loads off the mains switchboard to the 3 phases of the generator. And it looks like the controller is already set up for automatic running so it can control the switch over to and from generator as the mains go down and come back up again.

[@johnrauner2515]

But if he's going to do this he'll have to fit a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up. Simple enough to do but feed it off the switchboard, not post contactors. That way the trickle charger only runs off the mains. Most likely the generator charges it's battery when running so you don't want that and a trickle charger running at once, it will confuse both of them.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks John 👍yes the battery charges when running. I checked the battery voltage before starting and while running to make sure it was charging and it was around 13.8v when running 👍

[@sparkes2592]

@8:40 your looking a the AVR board. on some older AVR boards they have a capacitor, this stores a small amount of DC power thats used to excite the windings, if the generator has been left standing for a very long time this capacitor may have discharged, this can be fixed by flashing it with a battery. you will need to look up the details of that board to find out what dc voltage is needed.

[@ickipoo]

I think you are thinking of residual magnetism.

[@verhillovalakay5393]

​@@ickipooi think you think about jakoling😂😂😂

[@kareno8634]

That's a Pretty Engine. i believe main issue is All the Electronics added to it. : } *Bravo!*

[@BuyitFixit]

😂😂😂Thanks 👍

[@dunckeroo1987]

One time when reading the diagram paid off.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks👍Yes indeed 😂

[@comeasyouare4545]

Good Vid, and troubleshooting. Always hard to follow someone's mistakes. I think you're right. Some monkeyed with the voltage when they were having a problem with the engine.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@BeastMovies]

We've had to replace 2 AVR's on our diesel gen for this problem. Well done in worker it out. It's an expensive gen when they have the adjust inside, both of our don't and you need to do it manually at the pot. Some have Freq adjust as well. He's had a really good buy there. Diesel gen last forever in you change the oil and air filter regular.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Lee👍My first time looking at a generator so I now know a lot more about them as I usually work on much smaller things like game consoles etc but I'll have a go at pretty much anything. I've repaired quite a lot of stuff I've had no prior experience with 🙂. I know my friend has serviced the generator with new oil filters etc so hopefully it should last him, and I now know about the AVR so if there are voltage issues in the future that will be the first on my list. Thanks again for your comments 👍

[@wisher21uk]

What a great fix goes to show start at the very basic mundane checks and work the way up 😊

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Cucumber Man 👍

[@ernieschatz3783]

Love it! This area is one I have a bit of experience in so when you started playing with the engine speed I thought "oh boy," but you methodically put yourself back on the right path. I thought exciter or VR from the beginning and that's where you ended up. Usually the excitation supply voltage comes from the battery/engine aternator combo, but you hooked up a fresh battery, so that was ruled out.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks, yes my first experience with one and I learned a ton! Like the RPM controls the frequency, and the AVR the voltage. Sometimes it's not about the fix but what you also learn on the journey 👍

[@OH8EFI]

Great video! Straight forward and clear. These kinds of videos are interesting

[@BuyitFixit]

Thank you 👍It's the first time working on a generator, I usually work on small electronic items and often down to component level, you might like the Milwaukee rocket light video I just did where I try to explain my thoughts and how to troubleshoot although I do try and do that on pretty much all of my videos 🙂

[@OH8EFI]

@@BuyitFixit Will watch! These are the bedside kind of videos which are delightful to just watch, even if you don't have your own generator to fix and find reference for 🙃

[@BuyitFixit]

@@OH8EFI I just searched your callsign, I like your PI setup! I recently did a tear down and some poking around a rs41 radiosonde too :)

[@OH8EFI]

@@BuyitFixit Ah lovely! Thank you! I'm personally quite far away to fetch any RS41s but will do a run for it some time soon. Gonna try and repurpose it for ham radio stuff possible.

[@BuyitFixit]

I haven't repurposed it or anything but I do show how to get into the hidden setup menus with a USB >TTL converter with the password. I also have a ham licence although I've not used it much. I only have a 10w license and we live in a valley. I did have a play with WSPR which worked and I hit Australia and Antarctica :)

[@davidquirk8097]

It you ever get a similar call out head straight to the AVR and check the configuration. I've seen quite a few sets where the actual configuration hasn't been as supplied for whatever reason. When installed a lot of the larger sets are 'tuned' to site conditions. Stamford is the lower cost line of alternators from Newage (Cmmins Generator Technologies) but they're still quite a bit better quality than some of the other brands out there.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for that, at the time I wasn't even aware of the AVR or how these devices worked, I learned a lot from the experience so I know better now if I have to look at a similar device again 👍 The stuff I normally work on is more board level stuff, I recently did a video on a control panel for a similar generator..

[@mrjsv4935]

Cool device, nice fault finding and fix :)

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Mr JSV👍

[@Mymatevince]

Great fault finding Mick 👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Vince 🙂👍

[@darrenwardell3079]

Brilliant, Man i bet he was chuffed when you told him👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍yes 🙂

[@599miata]

I am shure your friend is going to be happy.

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes he is 🙂👍

[@quanchyplimp]

Sweet!, I love these kind of fixes.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍I now know a lot more about generators now too 🙂

[@fouadmida2230]

good work it's hard working on things that has No manual + prior fixes ...

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍Yes, also I've never worked on such a device, but I learned a lot, so it was good experience 🙂

[@mart43]

Great video as always😊.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thank you 👍

[@xzytqweo3538]

Awesome! You are the man!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@jamesmbui]

Thanks. Just learnt something new.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks, yes I did too 🙂👍

[@johnhousego9218]

Top job enjoyed that.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks John 👍

[@cajuncoinhunter]

Nicely done Mon Ami ........ That is a sweeeet generator , diesel at that .... My cousin has a 22K or 24K to power his house during an outage , we get those when hurricanes hit ... His is natural gas and it does a self start and checkup once a week ...... Your mates generator is super quiet ...... I'm pretty sure that when you increase RPM's the frequency goes up , at least on the portables here in the states they do.... Take Care Mon Ami ....

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Cajun 👍yes frequency is via engine speed as I found out when revving it 🙂

[@christophermarshall5765]

Nice fix!!.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thank you 👍

[@seymourpro6097]

It's typical of things that happened years ago, crooks used to make a generator "not work" so that they could buy them cheaply at auction, then magically repair it and sell it for a "list price" type of price. Well diagnosed

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍Yes I too think that is a very plausible conclusion of what happened.

[@johnhammond3482]

Well done another great fix bigger than the treadmill whats next this is a great channel

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks John, got a 3d printer but waiting of parts, couple more Milwaukee items, a n expensive Harmon Kardon bluetooth speaker, and whatever else happens inbetween 😂😂😂

[@baldfatgit1]

Well what cant you fix? Thats my question OUTSTANDING repair NUFF SAID Again :) Steve Bristol.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Steve 👍yes I'll have a go at pretty much anything 🙂it's already not working after all, so if I can't fix it the end result is pretty much the same.

[@Bianchi77]

Nice video, well done, thanks :)

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks :)

[@danielson101]

Good Job!!

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@johnwalker890]

Good job.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks John 👍

[@patrickd9551]

Considering the burned wires, I would advice your friend to replace all of the wires that have been "repaired", do not rely on crimp/solder connectors for a long term solution. It's just a small lengths of wire and an investment well spend to eliminate potential electrical problems in the future. The amount of hours I wasted fixing my cars electric problems throughout the years because the previous owners decided to use the cheapest crimp on connectors or not crimping adequately. Just go through the entire machine, tighten every screw terminal and ensure every wire has proper ferrules (if not, add them). Recently I've rebuilt a star delta starter for a 6KW motor and halfway through we just decided to rewire the entire thing because we already were already more then halfway replacing wires anyway. Correct colors, ensuring proper diagrams. Just peace of mind really, simply because I don't want to re-repairing it over and over again.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Patrick 👍Good advice.

[@uniteddrones7626]

14:23 was a wow moment for me😆

[@craigr306]

i enjoyed this one MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Craig 👍

[@SeanDE2009]

What will you not try and fix? love your videos and level of detail and understanding even fixing bad circuit designs#inspired #subscribed

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍honestly I'll have a go at anything that's broken. I may not be successful all of the time, but it's a learning curve. I now know a lot more about generators that I did and I would now be a lot more confident working on one, and understand them a lot better now 👍

[@rival_son]

Controller looks like a rebranded Deep Sea 7310 Controller. Very common and pretty comprehensive but might help for fault finding in the future.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Rival Son. It was the first time looking at anything like this so I was a little out of my depth, but I learned a lot so it was a good experience. I usually repair PCBs down to component level like the Milwaukee impact driver I just repaired. Thanks again for your comment 👍

[@rival_son]

@@BuyitFixit I use these controllers on a weekly basis and maintain generators but this was a fault I hadn't seen. Nice work 👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Rival Son👍

[@josephneale10215]

nice fix

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Joseph👍

[@chrisbartlett6022]

Good job

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Chris 👍

[@senffabrik4903]

I love your english :D

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@sparkes2592]

@4:10 it should be 230 if your looking at phase to neutral , and 415 phase to phase. you where looking at phase to phase

[@mehere8299]

Great work, but I'm cracking up at the "DO NOT JET WASH" sign. Someone must have done it once.

[@BuyitFixit]

Or more than once 😂😂😂

[@roybm3124]

Respect for that battery.

[@BuyitFixit]

You want to try lifting it 😂😂😂

[@roybm3124]

@@BuyitFixit 😅 I have lifted them but with 2 people and a dolly haha.

[@BuyitFixit]

@roybm3124 😂😂😂😂

[@ralphj4012]

Well done Hopefully a bargain, considering it wasn't working originally. Many people (including me) wouldn't have touched that with a barge pole. A shame that the display wasn't more visible but such things are a pain to film. The do not jet wash label made me laugh, no sht Watson.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Ralph, yes it the display didn't come out very well on the video, bit of a shame...

[@johnwaby4321]

Always take a photo or do a drawing or mark them of how the wires are connected before you start pulling them off Thats what the first person should have done 👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Totally agree, I did exactly that when repairing a 3D printer recently (video later today).

[@cheapasstech]

Always cut circuit breaker before powering down! Will limit any abnormal voltages/frequencies to enter connected equipment - switching power supplies usually don’t handle that well.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good tip 👍I usually do this with my small 5kva backup generator I use at home. I also run it up first and wait for the voltage/frequency to stabilise before switching the breaker to the load on.

[@jonka1]

Look in the menus for a frequency indication. It's Very important that it is 50 Hz. Any less and you can have a bad day with anything running from it. Your DMM may have a frequency readout in its menus.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Jonka, I'll have a check the next time I'm over at his farm. I think he has a couple of more things for me to look at 👍

[@gregorypirog6134]

Good troubleshooting. But I cringed when you measured with a probe in each hand. If something goes wrong, the Voltage will be across your chest/ heart. Safer to use an Alligator Clip and keep one hand behind your back. N'est-ce pas? Gregory/ The Pigeon Meister

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Gregory, and good point. I didn't expect it to be a problem with the actual generator itself and was hoping it was something to do with the display / control panel as that's the sort of stuff I'm more used to working on. I was not really prepared for working on higher voltage stuff, although I was being extra careful you are very much correct. I could have borrowed some welding gauntlets or rubber gloves perhaps which might have helped minimise any problems. Thank you again for commenting👍 Best wishes Mick

[@Z-Ack]

Needs the droop adjusted for load and set in auto to see its self adjusting limiting..

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍I might have a look next time I'm over there, as I might do a video on a baler he has that appears to have a CAN bus problem.

[@drorhaz]

Wow sometimes its amazing how so small problem can cause such a big issue.. that could be solved by the company by marking those wires location by color or different connectors like "idiotproof" ones. Very NICE BIFI 👏

[@BuyitFixit]

Very true! I'm still not sure why someone had even been in there and even thought that someone had purposely tried to sabotage it, possibly to get it cheaper at the auction...still a bit of a mystery.

[@johnlemmey7698]

No no no You can't make it "idiotproof" for idiots just get smarter.

[@einfelder8262]

The manual fine adjuster probably did not come from the factory. It looks like an optional extra added later, it does not match the "look and feel" of the main unit.

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes agree, I think on the plate I removed with the diagram it had *optional or it might have been on the datasheet I downloaded. I think a link is supposed to be fitting across those pins if it's not installed.

[@ovidiufrasinel3185]

yes, that manual trimmer adjustment is not necessary. The manual for the avr you downloaded should have a procedure for tuning the avr

[@tomm856]

Before retiring I fixed electronic equipment and remember fault finding a power supply that seemed to have a short on the output because of the very low voltage. However, I always check previous work done on a board just in case, and sure enough, someone had put a 100k ohm resister in the circuit instead of 100 ohm resister - must of been colour blind reading the value of the failed resistor lol.

[@BuyitFixit]

Or possibly the original was burnt and they could only make out the first 2 bands? I did a repair a few videos back on a switch mode PSU turned out that the main IC had failed.

[@jozsiolah1435]

Bad battery is the cause of shutdowns of all devices today made. You have to refresh that battery by discharging it with a car bulb.

[@markaxworthy7564]

I think someone at the auction might have wanted it extra cheap so sabotaged it so it never sold and it would be sold for scrap.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Mark, we had been thinking the same 👍

[@inothome]

Cute little 19kVA genny you got there. That controller is a re-branded Deep Sea DSE7310, if you were interested in more info on it. They have the manuals free online. Of course, that is just for the controller, the manual isn't for the generator itself. Easy fix there, either someone replaced stuff and hooked it up wrong, or someone at the auction was trying to get it cheap and purposely moved the volt pot leads. Happens often. And as you found out, RPM on a generator just controls frequency, the excitation controls voltage when running stand alone. When paralleled, the volt pot controls VARs, but I doubt that one can be paralleled anyway. but with smaller "inverter" style generators, the inverter controls frequency, but any larger real generator the RPM control frequency.

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for the info, it's the first time I've really had anything to do with generators so it was all new to me. Totally agree that someone either put the wires in the wrong place or tried to get it cheap at the auction. Thanks again for commenting :)

[@JohnWatkinsUK]

We use generators like this at work (on comms sites) for backup. The USB port connects to a PC and you can download/run Deep Sea Electronic Configuration Suite to configure various parameters and setup the alarm dry contacts etc...

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for that John, I was wondering what it was for. I'm quite curious about things such as that. I had a solar inverter that I repaired and needed to adjust a setting but the company was most unhelpful so I resorted to reverse engineering the software and wrote my own service password generator 😂 I did a video on that too.

[@Bozatli]

👍

[@AstrosElectronicsLab]

Never overlook someone else (even yourself) wiring something up backwards.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good point 👍

[@tonyfrewin4822]

You can make a temporary load bank with a dustbin full of water and three probes suspended in the water and add some salt gradually. Great way to really test the output capability of all three phases.

[@BuyitFixit]

I don't fancy trying it 😂it sounds pretty dodgy.

[@tonyfrewin4822]

@@BuyitFixit I did it back in the 80s and it worked very well. Amazing how quickly you can boil the water. I don’t think there was any health and safety back then 😂. Thanks for the video.

[@dragonfireproductions790]

so putting a resistance to the droop ct would've caused the genset to do nothing as it's relying on induced voltages but it does decrease voltage as the load increases to prevent the other genset from damaging the other biggest indication of droop being used are the frequency fluctuations

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks for that. I've not had much experience with generator but love learning new stuff 👍

[@dragonfireproductions790]

@@BuyitFixit smallenginemechanic is a great channel to learn more about diesel generators

[@dragonfireproductions790]

@@BuyitFixit james condon for gasoline generators

[@BuyitFixit]

@@dragonfireproductions790 Thanks👍yes a friend mentioned his channel to me yesterday 🙂

[@dragonfireproductions790]

@@BuyitFixit those 2 are great learning resources

[@tubeDude48]

Engine speed controls the Hertz, the Regulator board controls the voltage.

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, at the time I didn't know but I learned a lot as I got on with it 👍

[@billyhorton5779]

50 cycle is 1500 rpm, 60 cycle is 1800 with a four pole generator. You can get practically any voltage you want by rearranging the stator leads, per the wiring diagram. Then adjust engine speed up or down to get correct HZ. Great video!

[@produKtNZ]

interesting to see how only when all 3 phases are reading the same voltage that it trips

[@StaticVapour590]

49.9Hz or 50.1Hz is acceptable on it, 53Hz is really bad

[@joejohn5398]

I’m not sure if it’s just my years of experience but, the first error for under volt and seeing a non factory pot you didn’t think to check that first? Careful, not all sense wires are accurate I always use my meter for output.

[@BuyitFixit]

First time I've ever looked at a generator, I normally repair electronics down to component level (check some of my other videos). I wasn't sure how the voltage regulation worked or if it was a problem with the control panel, but as you say experience helps greatly. I was actually hoping it was problem on the panel as that's the sort of thing I'd normally work on. If I ever look at another now, I've got a lot more idea and gained experience so I'm sure I'd be able to diagnose the problem a lot easier 👍

[@danielson101]

if not fixed yet,we have had similar problem with 4 cyl diesel and it wouldnt work after sitting long time 1 year, and i ended up getting a 140 $ Canadian electronics board on back side of display and that fixed it!, hed to set pot. for output voltage on all 3 legs?

[@BuyitFixit]

I didn't know who made the controller, but a couple of other people have mentioned similar. Thanks for commenting!

[@christopherleubner6633]

A lot of these generators need a minimum load of 5 to 15 percent, especially 3 phase types. Also they dont like it if power on the phases is imbalanced. Was pretty amusing but not very surprizing that the issue was sombody trying to fix it previously 😂

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, I guess someone was trying to get it cheap at auction! It was the first time I've ever looked at something like that as I normally work on PCBs and such. I learned a lot though so it was a good experience. I since looked at a control panel for one of these which was more the type of work I normally do. I managed to extract the pin code and figure out how to change the hours etc if you haven't seen that one.

[@christopherleubner6633]

@BuyitFixit yup I've seen people do that and it's shameful.

[@gjordan417]

Do you do pond filters too?

[@BuyitFixit]

Not sure what you mean buddy?

[@sparkes2592]

@4:50 the engine speed should be 1500 RPM, while you carried out the second run up you scrolled the panel and it showed 53hz, this means its actually running slightly to fast. this can be expected for a generator of this size as it will have a very basic fuel system. as the load on the generator is increased the engine spped will slow down a small amout and get nearer to 1500 RPM / 50hz

[@GFY_FOAD]

That's an odd Hz being from Canada we run 1800 rpm 60hz.

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes it's should be 50Hz in the UK. It was suggested that it would probably drop when the generator was under load.

[@GFY_FOAD]

@@BuyitFixit England - drive wrong side of road - different Voltage and HZ, toast only one side of bread - 😁

[@BuyitFixit]

@GFY_FOAD 😂😂😂😂

[@marcyd2007]

Holy shit Mick, is there no limit to the size of something you'll buy in the hope you can fix it!? At the rate your stuff is increasing in size in about a year your video titles will be like 'Boing 747 - Purchased on eBay - Spares or Repairs - Not starting due to multiple error codes from one of the engines and the landing gear'. Awesome work fella, as always 🙂

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks Marc. The generator isn't mine but a friends. He bought it at auction about a year ago and asked me ages ago if I'd have a look at it, and I only got round to that last week 😂😂

[@BuyitFixit]

Just thinking, the biggest thing I fixed recently was an electrical problem on a Fendt tractor. I think it was around 9 months back or so. Video is on here too 🙂

[@hillppari]

phase and neutral should be 230volts. only silly british voltage is 240. pumping out way too much power and voltage in the silly isles

[@BuyitFixit]

I wish I had 240! Mine is regular 250 or higher! You can see it on a couple of my videos where I've measured the input voltage to the thing I've been repairing.

[@davidclark3603]

Wow! That's taking a risk isn't it? Buying something like that from an auction! When things like that appear in auction as faulty, they're not selling it at all? They're getting shut of it!!!!!

[@BuyitFixit]

Yeah, he took a risk but he's quite good with mechanical things, and he knows me for electronics / electrical issues. Looks like his gamble paid off 🙂

[@jayw900]

As soon as I saw the jumpers I thought that might be the issue.

[@ArthurTugwell]

“Wyaas”😂😂

[@BuyitFixit]

Yep, that's what we call them in the Northeast 😂😂😂

[@giuseppe896]

Have worked on generators for over 30 years, watching this is verrrry painful and dangerous for him

[@BuyitFixit]

I suppose if I were watching you trying to replace surface mount components the size of a grain of rice on a PCB or reverse engineer the password for a solar inverter, then that may also be very painful, but I'd still give you credit for trying. I've never worked on generators before and don't have 30 years experience unlike yourself. It may have taken you a few minutes to repair it but aftet all I did get it working..

[@giuseppe896]

It's not the how fast or long it takes to fix but more of a sistamatic troubleshooting once the problem has been identified. We once had a tech at our shop working on a cat generator and just grabbed the throttle and went wot just like you did, luckily there was only 1 thing damaged...costly oops@@BuyitFixit

[@audibell]

Does it take red diesel you can't buy it anymore can the battery can fit a vw golf what engine is installed can't be just a loss cable

[@BuyitFixit]

I'm sure my farmer friend has a large bowser of red diesel for his tractor... I'm not too sure on the engine in it.

[@ncooper8438]

Use a phone to photo the cables and settings before dismantling, easy.

[@BuyitFixit]

Agree, I did that recently with a 3D printer I was looking at. We were wondering if this could have been intentionally done and someone was trying to get it cheap or hoped it wouldn't sell at the auction.

[@danielson101]

to many revolutions when you did by hand?

[@mfx1]

Black smoke is common for a generator that hasn't been run for a while, it usually burns off eventually so they might have wasted a fair bit of time with unnecessary engine work.

[@Thermoelectric7]

I suspect it was more likely the generator had been run often at low load. Diesels want to be run hard, running it with minimal load for long periods of time causes cylinder glazing and exhaust slobbering, both would cause smoke. Happens pretty often as generators are usually quite oversized

[@BuyitFixit]

I think he said something about re-seating the valves? But don't quote me on that one.

[@Thermoelectric7]

@@BuyitFixit I believe he did, and good chance that had to happen too. Probably a bunch of carbon built up getting in the way if it was never run hot/hard enough to burn it all off. In theory if they had been able to get the engine to run (even poorly) and just load a bunch, it probably would have came good eventually. Pulling it apart was definitely the better approach though, if you actually want the generator to use and don't know the history.

[@mar-tin702]

Lol the accent 😂😂

[@BuyitFixit]

Lol, just the way the 'Geordie' accent is I guess 😂😂(Northeast England where I grew up)

[@Popeyes66]

James Condon is sweating now.

[@BuyitFixit]

I didn't know what you meant, searched the name and got some Australian Actor 😂😂😂😂😂 . It wasn't until today when someone mentioned a youtube channel that fixes generators that I clicked on 👍

[@Popeyes66]

Maybe it was my fault for being presumptuous . I thought a great brain like yours would have crossed paths with James's mind at some point in time .😁

[@BuyitFixit]

Thanks 👍

[@danielson101]

power is good

[@sylar5373]

Looks ex hire, I’ve seen this kind of thing where the techs at the hire depot sabotage the gear, write it off aiming the alternator is blown and buy it back from auction cheap knowing the fault 2 wires and and a trim pot. Seen it don’t with 35k forktrucks, claimed bad battery and they were auction dumbed buying them back for 2k and reselling them for 25k!

[@BuyitFixit]

That was pretty much along the same conclusion that we came to. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@jacquesvanniekerk2896]

Adjust the AVR

[@AnIdiotAboard_]

Using a 3 phase genny to run single phase loads.??? Dude i cant think of anything more dangerous, if those phases arnt balanced, it will destroy everything connected to it, along with the genny itself and take the crankshaft out with it... Most SMALL Gennys like this, can be re-wired (find the manual) for single phase output at half its rated power!

[@BuyitFixit]

I'm not sure what he's going to be using it for, I know he has a 3 phase pillar drill and a 3 phase lathe but only a single phase supply at the farm.

[@AnIdiotAboard_]

@@BuyitFixit u can run single phase loads it's not not safe without carem each phase must be loaded within a few hundred watts of each other. After that bad shit starts happening, keep pushing it vibrations caused by the magnets will destroy the Genny and as it locks up it will snap the end of the crank shaft. U can also get 3 phase to single phase inverters. These are perfect for single phase deployments of genbys

[@Diesel-generator-channel]

Dear Sir #PowerLearningChannel here expert in Diesel generators

[@karl7796]

You should be wearing electrical gloves when measuring voltages at that level.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good point 👍I had been thinking it was a bit sketchy.

[@BuyitFixit]

Good point 👍I had been thinking it was a bit sketchy.

[@karl7796]

@@BuyitFixit Remember one flash and your ash.

[@ronwade5646]

Earth Leakage is what we call, Ground Fault

[@BuyitFixit]

Ah yes, I've heard of GFI which I guess is what we call a RCD 🙂

[@dindian5823]

AVR or alternator error? It could be the alarm settings in controller

[@BuyitFixit]

I was hoping it was something like a fault with the control panel as PCB's and electronics are the type of thing that I usually repair, seems someone had previously messed with it and wired up the AVR wrong.

[@dindian5823]

Yes my reply was before the end of video.Many times mechanical problems are reflected as electrical issues

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, that's why thought it could have been something with the engine speed or such as that's what my friend had messed with. No one had touched the AVR which I didn't even know how they regulated at the time, but overall I learned some new stuff that I previously didn't know and that's half of the fun for me 🙂. Thanks for commenting 👍

[@dindian5823]

If its speed frequency will change and it's governor controller issue. If its voltage it's AVR or alternator diode issue, dropp ct

[@Heretic_Dezign]

That's not a "rather large generator" that's just a baby, now if it was filling a 40ft container I might consider it a large generator

[@BuyitFixit]

Large is a relative term, it's large compared to my 1000w suitcase generators or even my 5kva diesel backup home one, but not as large as you say as a one filling a 40ft container 😂😂😂

[@combatclifton]

It’s quite funny watching someone who clearly has no idea how a genset works. Doesn’t even know how to operate a DSC Panel. Revving it up to adjust the voltage 🤦‍♂️ they run at 1500rpm

[@BuyitFixit]

Agree, first time I've looked at one. I would have been more in my comfort zone repairing the control panel down to component level, which is the kind of stuff that I normally work on, but at least I've gained some knowledge on how these devices work now 🙂

[@user-gq7hb2um8j]

Don't fuck with 3 phase unless you understand what your doing

[@lewiskelly14]

Recording of the screen could be much better

[@BuyitFixit]

Yes, it didn't come out so great on the video for some reason.