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Old 03-07-2020, 13:22   #1
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D400 wind generator troubleshooting

I have 2 d400 wind generators that are three years old. Today I noticed one of them was spinning significantly slower than the other and both were in clean air.

I didn't find any external physical issues and when I spun it by hand, there isn't anything hitting or grinding.

I do notice that when I spun it fast, it feels almost like a brake is on (there isn't one installed). To me this would seem like a short but I couldn't find anything with any of the wires or connections that are visible.

Has anyone had a similar issue that can helpmme troubleshoot?
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Old 03-07-2020, 17:36   #2
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

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Old 03-07-2020, 20:19   #3
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

I have the same you have, of a similar age. Yes sometimes one spins slower than the other (noticeable only in light winds). Cannot find reasons for that.

If you were to have a (electric) brake switch installed that would work by short circuiting the output wires (for D400 this brake can only be applied for very short periods, unlike for systems like AirMarine).

If you can feel that one of your units is sort of 'braked', than I guess you have a short or blown diode(s) inside the case, or external short in the wiring maybe?

Also feel the body of each unit (when charging, or should be charging), the warm one might have a fault. BTW a cold unit might be faulty as well due to open circuit. If not, then fault maybe then external to the unit. Does your wiring run thought SS tubing of a stern-arch? Insulation of wiring chafed through inside that tubing?

Best to put an amp meter on each unit and when both units have clear air, should show similar Amp output...... if not then the one with low output has something wrong with it.

Check wiring first, also remove/bypass controllers (I assume you have a controller on each?). One one them might have an internal fault and provide a short circuit, and hence the feeling that the unit is 'braked'.

If the output of both units is similar, with the one that turns slower a bit lower, then the issue might be purely mechanical, ie one of the bearings is dry-ish and provide that 'braked' feeling.
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Old 20-07-2020, 07:49   #4
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

Mine is a failed regulator. It looks like there was an internal short in it. I disconnected the turbine from the regulator and it spun freely. I then connected it directly to the battery (as instructed by the manufacturer) and it spun freely and charged.

It also looks like before it failed, it was pulling power fr the batteries and sending it to the dump resistors. I didn't put the two things together until today but I started having battery drain issues at the same time as the turbine problems.

Batteries issues seem the be gone now that it's all isolated.
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Old 22-02-2022, 05:29   #5
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

Hi,
I’m not sure what is wrong with my D400. I’m guessing it is the regulator as everything else seems to be visibly ok. The wind generator will turn off the wind and do a 360 degree turn when the wind is really blowing, which leads me to believe that it is an issue with the regulator. Any thoughts? Has anyone had to replace the regulator?
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Old 28-02-2022, 15:19   #6
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

Could be, blades, bearings, shorted windings, rectifier, slip rings shorting, wiring, or regulator. This axial flux generator is prone to winding overheating due to no iron core in the windings and a lot of resin encapsulation. Careful not to over work them.
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Old 01-03-2022, 02:29   #7
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Re: D400 wind generator troubleshooting

Hi thanks for the input. That is a good list of things to check but I’m not sure where I would start. I’m starting to think the problem is in the actual wind generator as I’m not getting any readings on the volt metre anywhere down the line that make any sense.
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