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+-- Thread: My Generator Won't Start (/showthread.php?tid=7323891)
RE: My Generator Won't Start - Roly - 10-22-2016
Did you follow the step by step list in service manual ? It gives pins to check for voltage at various points. Roly
RE: My Generator Won't Start - crokett™ - 10-22-2016
Yes. After I checked the simple stuff like ground and starter working I started with page 27 in the manual "engine fails to crank". As per the manual, it's the CMA board.
RE: My Generator Won't Start - TDKPE - 10-23-2016
Are you positive the board doesn't need 120 or 240V for manual start? Obviously, it doesn't need it for automatic start in an outage, by definition. But before replacing a board that worked when you tested it at the seller's location (where it had utility power from the transfer switch, through that control transformer), you might want to check on that. If you haven't already.
RE: My Generator Won't Start - Mr_Mike - 10-23-2016
I would agree, if it was working as a demonstration, it should work now unless the OP applied power somewhere he shouldn't.
I'd call the MFG back and ask exactly how to set it up without a xfer switch and I'd also ask how much a new xfer switch was and if it were available.
RE: My Generator Won't Start - crokett™ - 10-23-2016
I talked to briggs last week. The person I spoke to said I didn't need a transfer switch. I said I had power available if the board needed to see it, he said that should not be needed.
RE: My Generator Won't Start - Roly - 10-23-2016
Is the plug tight where the control board connects to it. Since it ran before you moved it something could have been jarred loose. Roly
RE: My Generator Won't Start - Mr_Mike - 10-23-2016
First principles matter. If it worked before you removed it and it doesn't now, what has changed?
I'm inclined to do some more troubleshooting. Check each sensor and bypass those you can. I agree the oil pressure and temperature shouldn't keep the unit from at least turning over, but it wouldn't hurt to check them out.
Check the grounds too. On the bottom right of your diagram, there is a ground that goes to the xfer switch and its likely flying right now.
(10-23-2016, 04:13 PM)crokett™ Wrote: I talked to briggs last week. The person I spoke to said I didn't need a transfer switch. I said I had power available if the board needed to see it, he said that should not be needed.
But, he didn't tell you what had to be connected or not connected, did he?
RE: My Generator Won't Start - crokett™ - 10-23-2016
(10-23-2016, 05:55 PM)Mr_Mike Wrote: First principles matter. If it worked before you removed it and it doesn't now, what has changed?
I'm inclined to do some more troubleshooting. Check each sensor and bypass those you can. I agree the oil pressure and temperature shouldn't keep the unit from at least turning over, but it wouldn't hurt to check them out.
Check the grounds too. On the bottom right of your diagram, there is a ground that goes to the xfer switch and its likely flying right now.
But, he didn't tell you what had to be connected or not connected, did he?
I thought I Said this already but the generator is grounded back to the panel at the house. There's a breaker at the generator which is switched off, and there's a breaker at the house which is also off, but ground/neutral both go back to the house panel and are connected. All the grounds I could find on the generator itself check out, including the ground on the control board. I'm confident it isn't a ground issue.
One thing that has changed is time and location. the generator has been sitting for a year after getting loaded onto a trailer then unloaded from a trailer onto a pallet and then moved with a tractor. Also since I got it used the board itself is of undetermined age. I work with computers/electronics every working day. Sometimes, stuff just breaks.
As to what needs to be connected or not, if he says "you don't need a transfer switch or power for it to be run manually" then I take that to mean I don't need to do anything special. Besides which assuming I had a transfer switch but the generator failed to start for some reason after power was lost, then when I corrected whatever condition it was before power came back on I'd be in the same situation I am now, and screwed if the generator needed to see power to start.
RE: My Generator Won't Start - MikeBob - 10-23-2016
I think I would ask CS at Briggs about the ground. I would think it needs to be grounded to the house when juicing the house, but it may need its own for for test runs when not juicing the house..
RE: My Generator Won't Start - blackhat - 10-24-2016
I think you've got it. If you've gone through the checklist and everything else checks, something happened to that board during the move or after. The leads going to the transfer switch provide utility sensing, built in battery charger and transfer switch activation. Its possible that the boards battery has failed after all this time sitting. You could look there.