Yamaha EF3000iSE Inverter Generator (Part 3) - Repair

I brought home this trashed Yamaha Inverter generator over a year ago. It would sometimes make power. Power output and throttle control was inconsistent. Half the sine wave was missing. After extensive testing, I determined it needed a new inverter module. The good news is Yamaha sells the module still for this 20+ year old machine. Bad news, it was priced at $1,200 which is more then this machine is worth. Eventually the first two videos made enough revenue to subsidize this repair. Lets see if I bought the right part.
Part 1: • Yamaha EF3000iSE Inver...
Part 2: • Yamaha EF3000iSE Inver...
Part 3: (This video)
Generator Model: EF3000iSE (7WL-28197-E0)
Control Unit (Inverter Module) Part Numbers:
7WL-8A210
7WL-8A210-10-00
7WL-8A210-16-00
Visit My Amazon Store:
www.amazon.com/shop/jamescondon
Amprobe THD Meter: amzn.to/3SYK4hI
Oscilloscope: amzn.to/3YDlqEh
Kill-A-Watt Meter: amzn.to/3NtkGwY
I use Harbor Freight Super Heavy Duty Degreaser in my ultrasonic cleaner.

[@jesterr7133]

Holding on to the generator until the video paid for the part is genius. You basically get the part for free, sell the generator, and everything you make from here is profit. This generator is valuable enough to wait on. That is a great idea. I really need to get my channel started. I have done some filming, but I don't have a great camera, computer, or the proper editing software yet. I have enough machines already to keep me busy for a year or so. I really need to get started.

[@jcondon1]

Definitely get started. In the beginning I did not have the right equipment and you can tell from my earlier videos. But you upgrade as you go.

[@tarstarkusz]

Only a youtuber ever thinks about that. The cheapest cameras today are "good enough" YOU are FAR, FAR more important than your equipment. I could give you a million dollar camera and if you don't pay attention to things like lighting and angle, all that million dollar gear will not help. I can give you a low end, but OK camera and if you do everything physical correctly, nobody will ever be the wiser. Mustie1 is a great example. The guy buys his cameras at flea markets and uploads in 1080 or 720 and his video is great. NEVER a complaint from me. The computer is really where you need the power. But I am pretty sure it is FAR more dependent on your video card than the processor. Also, it doesn't take awesome equipment for audio, but it is incredibly easy to screw up audio;.

[@timhvac6869]

When you do let me know I'll watch ya.

[@GapRecordingsNamibia]

As a low end you-tuber I can tell you it is all about the content, I have had many camera setups to suit budget but because of my location I can't earn money from YT as the partner program does not support my country, I do not have a very high subscriber count but that does not bother me..... I am here to teach and that is it. It is all about your mindset. Just do what your goal is and forget the rest, those that like will watch and if the content is good they will sub.... Just get a decent lapel mic and for the most part you can use your cell phone to video with, most of todays cell phone cameras have more than enough resolution for the normal person to make 1080p videos with.......

[@abitofeverything1234]

I like the fact that he goes into little details that help viewers with their own DIY. Thanks James, glad I found your channel!

[@RiverratGoRVing]

James, this is why I like viewing your post. You always give cost analysis and part availability when you find the issue on repair. Keep posting as I do enjoy them on your findings and repair. Michael

[@timhvac6869]

What's crazy is he held on to the generator till the videos paid for the part. What's even crazier is now that it's fixed he can sell it and still make money on this thing even after it's gone great job and awesome videos thank you for all you do and keep us entertained.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks! It was worth fixing.

[@mark111943]

Well done sir for putting some (the) YT money back into this generator, it’s a shame to see so many scrapped.

[@TopCat2021]

YOU Did it ! Another dead generator brought back into service,love your videos, keep up the great work.

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@Chuck_in_CT]

James... Kudos for you on reinvesting your KZbin money for great content instead of just buying beer!... Thanks again

[@iandennis7836]

Another fix, ta very much. I'm glad that our views helped out here. I do find that some channels really push merch etc which annoys me (hubnut are you listening). You just provide excellent content, don't ask for anything and these vids are magic. Thanks again Jim.

[@paultice610]

It might’ve took a while but glad you saved it. Very nice machine. Great video keep up the good work.

[@Rorschach1024]

That is the cleanest sine wave I've ever seen from a genset.

[@MrTonyPiscatelle]

Seems maybe Yamaha is gunning to be in the number one spot for power equipment eh ? Nice job James

[@DeadKoby]

Good solution to get the part. I HATE trashing things that still have plenty of life in them.

[@drunkingsailor2359]

I like shiny stuff Jim, it's easy to shine up the other black parts. I use Aerospace 303, or the automotive protectant called Back to Black.

[@AW-Services]

What a sweet sounding generator and very fast acting AVR. Great job 👏

[@tristanschaper281]

I'm so glad to see this Part 3 with a replacement inverter board! I was wondering if you would ever locate a used board to get this running again. This model Yamaha was rare to begin with.... and now OLD and RARE. Brilliant idea with the revenue to order a new board! Great fix. That Amprobe with THD is awesome for the price too. I might have to get that.

[@jcondon1]

Most affordable THD meter I have come across.

[@tarstarkusz]

If this was 20 years old, it would date back to 2003. I left a comment on video number 2 of this generator saying that if a cap is physically damaged it is almost certainly electrically damaged. 2003 is smack dab in the bad cap era. This great affected the electronics industry. You saw premature capacitor failures very widespread. I have fixed MANY computers from the era. I was fixing them back when they weren't obsolete. I don't know if it was widespread outside of consumer electronics (or affects such large caps), but if it was, that could be the reason. It was very widespread and not a brand (of the equipment) was spared.

[@Ram14250]

Nice Gen-Set! I love Honda's and Yamaha's. They are very quiet and "usually" a trouble free machine if taken care of. Well done James! Looking forward the the EU2000 Honda repair!!

[@kaboom4679]

Very clean output from that unit . I am on the fence with the sub economic repair tho . For the typical owner , KZbin revenue is not a realistic option , so you are fortunate in that regard . No surprise though . Your content is very good and your troubleshooting skills are top drawer .

[@redbudestate865]

if it were mine, and I knew it's operational history, and a good used replacement is around $900, making my own good used replacement where I knew the most expensive part was brand knew, I'd do the repair. For someone repairing and reselling, makes no sense to repair.

[@bertgrau3934]

@@redbudestate865 This gentleman does repair and sell.

[@redbudestate865]

Thanks Bert!

[@jimsbagels1991]

Nice knowing all this stuff instead heading for the landfill. Really sucks Yamaha charge so much for a spare inverter!

[@jasonburguess]

Random free advice: if you plan on running your generator in temperatures below freezing in an area without a lot of dust or dirt, remove your air filter, and your crankcase breather tube from your intake, the breather vents the warm crankcase fumes from the bottom of the engine, but there is always moisture inside the crankcase unless it is only serviced and oil added in extremely dry conditions, 99% of the time there is moisture in the air during the oil addi g or changing procedure, this let's water in tiny amounts into the crankcase, as the generator heats up this turns to water vapor, and when sucked into the intake(the coldest part of the generator when operating in sub freezing temperatures) it condenses on the air filter foam and can cause carburetor icing problems whe running, and then after the generator is shut down, this freezes inside the foam air filter and the next time it is needed, the air filter is a frozen block of ice, which can cause lots of running problems and voltage output fluctuations. General rule is this: if there's no dust or dirt present in the location of the generator, then the air filter assembly and breather tube will cause more problems than they will solve. P.s. put a small disposable cup or jar under the disconnected breather tube to keep oil from spilling around the generator, this is usually clean oil and can be reused in the crankcase unless heavily contaminated by water which will present itself as a white residue in the oil. Just thought I'd pass that tidbit of advice along from the frozen north of Alaska to you and your viewers. Love the videos, keep em coming!!

[@jcondon1]

Good tip. I recently had to run my generator in single digits and was waiting for the carb to ice up. Some models allow you to adjust the air pickup to recirculate hot air coming off the head or exhaust pipe to prevent that. Most do not have that.

[@jasonburguess]

@@jcondon1 even that option does basically nothing at -40f. Lol.

[@a-k-jun-1]

​@@jasonburguessI can relate to that for sure, I'm in Central Alaska as well.

[@brianladd4974]

Mr. Condom I wished you lived closer to Texas I have a Honda that needs some work 1 leg is gone you would be the only one I would trust to fix it. I love the videos keep up the GREAT work.

[@andrewgrace4410]

Great work James, my heart dropped when that inverter didn't work. Hope it finds a home 😊

[@8180634]

As a computer engineer (and owner of the same generator), I would love to know what went wrong with the original inverter board and try to fix it. Though getting through that potting material could be a biblical level lesson in patience and persistence.

[@jcondon1]

I was hoping to do the same. I actually sent the original failed inverter to a subscriber who wanted to depot it. He went radio silent shortly after he received it. Guess it did not go well.

[@8180634]

Darn! Maybe he will surprise us all with a reply here, even if it's to let us know that he got stuck at depotting.

[@throwbo]

@@jcondon1 The key is not to depot the whole thing but to try to go after likely suspects like the large capacitors or the MOSFETs. That's much more doable than depotting the whole board.

[@crabmanrockefeller9117]

I love the fact it did not end up in the land fill. That sir is my favorite part of all your videos - and you recycle parts when you can, ALSO a massive plus. Love ALL your videos!

[@wildefox1478]

That's great you were able to get a new inverter module, this generator lives again, nice work James!

[@iamnoone.]

A year in the making and turned out fine 🙂 😍 😌

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Modern AC inverters create a high voltage half - waveform followed by 4 Mosfets in a "H" bridge to invert the polarity of alternating half cycles to produce the normal AC output. Looks like your original inverter module just needed two replacement FETs which probably blew open circuit although getting to them through the potting compound would not have been easy. Maybe $10 ?

[@jcondon1]

That was the worst parts about buying a new one was knowing it was a cheap repair most likely if only the potting was not there.

[@dave_bob]

Nice to see persistence has it's rewards.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

Great job James on the repair! Way to close the loop on it! I too would have been wanting to fix it even though it was very costly. The THD is extremely good, but I be curious to the transistor MOSFET noise. That's up in the 20K to 50K Hertz range sometimes higher. When you get more familiar with your oscilloscope it has an FFT function where you can see the entire frequency spectrum. Be curious to see if there are any noise spikes up in that high range. It should be pretty low considering the filtering to where it won't be a problem. That's one of the things I'm going to do with my Yamaha EF 2000 IS at some point.

[@Remowylliams]

I have an old Chicago 5500 W generator that was given to me by a friend about 7 years ago. They couldn't get it to run. But a little clean up and I got it running. It's been helping me through power problems, even 10 days without power one time. The last time I had it running 3 days after a power outage and the power became erratic. Of course when a major storm comes through a wide area. All the generators vanish at stores. But I located a 7.5KW Predator Inverter machine and finished the outage using it. The power was super clean. But I had no idea how clean. I'd been looking though your videos for a inverter gen repair and here it finally is. This makes my choice in picking such a machine up a winner. Thanks so much for seeing this through. As for the old generator, your videos have inspired me to see if I can restore it to full operation. Only thing better than having one generator is having 2 in case one breaks down. Cheers!

[@freddyrosenberg9288]

12:13 you can restore plastics like those with a heat gun. Run it just over the surface until you see the plastic turn shinny and keep moving it like a paint gun. You can experiment first on the inside. Clean it very well with acetone or lacquer thinner first.

[@somerandomguy3868]

I'm glad you repaired this unit, especially considering you could have easily parted it out and probably made more money in the process, excellent job James

[@jcondon1]

Parting it out would be the best way to make money. I like fixing them when possible.

[@seastacker8582]

I’ve got the 3500 iseb version of this. I believe it’s identical other than it uses the battery for a 500w “boost”, thus the b in the model. We use primarily for our camper and that boost works well for a/c start up load. We also use it for back up at the house. Does everything except run the 240v well which we have a bigger unit for. Really come to love the yami generators after owning this one for a while.

[@berettaguy7445]

I wondered how the "boost" was accomplished...thank you.

[@donaldfontana1178]

Thank you for the explanation ,I will have to read it a couple of times to let it sink in but thank you .

[@r8118830]

You are a real die hard James. I thought that you had given up on this one. I took another look at the previous two videos for this about 3 months ago. I gave some consideration to what else you could do to this machine without breaking it down or paying the full price to repair it. It did occur to me that it might make a good portable DC output machine rated at say 300V dc at 8 - 10A. Machines like this are mostly switch mode based. These SMPS ones sell at a pretty penny. This would be an old fashioned linear one. Ah Well it was a good idea.

[@brianwood5220]

You've done a marvellous job once again James, it's nice to see it in running condition. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertmailhos8159]

That part is $1200 dollar's ouch that is expensive glad you got it to work on this machine

[@jcondon1]

Yamaha parts are not cheap.

[@robertmailhos8159]

@@jcondon1 that is the truth about that matter young man 👍😎

[@ddblairco]

thank you James. brought another one back to life.

[@myrandabrown]

Thank you for not making me cringe and using flush cutters to cut the tyraps. 😊

[@BUTTEWORKS]

Always learning something new each time I come over here.

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

Nice.. Glad you were able to get the part to fix it !

[@bushy0299]

I was kind of hoping that Yamaha might have come to the party and supplied you with the part but ah well. Great video. Don't stop what you're doing ❤

[@larrywolken9215]

Great Job, Jim! Thanks for perservering.

[@StevenEverett7]

I just watched all three videos in this series and was pleased that you finally got it running. Congratulations on your persistence James!

[@Petesworkshop2225]

Can't believe you found that yellow replacement! So awesome.

[@waynec3121]

A very nice series of videos, I went back and watched all.

[@tonysteeleabc]

I use these videos to help me sleep - it’s a complement. Thank you

[@dlschgo]

You can tell Yamaha is quality in every aspect. I learned something.

[@wrangler6977]

Excellent video and having the expertise to test, diagnosis the problem and come up w/ a cost effective solution. Glad you have the equipment to show the THD and sine wave to confirm that this unit will be safe to run sensitive electronics. Keep up the great videos.

[@JR-bj3uf]

Your perseverance is commendable.

[@martyb3783]

Great video as always. Those Yamaha gensets are awsome. My son has two of them and uses them in his business and they are very reliable and great quality. Thanks for making this video!

[@jcondon1]

You get what you pay for

[@erik_dk842]

@@jcondon1 At least sometimes. You rarely get more than you pay for

[@richardphelan8414]

Good informative video Jim That sine wave was was close to perfect that would have been a great generator for a ham operator

[@pc5569]

Thank you James. Looks to be a very nice generator for a customer. The Hertz and voltage were steady and great THD values.

[@GapRecordingsNamibia]

Again James another good save, well done mate, very well done!

[@jdamx_0000]

so glad this channel has grown as much so you can finish projects. congrats on 100K subscribers! cheers

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@dquick282]

Yeah James you might have gave me the motivation to finally buy one as well. Was really excited to see a finish to this repair series. I basically have the same generator with a bad control board but the replacement cost always stopped me. Board got damaged from falling off a pontoon on the road and that was almost ten years ago now. But generator has low time and was quite new then. I should just spend the money and get a new one. Thanks again and love to see extended test runs. Great video and content. Keep them coming.

[@PabloDiablo682]

Sounds great. Quiet as well.

[@garbleduser]

I sure would love to de-encapsulate, diagnose, and repair that old inverter board if it's available.

[@jcondon1]

Unfortunately not available. I sent it to another subscriber who wanted to do the same. He went radio silent shortly after and it was not returned :(

[@garbleduser]

@@jcondon1 He may be embarrassed about. If you would like me to reach out to this person, it might allow the inverter to be returned because the person won't have to face you in conversation. Let me know whatever I can do! I repair lots of inverters in medical equipment, and rebuild switch-mode power supplies for entertainment.

[@ayozhek1898]

That is a nice generator, glad you saved it. Thanks for the great videos.

[@wjl1988504]

Quick shipping, beautiful unit, easy to use

[@alexsimmons1803]

Very nice, been wondering what happened with this one. I enjoy the show and watch often, it gives me confidence I could actually do more myself than I typically would believe. Nice to see it brought back to life. Someone will have themselves a bargain with that unit, unless you are tempted to keep it? I have the very same generator, perhaps a more recent version about 6-8 years old, but set up for Australia with 2 x 15 A 230 V outlets. I got it for half price with ~10 hours on the clock. Super nice machine. Starts first turn of the key every time and the pull start is also very easy. I keep mine inside a housing with the factory Yamaha cover. Even have the original packing box! Treat them well and they will not let you down. Resale value very high here. It's my backup to my backup (I have an off-grid battery set up) so if needed it can re-charge my battery with 2 kW being a charging sweetspot for me, or just power the home directly which it also does well and absolutely no concern about power quality. It has perhaps 25 hours only (no runtime clock on these). I get it out every so often for a run, put the battery on the trickle charger and like yours I have a battery plug set up to make for an easy external connect to the charger. I gave it an oil change the other day which reminded me about your incomplete project. These Yamahas make such a satisfying purr and that engine wind down sound is a dead giveaway of the Yamaha. Didn't happen to do a noise level test? They seem so quiet. Thanks for your channel.

[@jcondon1]

I would have tested the noise. It sounds a lot louder in the video, but it’s very quiet. These in running condition usually go for $1200-$1500. $900 is the rock bottom price I have ever seen. On eBay they have broken ones for $900.

[@erik_dk842]

Vibration sensing hour meters are quite cheap.

[@TerryLawrence001]

A satisfying success story! Awesome!

[@morganblu]

That is a sweet little generator , wish I had one!

[@ChileExpatFamily]

I really wished you would have de potted the board. I have one of these and it failed the day after the warranty went out here in Chile South America. We really depend on our generator since we live off grid. So now I am up a creek so to speak. Thank you kindly for the video either way as it was very informative. Jim in Chile.

[@RustyNail5856]

very nice video James. great repair.

[@redneckbryon]

Something to think about, when it comes to selling this include the fact that it has a new inverter board and if people are smart they would look up the cost of that part. So, I would think with the new board you should be able to get your money back and then some, but if the generator was using it’s original board, I can see the $900 being the potential price. Have you seen Terrel Fixes All video about why he hates Hondas, it’s definitely a good watch.

[@jcondon1]

I saw that. Definitely a hard repair to justify. Honda inverters are usually cheaper. I looked up the cost for a new inverter on my Honda EU6500 and think it was only $600. Twice the power and half the cost. These machine are a lot new and the inverter is the most expensive part to replace.

[@Roy_Tellason]

@@jcondon1 Are they typically all potted like that?

[@rjlinnovations1516]

Thank you for sharing your video tutorials. Greetings from one of your supporters from Canada

[@rjlinnovations1516]

You’re welcome 🙏

[@loucinci3922]

Nice conclusion. Good job. Thanks for sharing

[@Gilly14]

💪🏽Rock steady! Good job James

[@deanschmeltzer9620]

Thank you! I have a ef1000is with a similar problem . I will be running the test and looking for other faults that you have pointed out. (It to was given to me. )I was afraid that would be the problem. Thank you so much for showing it. Dean

[@eddiejones.redvees]

A great way of bringing some thing back to us again with the money from KZbin

[@billiehydrick6417]

Thanks James for your informational videos my friend

[@christophermarshall5765]

Nice fix. Runs well.

[@deangentles4966]

Hi James nice generator well worth saving thanks for sharing mate

[@chriholt]

Nice fix Jim!

[@Darknamja]

After the loss of a few aircraft in the '80s due to wire chafing the USAF launched a service-wide anti-chafing training program. I attended some of that training. 😉

[@oldroscoe2590]

I was impressed by the sine wave. That's the generator I want, but the power hardly ever goes out here (famous last words). Paint the wheels and ask a hundred more than you were gonna?

[@peterouellette3874]

Nice job James

[@tallalahmad2013]

Congratulations great fix

[@YukonHawk1]

An investment well worth the money and time. Good money going after a great machine. 👍

[@markae0]

Locked on 60 Hz! Great video!

[@hoofhearted1326]

Congrats on 100k subs!!!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks

[@noelcastle3986]

Beautiful machine ideal rating very low distortion and Yamaha quality. Pretty quiet too I like how inverter generators do not drop frequency on heavy loads as the frequency is set by electronic circuitry not governer settings engine speed and loadings. That has to be worthwhile fixing even with the expensive inverter board replacement.

[@geraldharkness8830]

great outcome!

[@edbouman5013]

James!! Thanks for all your video's on the generators, you helped solve my problem! I'm also glad to see that when you repair an old carburetor, you actually clean the the whole unit, and once the generator is fixed you cleaned the whole generator, not many repair men do that, but I have always done it, and been laughed at for doing it! Do you think you could do 2 more videos on generators, one for installing a duel carburetor for natural gas, and gas, and do you know of any way to install a better muffler system to quiet a generator down. Again thanks James for your video's, keep up the good work!

[@kpdvw]

a new pefect sine wave control board....! A high sales price for this is 100% justified since it delivers clean/distortion free power!

[@hambudge]

The last trilogy I watched that was this good was The Godfather.

[@stevendufresne9994]

Thanks for the Great Video 👍👍

[@jg6142]

Very nice job

[@arthurbiringer5676]

Great job!

[@pietropietrowski]

Nyce, congratulations.....

[@Yukonjackman1]

Nicely done

[@KensSmallEngineRepair]

Nice low THD. Gotta love those Inverters!

[@grahammctygue724]

Great job making you,r subscribers happy be blessed peace

[@oakrddrainageissue2022]

Hello Jim I learnt a lot from you video's thanks. Based on the cost of the inverter module you should continue to remove the potting. It looks like the positive side of the sine wave is missing based on the clipping shown on the oscilloscope. This is passably caused by a bad three phase bridge rectifier, the IGBT or Mosfet power transistor(s), or that hv cap that's damaged may be bad. Due to the high cost of this module you should consider digging deeper. It maybe nothing more than a few diodes (Arcing wires?) that need to be replaced. It appears to me (as far as I can see) that everything else in the module is working ok. By the way Very good job constructing the AVR circuit from the schematic in your other video and you apparently have little electronics knowledge impressive. Best wishes.

[@billiehydrick6417]

Thanks!

[@jcondon1]

Thanks Billie!

[@D2O2]

Great video as usual James! One question though, were you measuring THD on the output of a surge protected power strip? If so, wonder if it has any impact on the THD levels.

[@jcondon1]

It should not impact THD. Those surge protected strips usually just have a few sacrificial metal oxide varistors. Normally they do nothing unless there is a voltage spike.

[@eDoc2020]

Somebody needs to design an open-source universal replacement inverter board for generators. The power circuitry is very straightforward: just a rectifier, DC-DC (depending on the alternator's voltage range), and an H-bridge. In my mind the harder part would be throttle control. I presume different gensets use different types and ratios of throttle adjustment motors, and on top of that you'd need to know about engine curves in order to find the optimal RPMs for each level load.

[@mmcc310]

Nice, good video!

[@watermanone7567]

Great fix Jim. Most people would send it to the landfill. I like the Yamaha better than the Honda's. Thanks

[@jcondon1]

That is where I found it