How To Test and Fix A Brushless Generator
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- Опубліковано 19 кві 2023
- A local subscriber tracked me down after his 9000 watt Gillette GEN-PRO generator stopped making power. Its a very well built machine powered by a Briggs and Stratton Vanguard v-twin engine. The manufacturer claims it produces less then 7% total harmonic distortion (THD). If true, then this will be the cleanest non-inverter generator I have tested. Hopefully I can fix it and test the manufacturers claim.
gillettegenerators.com/ (not a sponsor)
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Generator Model: GPN-90E
Engine Model: 303447-1198-E1 CODE: 99070211
Carburetor (809011): shop.briggsandstratton.com/pr...
Carburetor Gasket (692077): amzn.to/3UMlRvQ
Pre-Filter (272490S) amzn.to/3LecZfx
Starter Solenoid (691656): amzn.to/41s6YS8
Amprobe THD Meter ACDC-52NAV: amzn.to/3KLtYnX
BK Precision Lab Power Supply Model: 1746
Biddle Megger 21159
Bojack 50 uF Capacitor: amzn.to/3MVLtV7
Digital Insulation Tester: amzn.to/41HDorw
Graphical Multimeter: amzn.to/40kGf8y
Heat Gun: amzn.to/41EocLx
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97F8069, Alternator, Bad Capacitor, Brushless Generator, Capacitor, Carburetor, Clean Power, Fixed,
GEN-PRO, GPN-90E, Generator, Gillette Generator, Hertz, How To, How-To, Insulation Fault, Insulation Test, KLEEN-POWER, Load Test, Low THD. MEGGER, No Power, Ohms Law, Repair, Small Engine, Surging, Troubleshooting, Voltage Drop, Volts - Навчання та стиль
The generator looks very high-quality. Just the appearance of all the components is fantastic.
I know you aren’t exactly the mystery man, but it’s always nice to see the man behind the curtain.
Just look back over some of James saved videos.
Watch his Motor Home Video .. and a Few others.
Just a heads up on those Vanguard carbs, if you remove the plate that holds the key switch for the electric start you gain access to the right bottom side of the carburetor, there is a bolt you can remove, in the hole is the main jet. With a wd40 straw on an air duster you can blow air right through the main jet to clear it. This way you don't have to remove the entire carburetor, I've done it 3 different times on those Vanguard engines, saved me a bunch of time
Definitely. Just do not try and remove the main jet. Have tried a few times and failed on all three attempts. Clean it in place.
Just have to keep from dropping the bolt or it will add another 30 minutes of fun pulling the fan shroud.
@@Taulksik nice!
@@jcondon1 sometimes is better to spray wd-40 and let it soak few hours or a night and then put the right or approximate size flat screwdriver and lightly tap it few times then break it loose. I know some times we feel tempted to get it done quick. 😄 but unfortunately other times we have to wait
Thanks for the info appreciated
As for the low THD, It has damper windings on the rotor like the Yamaha brushless generators. You can see the damper windings (the tip of the bars) on the rotor at the beginning of the video. Thanks for sharing!
That's a great eye!! And honestly that is a premium feature for portable GenSets. Most don't have them.
It's always a pain to get bad new parts, since the assumption is that the part is good and the failure must be somewhere else. Glad you were able to figure it out though. Thanks for another great video.
If the manufacturer of the starter solenoid wanted to drastically improve lifespan of the part, they could have silvered the internal contacts. This would cut down on internal arcing, and decreased resistance. If you want, I would be willing to do the modification and send the part back to you for a future repair.
Great work, thank you!
Very nice point and offer!
Silver would do the trick. In order to protect the copper bus bar, the solenoid manufacturer could have added a lick of no-ox for next to zero cost. 😢
Good job! I enjoyed your skills and constant explanations. I'm retired from construction work and still enjoying learning. Thank you
That was awesome! Especially taking apart the solenoid! I love taking stuff apart and seeing how it works. I've fixed many things that way that were deemed "broken".
Absolutely... One can't break it anymore than it's already broken by taking things apart and investigating. Many times a careful tear down and inspection will reveal an easy repair.
Never hurts to check, and one may learn a thing or two along the way, and save a few bucks in the process. 👍
Excellent job James: I have changed hundreds of capacitors on AC systems and we were always told to get one with higher voltage ratings with the same MFD ratings if possible. Mars ( I think) makes capacitors in the USA. Some of the Chinese ones were garbage. I had several new ones that failed on the spot or shortly after installing them. Thanks for another great video. That is an excellent gen set.
Yes, you can definitely go up on the voltage rating, and generally the capacitor will last longer than the lower rated one. Do not vary on the uF spec, as it WILL create problems, especially on a start/run cap application for an induction motor. You CAN go up a small ways in the uF spec if the cap is used as a smoothing cap in a D.C. power supply, but in an A.C. system, the uF spec controls the A.C. waveform and can create big problems if you go with a different value.
Edit: Yes, I agree, the off brand China ones are usually garbage and don't last for even a fraction of the time that the original one did. Purchase a made in the USA one, and purchase it once.
Came here for a brushless generator and got a brushed generator. Always found it incredibly interesting how theres no magnets in most generators
I own this same generator and have used it to power my house during outages afew times without issues. Glad to see that the company in Elkhart Indiana makes a great unit and it lives up to its specs. I may have to get a spare cap for mine.
Very valuable information and diagnostic skills. The low reading you observed with the low speed cranking of the insulation tester was the charging of the capacitance between the two windings.
Very impressive generator, and another excellent presentation by Jim. As for the replacement parts, this is the kind of thing repair people in every industry have been putting up with in recent years. Because cheap parts have been made available from other countries, materials used in the manufacturing process and poor quality control has led to this higher than normal failure rates. Many of the HVAC repairmen buy up all the American-made capacitors whenever possible because of the high failure rate of the Chinese-manufactured ones. Yes, they pay a premium, but, like the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
You rarely get more than you pay for, but you often don't get what you paid for.
As an Industrial electrician that does a lot of power factor correction. You don't even want the USA made ones . You want the Japanese ones. Preferably Nichicon!
That's the reason for our alternative Economic and Business model and plan!
James ! I recommend you buy capacitors from Grainger. I replaced similar capacitors like the one on the generator but on two central air conditioner compressors on my house and my dad’s house. The capacitor can was bulging. I also replaced the fan capacitor for the outside unit and the inside blower unit just as a precaution and preventative maintenance issue. I had replaced the outside blower motor along with a new capacitor 5 years ago and replaced the cap again just to make everything fresh. The Grainger stock seems always good.
I agree with you they only sale outstanding parts and no problem
Awesome repair on this one James reminds me a lot of that large WinCo generator I had a few months back. Same engine and same heavy overbuilt powerhead. Never had a chance to measure the THD as I did not have the meter at the time.
Someone else mentioned that this rotor has damper windings. That explains the low THD. Something that we do not see often on the portable generators at all. Normally a winding like that in a synchronous motor is used to provide starting torque, but in this generator application they refer to it as a "dampening winding" since it creates a torque force opposite of the spinning magnetic field to suppress any oscillation (such as voltage at higher frequencies, AKA THD) thus lower overall THD.
Adding this winding increases complexity and obviously cost that's why we don't see it often.
Hey James. Wanted to say thanks for the consistent quality and thorough diagnosis documentation. You probably have a lot of other youtubers who have you as an inspiration but I really try to emulate your documentation and transparency. You hide nothing, which is a rare quality for youtube creators. Thanks again!
Your persistence and patience is unbelievable! Thanks for walking us through everything you do.
😮 A lot of little things were going on congratulations for getting it working.
I purchased this same machine a few years ago, because IMO it is one of the best-quality non-inverter generators out there. And I love the Japanese-built V-twin Vanguard engine - I have it on my pressure washer, garden tractor, and on several generators. Keep your eye on the used market for this brand and grab one if it comes up at at the right price. There is so little to fail on this generator, as compared to say an older Onan (as used in RVs) with its hundreds of dollars worth of control boards and regulators on it.
The only thing that I will say is on the vacuum-operated fuel pump, I always buy the OEM Japanese-made ones, and use only E0 fuel, but I have personally had several of them fail prematurely due to the diaphragm rupturing. Maybe I got a bad batch, but I always have a few spare fuel pumps on hand just in case as they aren't that expensive.
I used to have a diesel brushless that was rated for less than 5% THD, which I verified with my own metering. The brushed Honda clone I my parents used to have was considerably dirtier, so I never understood why you always hated on brushless units so much. Nice to see this one turn things around.
I enjoyed just watching this man with such professional dedication go through the process of elimination to get the generator working. He didn't say how many labour-hours to do the restoration. Greatly appreciated.
Wow. That machine has been really well cared for. Your subscriber has done a really good job with it. I would have never guessed it was that old by looking at it.
James, Excellent video. Always love your diagnostic skills. That genny is built like a tank inside and out. The Gillette gennies are now built with Honda engines for even greater reliability and longevity. Before buying our 22kw standby Generic genny, I came very close to getting a Gillette 12kw 50 amp model. Thanks for sharing another teaching lesson. :-)
I am a believer in Gillette generators after working on this one.
A company with real support, WOW this brand is worth remembering 💯👍
Great video Jim. I was expecting the 30uf cap to blow. Nice Icon ratchet. HF has really stepped up their tool lineup. Keep up the great work.
I was expecting the same after what happened to the new cap.
I was yelling at the screen trying to tell you to check the new capacitor. You know that it maybe faulty. But I'm not sure you heard me. LOL! A very nice generator finally a machine that makes sense. Kudos to the engineers on that one. Thanks for the great video it was very informative and a joy to watch. Take care from Canada eh!
That was a little ride! "New parts" fail are about the worst, for sure!
Pretty crazy the first new replacement capacitor blew right away but obviously sometimes new parts can be junk right out of the box, nice work repairing this generator James!
I don't often comment on things, but I have to tell you, I really enjoy the longer formats you've been doing lately.
Another well thought out, carefully edited and produced video. I appreciate the comments about THD in general, and specifically on this generator. Its hard to comprehend all the time it takes to video, edit, order parts, research and upload these videos every week. Pretty amazing, well done James.
Yes!
James your tests were more sound than that old stock capacitor. The dielectric in a capacitor has a shelf life of about 2 years. I’m impressed by the consistency of the THD readings.
Good quality Capacitors last much longer than 2 years. I've run across Nichicon Capacitors that were 20 years old, and still in spec and perfectly useable.
Generic caps from China? Now the 2 year lifespan could very well be the case. I've had some generic replacement that weren't any good directly out of rhe package.
Buy a good quality capacitor, and you'll never have to do it again until many years later.
2 years? Lol
That's good of you to give the company a thumbs up, good of them to produce good quality and offer good support.
James only does it if he thinks they are worth it. His recommendation is valuable.
That's a nice piece. It was definitely worth repairing, even if it is a bit older. Sometimes the older simpler designs are the best for longevity because you CAN fix them with standard parts. My electronics experience shows that NEW capacitors usually measure UNDER spec... and will shift to spec shortly. As they age and LEAK (electrically) they will test well over spec.
Exactly. Only a capacitor and two diodes. Cannot beat that.
I love the fact you go the extra mile and made the machine more serviceable by adding little things like a fuel cutoff valve, one theory I have as to why they didn’t add one is because they didn’t think It’d last 10+ years yet here it is running after a few parts later, amazing what you can do with a little bit of TLC!
Thanks James, great video. Capacitor suggestion: Open an account at an electrical or HVAC supply house and get the capacitors at a third of EBAY cost. ALSO, getting the capacitor at a higher voltage rating does not effect the output of the capacitor. They use a more durable membrane separator. You do need to get the proper MFD rating. Thanks again.
Gillette generators are very good quality generators! Made in Elkhart Indiana, their portable units are very durable, been using them for years
They used to make a GPN 150EC, Great unit don’t know if it’s available anymore
Great video as usual, nice to see an old unit such as this well maintained
Love this video, very thorough, informative and well presented.. Although I did not learn anything new, it was good to see troubleshooting at it's finest. Love your labels, mine are white digitally printed. Your professionalism and attention to detail has earned my subscription.
James, as far as capacitors go - the capacitance (MFD) value is critical. Going with a HIGHER voltage handling is OK, but never lower. You had a 370v rating and could have replaced with a 440v rating, but sometimes a higher voltage handling results in capacitor that is physically larger. A lot of HVAC techs (some famous ones on UA-cam as well as my next door neighbor) prefer USA or Mexico manufactured capacitors over ones made in China; the USA ones seem to last longer. GE used to make capacitors but they sold out to a company called Genteq. You probably saw a lot of "dual" capacitors in your search - maybe a "5+50MFD" capacitor... Those are very commonly used in HVAC condensing units, the 5 MFD portion is used for the fan, and the 50 MFD portion is used for the compressor. In a pinch you could use a dual cap, just hook up to the connectors C (common) and HERM (hermetic) to access the large capacitance portion of the dual cap.
Amazing fix James . A lot of information with this one.
Great video. I was a bit surprised that you didn't check the Amazon capacitor before installing it. Down south in Texas we routinely have capacitor issues with our A.C. systems. It has become part of a routine checkup.
I did, sure what happened to that footage. It tested well. But so did the other.
Thank you James for making videos on gensets that truly help us consumers.
Hey James, really enjoy your videos.
If you have some spare time and want to work on your fabricating game and make yourself a gasket punch pan, it really helps make clean hole in gaskets. We use lead filled pans for gasket making at work and when they get too deformed you just melt it smooth again. The one I made at home is smaller but works for me, it’s 14” square pan 1 - 1/2” high with a 3/16” plate bottom and two handles. I used light gauge angle iron for the sides.
Just thought it would be something you my be interested in.
Thanks again for the awesome quality videos and content.
Ray
I really like the longer videos. I had to watch it twice! First time was for nap time, something about these videos are perfect to fall to sleep to. Second time to watch and learn, and laugh at the mishaps and jokes lol. Keep it up!
Wow. This episode was full of interesting plot twists. I never understood why open frame generators typically have such high THD. The effect of the single cylinder 4 stroke engine on the sine wave never occurred to me.
Great job James on this well built generator, and a nice touch on the fuel filter with the date label. Thanks for all your videos.
Great video! That last bit about talking to a person that knew what they were talking about was golden👍👍👍
Hi James. You have taught me a lot about small engines and generators. I want to contribute this comment to this project. I have a 16 HP Vanguard engine like the one in this generator driving my chipper. It has great torque. Just and FYI. The two 13mm bolts attaching the carburator from the underside can be removed on this engine without removing the intake manafold. I found you just can losen and remove the bolt at the rear be losening the shroud to give clearance the the 13mm 2" bolt. Then use a 3/8" drive 13mm crowsfoot tool if you have one. You can then access the main jet and clean it properly. Only downside is torqueing the rear bolt with a crows foot attached.
Just another thing to know about this carburator. I don;t know why it is make this way. This engine has two differnet OEM needle valves. One is for engines with fuel pumps in brass. The another with gravity fed fuel made in aluminium.
Great video James, I’ve learned so much about how to test switches and solenoids from you videos. And of course how to diagnose and fix all types of small engines.
James you are Mr wizard in my book many people would have given up
Quite apart from the technical content of your videos, I have to say how pleasing it is to find someone who actually has a clue about how to present them. Calm, soft-spoken, patient, knowledgeable, almost invisible. That's the spirit :)
I'm not a generator-freak, but I do have one. Though even if I didn't, I think I'd watch your videos anyway.
Great job!
NICE genset and fix! New means nothing nowadays. Glad everything worked out fine in the end. It sure gets interesting sometimes. I finally got the primer working on the electric start and starts fine off the battery BUT now I have to put a drive belt on it but now is a good time as any for it to act up. Sitting for a few years sure worked on it but now I'm back in the saddle. I hate those carbs too. Got one on the shelf and after an Ebay run for around $140 I got an adjustable jet carb for the 1/2 VW motor. God Bless!
Great video! One tip I used for years is to use a copier, or home printer with a built in scanner, to make a 1:1 copy of things like your carburetor. That print out can then be put onto your gasket material and accurately cut out.
Clearly a well engineered generator
That's one fantastic machine!, amazing the sine wave even at full load, i didn't knew it was possible to achieve such a low THD on a non inverter generator, also the sound of that engine is music to my ears!, when the other capacitor blew out, i was almost 100% sure it was one of the diodes, and i was screaming to the TV, CHECK THE DIODES! hahaha, glad i was wrong, It never happened to me, to receive a bad CAP like that, from now on i will check every cap i receive, and also check build date. thank you ! great video as always.
Hi James,
It was great to see your use of the 1 amp current source to test the very low resistance of your windings. The temperature will affect the winding resistance, so it may need to be tested at some particular temperature to get the exact reading they specify, likely 25 C. Adding heat always increases resistance. This was one of your best videos!
Thanks
Hi James - another great video/tutorial! Your editing and narration is superb. I look forward to seeing them all the time.
HI James, I knew you wouldn't be stumped for long, a good logical process of analysing each part and you got your answer. Well done again James ...
Thanks James for another great video. I have a video suggestion. It would be o great help to us DIYs to get a comprehensive explanation on the different types of generator excitation systems, including perhaps a few diagrams and actually showing how the components look like. Since you probably have all kinds of small generator parts at your disposal, such video could be an instant classic!
Jon @farmcraft101 just did a great video covering that.
James, move that boot onto the battery terminal of the solenoid where it may do some good or boot both terminals. I'm sure you have a bin full of cables and boots. 😉
Nice Generator! I am only at the beginning and am looking forward to this being fully functional. What a beast!
Your knowledge and means of explaining what you've learned never ceases to amaze me.
Great job James. A 👍 as always.
I was going to say that the original capacitor failing after 300 hours isn't very impressive, but it's rather better than the sub-30 second lifetime of the first replacement.
Great video, and good work checking out the power head before throwing more parts at it. :)
This was an awesome video buddy. I'm an old man and I have many secrets that has caused me to be targeted by some group that don't want me to tell one big one that I built about 15 years ago and I'm lucky to be alive today. I only told people this one other time so when you see this, please make a copy and hide it, then you build it ok. I took a huge 3 phase motor and turned it into a free electric generator that powered my entire shop and I was running 3 phase equipment and regular motors and lights. I hooked up on top of it a furnace blower motor and put a v belt pulley on it that went around shaft on 3 phase motor and had wires hooked up to a light switch, the switch I ran to my regular breaker box to supply power to furnace motor when light switch was up. I had a new huge fused 240 volt box to right of that regular one. I pulled 110 volt from regular box to one leg of the 3 hot wires an when I flipped light switch up the furnace motor spun shaft on 3 phase motor, I used a hand lever to hold force on v belt to make both motors work together. Once 3 phase motor was going same rpm as furnace motor I hit 110 volt to 3 phase, now the 3 phase don't need starter motor so I flipped light switch off and loosen up tension on both motors and removed v belt. The other 2 legs from 3 phase motor is hot, mine was running around 127 volt and 138 volt I believe it was. The wires I ran to new fuse box an now it has 220 volts, I took ground wire to outside of motor to fuse box. I had 2 options, run a wire 110 from breaker box to fuse box, (that's what I did in the beginning) or grab the 3rd wire on 3 phase motor that's being feed by breaker box, or adapt the motor to feed its own power and I done that about a month later. I used run capacitors not start to increase the voltage after the 3rd leg left the fuse box so all 3 legs had 110-127 volts on them that I needed to run my huge saws. Copy this and build it. You can use anything to start the 3 phase motor, even if you get a smaller one to start with, you can make your own power at home and get off grid, or you are many miles up in the woods where it's not even an option for you. If you use a small 3 phase motor you can increase the voltage by using run capacitors and nobody will know you even have electricity. If you never worked around electric, don't try to build this an stay away from capacitors because they can take your life if they are not discharged before you touch the ends of wires. Some people say it won't work, oh but it does. I had 3 guys from my power company come to my shop to see within the first month to see why my power bill dropped so low, being stupid I showed them then walked them through how it works from starting to shutting it down. They ran their tests on it All. After about an hour one guy said, you broke the laws of physics and I replied that law is just a lie we been taught our entire lives. An he replied back with, we see it running, we tested it an it works. The damn thing works great. About a week later is when I noticed my health was being targeted and I would wake up in the morning and find strange marks on my body that wasn't there when I went to bed. That has been 15 years ago and I still been getting worse and now I'm in a wheelchair. Build it and teach others it does work. I still have everything to put mine back together when time comes we don't have the grid anymore. Save all old microwaves you can. Parts inside them you can turn into free energy motors. Coils and old motors are going to be worth gold. But garden seeds like heirloom seeds are going to be on the very top of the list of what is worth the most. Along with rubber bands for slingshots and the tubing for them too. I already have both. Ammo you can find laying down on the ground. Get ready my brothers and sisters because we have hard times ahead of us. They can control our ammo, that's why you better stick up now and get everything you need to build sling shots. Air guns also. Arrows and being launched using air, sweet. They will go faster than any bow sending them to the target. Compressed air is going to make a big difference an you can set it up using a remote control spot light motors for like on a boat or rv. But remove the light and add a security camera and barrel your using to launch arrows with. You can send them faster than bows. Using old truck leaf springs you can make a cross bow, but need a come a long to pull cable back on it. Then fire off wooden fence posts and shape them like a pencil so they go further away. So many things we can do to protect ourselves and our families. Lead tire weights, save as many as you can for making fishing sinkers and ammo. If you run out of ammo, use fishing sinkers. I Hope atleast a handful of you do build my free energy motor. Then you tell more people. An there is one video on UA-cam where they built the free energy motor using coils, it does work and it powers itself. Not all those videos are lies but most are. I'm telling you the truth, I've hurt in severe pain for past 15 years to prove it. They want us slaves for them. It's time we think for ourselves. God bless everyone and share the power of love, that is the greatest power we have in our Universe. An most of us use it.
James,
This was, possibly your most informative rebuild that I've seen. (and I've seen many of yours!) Congrats on staying with the diagnoses and getting to all the problems. Very nice generator without invertor. Keep 'em coming, please. And, playing with the solenoid 'guts' was cool too!
Thanks
Years ago whenever my neighbor did a tune-up he'd fill his float bowl with Gumout. After he was done with points, plugs & condenser he'd run the engine and it always took care of carb related hesitation stumble and surge. I never saw him pull a carb. I've also heard of motorcycle guys putting Gumout in their gas tank every fill up as preventative maintenance. Easier than R&R carb and disassembly. Just FYI. ben/ michigan
Jim, another couple sources of capacitors is a motor repair shop and an HVAC supplier. Those might be the most common sources. If you have a Sid Harvey store nearby, they probably have them in stock.
james,your videos are top notch just goes to show that a new component is not necessarily foolproof! great diagnostics as always!
I was yelling at the monitor, don't loosen those solenoid nuts! You could have broken the welded contacts loose and sent you down a rabbit hole. We had a Cat scan {~26min.} and Crayon Aided Design all in one video! Another great video!
I have been subscribed quite a while and must have missed this one. Really great editing and very thorough explanations and approach to troubleshooting. I am 72 and never tire of watching a great steady paced thoughtful worker. I was trained basic principles of troubleshooting problems in Navy rescue helicopters in our squadron in running our avionics electronics shop for my 4 years and it has really paid great dividends. It is hard to find any repair person today in any field that knows how to do smart troubleshooting before just replacing parts. When I find e.g. a good air conditioning tech for the house and my rental units I tip him well to hang on to him. They are truly in short supply. This video would make a great training video on proper troubleshooting and repair approach to any repair. Just wanted to say you have another person who really appreciates the work and effort that goes into producing the video as well as the excellent approach to repairs. Great job.
Hi James! I now own 8 generators and just bought a 9500 Predator from Harbor Freight last Saturday! I bought the extended warranty too! I will let you know how it goes this summer on our concession trailer.
This was one of the more interesting fixes you've handled. Thoroughly enjoyed this video.
I’m glad you opened the old solenoid.. I’m glad there is a quality product still out there.. nice job gen-pro.
Always impressed, also the collection of meters you have, the average hobbist wouldn't have, that you are sinking a lot of money's into. Instruments are only as good as ones abilities to understand and use them correctly. You are a scholar .
Yes!
Excellent educational video. I believe all Powerhorse and NorthStar non-inverter generators, from Northern tool, are less than 5% THD. Also the Generac XT8500EFI is less than 5%
What can I say??? Excellent attention to detail, orogonal Diag, Folllow up on repair, extra delving in and returning back in a much healtier position. Well Done.
Thank you for making this video. I have a similar generator, just a little bigger and with a Honda engine. It works great and I’ve wanted to get into the control panel to change out the 120v plugs, as they’ve been used a lot and don’t hold a plug. It’s been a solid generator and would recommend it to anyone. To build off of what you said about the fuel line, I replaced most of mine with a hardline and rubber only at the connecting points. There’s not much about these generators out there, so again thank you.
Yeah been waiting for my generator fix today!
Awesome, James makes my Thursday more interesting. Great Video
I've always used an old scanner copier printer to recreate gaskets
Great video James and as usual excellent diagnostic skills. I have seen a similar situation before, when an electrical (240v) circuit kept on tripping a circuit breaker. With a multi-meter on Ohms it was showing that there was a possible fault. My colleague and I searched high and low and were unable to find the issue. Once we did a 500v Insulation Resistance test the fault cleared, never to be seen again. To this day we never found out what was the issue. We put it down to possible dampness. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome job Jim. And a big thank you for taking apart the starter solenoid!
As always James your efforts are very helpful and informative.
That being a 25 year old gen set The price of it was not cheap it was trying to come.off the trailer quickly and pull you with it glad to hear that the owner of it found you to work on this Big gen set
Thank you so much! I am a tinkerer. I have learned so much watching your videos. I wish I could have watched 50 years ago!
Great video, once again. For components such as capacitors, you can try ordering from Digikey or Mouser to vastly decrease your chances of getting a junk part. Found a 50uF 450VAC rated capacitor for around $20.
One of your more enjoyable sessions! Thank you!
Jim, they probably soldered the capacitor is so that the leads wouldn't slip off.
I've sold used pond aeration compressors on eBay, and the biggest problem I've had is bulged capacitors, which is a bad thing. I actually had one go bad after I bench tested it, and that only happened once on the more than 80 that I sold.
You do such thorough work. Very commendable
Really enjoyed This one. Seeing you drag out the megger and insulation tester was great. The Air Force Had meggers, but I never learned how to use them, never needed it, enjoyed watching it. Great job, a friend and I have sold a few generators and we have used your videos for guidance. Thank You
As always, marvellous! Thank-you.
Two points:
I loved the 2023 sticker on the new fuel filter! It matched up with a thought that I'd had that you, as a Mastercraftsman could do well to 'Sign' your work in some way: perhaps attaching a logbook (real or virtual to each machine that you refurbish before (i imagine) you sell them.
Secondly, the starter solenoid was a bit like an Orchestra's encore after its Master Performance: a lovely vignete, entirely simple and comprehensible, including the 'How it works' segment and the 'If it's new, it ain't necessarily good!'
Finally kudos to the Vanguard Company for their customer Care and Technical back-up: 10/10! 20/10 even!
Well done sir! Great craftsmanship.
I just acquired the 14000 Watt version of this generator last week with 39 hours on it. This unit came with a 20HP Honda Vtwin. I tested the generator before buying it and it didn't generate power. I was originally prepared to pay $600.00 for it since I was familiar with its history but with it not generating power I knew it could be a potential gamble and made a deal for $300.00. The business was sold and it was no longer needed, fortunately, it was installed in an enclosure so it still looked basically new. I called Gillette Generators and they told me most likely the field needed flashing since it had not been used in a few years. I took it home and found it has two of the GE capacitors you showed in your videos. After watching your video I decided to take them out and test them to ensure they were good. (As an aside, they both had the white spots on the top like the one in your video but they were not crowned). They both tested good so I crimped and soldered new connectors on the wires and then soldered the connectors to the capacitors. I then flashed the field per the manual, with a load on it, and with the throttle at full the volt meter immediately went to the white line in the green. Starts and runs great and is making good power. I have watched many of your videos in the past and I watched this video several times before I tackled the repair and found it extremely helpful. Overall I am thrilled to have a high quality generator to run my house at a great price. We recently went 9 hours without power due to a storm and my little 5000 watt Coleman generator ran the whole time. It is tired, and undersized for what I need, and it decided not to restart the next day. I was ready for something better and I feel I found it.
Thank you for the great videos!
You good a great generator. Definitely worth a gamble. Looks like it paid off.
This customer will be pleased as that kind of power isn't cheap these days.
Thank you. Great diagnostics.
yes it did help me cause each time that i watch your videos i actually learn something new
Another award winning job! Great detective work!
I have been servicing the engines for these generators for years. The carburetor is the usual suspect when it won’t start or run right. So I have become quite proficient at getting the running right. But the electrical side has never reared its ugly head until now. I bought a supposedly new in the crate 6500 Watt AVR generator. Unfortunately it sat for many years and they must have run it at least once and the carb was all gunned up. After fixing that the electrical didn’t work. I was very frustrated at this point until I watched your video. I don’t have a capacitor function on my meter so I just ordered a new one hoping that would fix it. It did. I was elated. Finally the thing is running and generating. Thanks for this comprehensive analysis.
Nice
GREAT job as usual. To avoid your body introducing any resistance into your tests that involve very low resistance, it is good practice to use alligator clips that connect directly to your meter test leads. Any resistance introduced by short jumper leads should be negligible.
Good advice. Especially for a capacitor test.
Great troubleshooting and repairing once again James. I'm sure that Gen is not very quiet but I sure would want one like that. My neighbors in the City here would hopefully tolerate it. lol I wish they all were built with that quality in construction materials, high amperage output, and low distortion to boot! Note: I had a commercial toro walk behind 21 inch self propelled mower from the 90's. It had a GTS 150 Briggs motor that had "made in Japan" stamped on it. With part time business use it lasted over 15 years!! Makes me wonder if it was pre "Vanguard" but just as good.
Another great educational vid. Thanks James!
Great Vid! Always nice to see the Biddle 210170 megohmmeter in the wild. Rough-Test resistance accuracy by attaching the 500V-output to a DMM measuring DC volts. The standard impedance of most multimeters is 10Mohm.
Great diag process and video, James!