1097R1 with a 200A gen intermiten charging issue

[Venio]

I got a 2005 R1 form the auction a little over a month ago. Pretty much all operational beside LOTS of loose stuff that Red River Army Depot had left. I'm going to rant about this some other time. However, there is an odd issue with the generator. It will ether start charging with a little delay, a lot of delay or not at all. Anther odd thing is the time it takes for the Wait light to turn off. Usually if the time is too short and the engine is cool it will start but the gen would not come on. At first I though it got to be the voltage regulator but those things usually ether work or they are a toast. I'm not sure how the protective module ties in with the generator, but it definitely does not act right. I went trough some of the connections and used dielectric grease to better the contact, HMMWV dwells now in pretty humid and corrosive environment.

 

[Mogman]

I got a 2005 R1 form the auction a little over a month ago. Pretty much all operational beside LOTS of loose stuff that Red River Army Depot had left. I'm going to rant about this some other time. However, there is an odd issue with the generator. It will ether start charging with a little delay, a lot of delay or not at all. Anther odd thing is the time it takes for the Wait light to turn off. Usually if the time is too short and the engine is cool it will start but the gen would not come on. At first I though it got to be the voltage regulator but those things usually ether work or they are a toast. I'm not sure how the protective module ties in with the generator, but it definitely does not act right. I went trough some of the connections and used dielectric grease to better the contact, HMMWV dwells now in pretty humid and corrosive environment.

When it is not charging turn on the heater fan and see if it is working, if not it is likely the EESS (protection) box not feeding exciter voltage to the alt.
There is a relay in the box that does that and they can go bad.
It is normal for the alt to delay after starting it is called soft start.

 

[Venio]

When it is not charging turn on the heater fan and see if it is working, if not it is likely the EESS (protection) box not feeding exciter voltage to the alt.
There is a relay in the box that does that and they can go bad.
It is normal for the alt to delay after starting it is called soft start.

Is this something that can be repaired or should I start looking for a EESS box replacement?

 

[Mogman]

Is this something that can be repaired or should I start looking for a EESS box replacement?

Figure out what the issue is first, if the only problem is the relay it can easily be replaced, if the EESS box has other problems (IE glow plug control issues) then a replacement manual box is one good alternative, Milcommoguy sells one

 

[Coug]

The regulators can fail over time, causing charging issues that come and go. For a month or so before I replaced mine, it would work, then it wouldn't, and I'd occasionally have to pull over, shut off the truck, and tap on the outside of the regulator with a small chink of metal until it would start charging again when the truck was restarted.

Here is the manufacturer's troubleshooting guide for the 200 amp system

https://www.ceniehoff.com/Documents/Ctrl_Hyperlink/TG17_uid252021123202.pdf

 

[Venio]

When it is not charging turn on the heater fan and see if it is working, if not it is likely the EESS (protection) box not feeding exciter voltage to the alt.
There is a relay in the box that does that and they can go bad.
It is normal for the alt to delay after starting it is called soft start.

The fan does not start when there is no charge. How do I go about changing the relay?

 

[Mogman]

The fan does not start when there is no charge. How do I go about changing the relay?

Remove the PCB (EESS) box and open it up there is a contactor (solenoid) inside that LOOKS the same as used for many starter (edit and winch) applications, it is 24V and should be rated at 100A AND continuous duty, do not cheap out on this part buy a good brand name contactor.
The heater fan DOES run when it is charging???
Have you confirmed you do not have 24V at the IGN terminal on the regulator when it is not charging?
Make sure of these two things first.
The contactor should have a part number on it, search and try to get this exact part if you can.

 

[Venio]

Remove the PCB (EESS) box and open it up there is a contactor (solenoid) inside that LOOKS the same as used for many starter applications, it is 24V and should be rated at 100A AND continuous duty, do not cheap out on this part buy a good brand name contactor.
The heater fan DOES run when it is charging???
Have you confirmed you do not have 24V at the IGN terminal on the regulator when it is not charging?
Make sure of these two things first.
The contactor should have a part number on it, search and try to get this exact part if you can.

The fan is running when charging. I'm pretty sure there was no 24v at the IGN terminal when it was not charging, but I'll test it again.

Thanks for all the info! I think I got a pretty nice truck overall. Just found my pitman arm is about to disintegrate, but other than that and the charging it's great. I need new springs, if you have an advice for cheap replacement. I have the heavy duty in the back and it's pretty rough...

Here it is running free...

 

[Mogman]

The fan is running when charging. I'm pretty sure there was no 24v at the IGN terminal when it was not charging, but I'll test it again.

Thanks for all the info! I think I got a pretty nice truck overall. Just found my pitman arm is about to disintegrate, but other than that and the charging it's great. I need new springs, if you have an advice for cheap replacement. I have the heavy duty in the back and it's pretty rough...

Here it is running free...

View attachment 922782

That contactor going bad is a fairly common issue, post a picture of the data tag on your PCB box as it may be on of the ones that should be replaced because of its age.
You will eventually have issues with the rest of the box but might get a few more years out of it, there are other options, rebuilding the box with manual glow plug control replacing the electronic parts that will eventually die, or there is a vendor here that sells a replacement manual box.
Replacing the contactor though is a real cheap fix.
Most of the R1s should have late (EESS) boxes as they were rebuilt in the mid 2000s

 

[Milcommoguy]

Remove the PCB (EESS) box and open it up there is a contactor (solenoid) inside that LOOKS the same as used for many starter (edit and winch) applications, it is 24V and should be rated at 100A AND continuous duty, do not cheap out on this part buy a good brand name contactor.
The heater fan DOES run when it is charging???
Have you confirmed you do not have 24V at the IGN terminal on the regulator when it is not charging?
Make sure of these two things first.
The contactor should have a part number on it, search and try to get this exact part if you can.

Not all "boxes" have contactor (solenoid) inside. Some are full of fortune cookie relays and chop stick parts.

All of this in the American Military HumV. What else could go wrong? CAMO