Generator Blues
14 December 2012 | In the depths of the Engine area
Bumblin' Bob!
Let’s take this from the beginning of the issue…
The previous owner had this Generator System installed and never really used it, he just started it for the time the boat sat in the marina without going anywhere. When I got the boat the system had 95 hours on it. It is a Northern Lights 5KW diesel generator. It has a Lugger engine. A real nice sound enclosure that makes it one of the quietest on the market back in the mid-1990s. Yep, top of the line, bullet proof and made to last forever. Well, it does have a couple of Achilles Heels.
So I ran it for about 308 hours. It is so nice having the 120VAC for charging batteries, since I never really had good ones before, and making hot water, before the hydronic system, and running the microwave and whatever else…
So, at about 250 hours of my time on it it developed a water leak. It was a salt water leak to bat. I tried to find where it was coming from. I thought it was the raw water [ump, replaced that at a mere $200 and.. Nope, not there, finally found it was a hose clamp from the heat exchanger. Finally, leak stopped. But wait, we’re not done yet.
So there I go, running the generator as I need to and life was good again. Until I started seeing issues, like the erratic gauges, both the 12VDC and the 120VAC sides.
Oh boy, what now? Well, it appears that the design engineers of this system never thought that water would actually get to the side of the motor, the electrical connection plug to the 12VDC alternator and voltage regulator seems to be right downstream from any heat exchanger leaks…
Yep, burned plug, burned wires and part of a wire harness screwed! So, let’s see, a new solid state voltage regulator, $350, wiring harness, $375… OK, I can rebuild the wiring harness. Looked at the voltage regulator and the wiring diagram… Do I go get a NAPPA special and give it a try or not?
Yep, BOAT, Bring On Another Thousand… OK, buy the $350 regulator. Lift the generator out of the hold. Do the work. Put it back down and mount it. I will move the regulator later… Now remember, the generator hasn’t been run in a couple of years…
Yep, took a while to get the diesel into it. But the engine side got running, and started running very nicely, just like it used to and should. But wait, what about the 120VAC side? The main purpose for the generator is this, remember? Nope, not a bit of Electrons were showing themselves… So recheck all the connections, fuses and switches… Nope, they are all ok… Next step is to ‘flash the fields’ of the generator. OH, did I also mention that I can’t find my real nice multi-meter? Yep, it has gone AWOL! Might have been that midnight run to help the son with his ‘new’ car. 1965 Corvair Monza Convertible. Sweet, show quality car…
So after flashing the fields, it shows some electricity. When I switch the path to the inverter/charger unit, it keeps trying to use it, but the voltage must not be high enough to do the job. If I had a multi-meter, I could adjust it. Well, too late to get one tonight, after all, tomorrow is another day….
The saga goes on…