MEP-831A 3kw generator, overload @ 2.4kw

[remcauliffe]

Greetings, looking for some trouble shooting assistance. My MEP-831A runs well but trips overload after running for less than a minute at loads above 2.4kw. I’ve removed and inspected the inverter assembly and didn’t see any evidence of leaking / damaged capacitors or overheating of components on the CCAs. Any suggestions on how to proceed with troubleshooting would be appreciated.


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[kloppk]

What mode is the inverter set to? 120 or 120/240?
If 120/240 is your load balanced? L0 to L1 and L0 to L2? Is it a 240 volt load (L1 to L2) or two 120 volt loads L0 to L1 and L0 to L2)?
In 120/240 mode if either load is greater than 1,500 watts the Overload will occur.

Remember, the Inverter is actually comprised of two 1,500 wat inverters inside it. Both have Overload protection.
When in 120 mode the two inverters are synchronized and connected in parallel to provide 120 volts 3,000 watts.
When in 120/240 the two inverters are set 180 degrees out of phase and are connected in series to provide 240 volts.

 

[remcauliffe]

I’m running in 120V mode, off of L1 for this test. I installed a supplemental 120V 20A receptacle, which is fed from L1.


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[kloppk]

OK.... Could be 1 of the inverters has an issue.
I'd suggest setting it to 120/240.
The apply a 1,500 watt load from L0 to L1 and see if the inverter half can support the load.
Disconnect that load and reconnect it from L0 to L2 and again see if the inverter half can support the load.

 

[DieselAddict]

If you find that each half of the inverter can handle 1.5kw, you can put it back into 120v mode and put a jumper between L1 and L2 to test. It could be that the relay that does that internally has a problem.

 

[kloppk]

You could.
Just don't forget to remove it should it ever be switched back to 120/240.

 

[remcauliffe]

I was able to sustain 2.7kw for about 15 minutes with no issues so it appears that the jumper worked. So that would indicate that a relay isn’t latching? Any idea which relay I should check out? Interestingly, when I loaded up to 3kw, the governor started to intermittently close. Keep running but slamming shut and resuming about every 2 seconds. Any suggestions on that? Thanks guys!


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[kloppk]

The relay for that is located on the board just under the top cover of the Inverter.
The one circled in red.


The whacky Governor Control is due to either the Governor Controller being out of adjustment or more likely the Governor Controller is failing.
The adjustment procedure is in the -13&P TM

 

[remcauliffe]

I’ll go through the adjustment procedure and see what yields. I installed the digital governor controller a while back so I don’t think that would be the problem.


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