Mep-701 no power

[Anthill]

I picker up a Mep-701 - just changer filters and added oil, and a new battery and it started right up, but will not produce power. I checked the fuses and they were fine. Any suggestions ?

Thanks,

Ant

 

[Isaac-1]

Sound like you may have a problem with the voltage regulator, there should be a test procedure in one of the manuals for manually flashing the fields and seeing if you get a spike of voltage.

 

[Anthill]

I finally got a chance to check the regulator and it was only putting out 15.6 volts. Any suggestions as to where to locate a replacement ?

Thanks,

Ant

 

[Isaac-1]

That depends on if you want to go back to the original shoebox style regulator or replace it with a highly integrated modern unit that is about the size of a pack of playing cards. I know there was an ebay seller that was selling new original replacement voltage regulators of fairly recent (1990's or 2000's) vintage a while back, the asking price was a bit rich for me though, I think it was in the $350-$400 range, the alternative is to use a chineese SX460 clone which typically sells for $50-$75 (real SX460's go for $300). Having said this I am not sure off hand what the correct output is, if yours is in the right ballpark the problem may be the rotating diodes, did you follow the test procedures?

Ike

 

[Anthill]

I need a little guidance, I have little to no electrical experience and I am looking at pictures of the sx460 and not sure how this would connect to my generator. Does this come with installation instructions ?

 

[Isaac-1]

The instructions that come with it just identify which connector goes to where conceptually (exciter F-,F+, jumpers for frequency and internal or external voltage adjustment and connections for line reference), finding the matching connection points requires reading the schematics on the generator and rewiring as needed, in addition the MEP-701a taps the 120V reference input terminals on the AVR to provide power for the case fans so those would have to be rewired as well. I would be glad to take pictures of my MEP-701a and how I rewired for use with the SX460, however I have to leave town in the morning for a 12 day trip.

Take a look at my project doing an SX-460 install on a MEP-016D, very similar, but slightly different from the 701a

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?94526-MEP-016-SX460-AVR-shuffle

 

[Anthill]

Thank you, the pictures would help a lot . Take your time enjoy your trip I am in no hurry. I have many other projects I can catch up on.

Thanks,

Ant

 

[ETN550]

Thank you, the pictures would help a lot . Take your time enjoy your trip I am in no hurry. I have many other projects I can catch up on.

Thanks,

Ant

Ant,

I you do decide to swap out that big shoebox regulator I may be interested in buying it for parts as long as it is not visibly fried or damaged. In any case don't pitch it. There is a very lengthy procedure for testing and rebuilding them. I also have an sx460 on hand but have not had a bad unit to put it in yet. It has pretty decent instructions with it plus I found more instructions on line.

 

[Anthill]

I went and changed the voltage regulator from the shoe box to a sx-460 and it worked for about 10 minutes. Then I turned off the generator from the control switch and heard a loud "pop". It looked like a flash came from the master switch area , so I swapped out the master switch. When I restarted it there was no power. Any suggestions where to look next ?