Northernlights 20KW very low voltage

[Ocean80]

So I turned the genset on today and noticed that the indicator light on the AC electrical panel was flickering just a bit. after 1 minute I lost power from the generator.

I looked around checked the breakers and all seems OK. the generator runs fine and the RPM is good. I did some reading and found that you sometimes have to "flash field". I did that and when I test the leads from the genset I get about 38 Ohms. When I ran the genset and test the volts I only get about 17VAC on each leg (240V genset)

Any help on whats next?

Thanks

[Sailmonkey]

Regulator or brushes would be my next step.


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[captain58sailin]

Might want to check the main power lead from the generator to the panel.

[Ocean80]

Nothing in my book on how to test the AVR

[Ocean80]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Might want to check the main power lead from the generator to the panel.

I tested the AC voltage right on the generator output and I getv17.6 VAC

[DeepFrz]

Here is another thread you may be interested in.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-104504.html

[captain58sailin]

Okay. I assume your RPMs are right. You are probably looking at a brush problem, if that is the reading you are getting right off the terminal stud on the generator itself.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Ocean80

Nothing in my book on how to test the AVR

The quick and dirty is to trace the avr output to a terminal an put a voltmeter there.


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[Chuck Hawley]

I had several problems with a Northern Lights 9kW generator on a Moorings 4800 catamaran a few weeks ago. Initially, the generator would just stop after 40s of operation. I thought it was a bad sender on the three circuits that product the generator (water temp, oil pressure, exhaust temp), but it turned out to be a broken orange wire on the regulator board.

One the reg board was replaced, the generator started putting out 66V after about 20 minutes of operation. This required another service trip, and the problem was the regulator board, again. The second regulator board solved the issue.

The generator was a 120V model, and the voltage was 66V on each leg.

Chuck
"Navigare necesse est."