mep002a not putting out 60hrz

[kipman]

I fired up my mep002a that came from WPAFB, picked it up on Monday, runs great, had new oil and full of fuel, any thoughts on a little problem, showed putting out 60 hrz once, then nothing, did not matter where the rpm was set. will check the tm when I have more time, thanks.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Is there really output from the generator? In other words, is it just an instrumentation problem for the frequency meter - or is the generator not putting out any voltage? What does the output voltmeter say?

 

[kipman]

120

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Then it's likely just the transducer or meter that reports the operating frequency at fault. You can get the parts if something is defective - but they are spendy. Check all the connections first.

If you don't mind modification from the original state, there are inexpensive digital frequency meters you can get from eBay and build into the panel - but you will have to make sheet metal modifications to do so (at least based on the size of the openings required for most units I've seen).

 

[kipman]

If that is the problem, I do not care if the unit is original, thanks Carl.

 

[Isaac-1]

Hardy Diesel sells a nice little LED frequency/volt meter with a standard 120V plug on the end off ebay for about $20 (search term: voltage frequency meter), several people over on the smokstak board including myself have bought them. One nice thing about the meter is internally it is labeled as working from 50-300VAC, some of the people over on the smokstak board have wired them in with their L-L / L-N instrumentation switch and have confirmed they do read 240V ok

Ike

p.s. another cheap option is a Kill-A-Watt availble from all sorts of sources again around $20

 

[kipman]

Thanks for the help.

 

[Boatcarpenter]

Did you try the convenience outlets to see if you have juice?
BC

 

[doghead]

Check with Spedmon, he may have what you need. If nothing else, he likes talking gen sets!

 

[kipman]

Did not try using any power, I was in a hurry, slaved it from the 1009, followed the start procedure, it read 60hrtz the first time, played with the unit, started and stopped several times, after the first start up, hertz meter would bounce at far left, it could be a simple thing, have not had time to run it for long yet.

 

[kipman]

I left our genset god a message.

 

[tennmogger]

If the freq meter (reed type?) was bouncing at one end, could the frequency simply have drifted off beyond the freq meter range? Maybe the meter is still ok, just the frequency too far off to read.

Did not try using any power, I was in a hurry, slaved it from the 1009, followed the start procedure, it read 60hrtz the first time, played with the unit, started and stopped several times, after the first start up, hertz meter would bounce at far left, it could be a simple thing, have not had time to run it for long yet.

 

[eisenhe]

Disclaimer -- I'm an electrical engineer, but have no MEP-2 experience...

The frequency should be driven by the engine RPM, and most electronics are not terribly sensitive. If you're getting power out, chances are you're close enough to 60Hz. If you're concerned, plug a clock in and run it for an hour -- if you only see 59 minutes on the clock, you are at 59 Hertz! I suppose the same could be done with a second hand over a minute too...

Good luck!

 

[kipman]

I have never heard of that, I will try it today and report back, thanks.

 

[jbk]

try going in and out with the throttle and see if the hertz meter moves. also any harbor freight has the kill a watt meter that will give you the hertz reading. just dont go above 130 on the volts with it. be me i would buy a meter first you dont want to go below 55 hertz to long on these sets the vr goes to full output and will fail soon after.

 

[kipman]

is it possible to putting out 120volts and not putting out 60 hertz, at say 1/2 throttle?

 

[Isaac-1]

If your running it at half throttle you have bigger problems than the frequency being off. Running these units at anything under 1800 rpms for more than a few seconds is very likely to burn out the voltage regulator. They are designed to be started and immediately run at 1800 rpms (1800 rpms = 60 hz power on 4 pole alternators like yours)

Ike

 

[jas67]

If your running it at half throttle you have bigger problems than the frequency being off. Running these units at anything under 1800 rpms for more than a few seconds is very likely to burn out the voltage regulator. They are designed to be started and immediately run at 1800 rpms (1800 rpms = 60 hz power on 4 pole alternators like yours)

Ike

Is it possible to disable the voltage regulator altogether when troubleshooting governor or other engine issues?

 

[Speddmon]

Is it possible to disable the voltage regulator altogether when troubleshooting governor or other engine issues?

Anything is possible!! But I would be inclined to disable the VR and the Bridge board as well. Which could prove to be quite a chore as the bridge board is not the easiest to get to. But you should have enough time to run it for a little bit to do any troubleshooting you need to do. A lot of the troubleshooting that would need done can be done with the set off. And then run for final checks and adjustments.

I talked to Kip just a bit ago. He's probably got some loose or dirty connections somewhere in the frequency transducer circuit as he told me it's working again. I'll be going over to his place within a week and we'll go over the set pretty thoroughly at that time. He's pretty excited because he's got a pretty nice set for a great price.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I'll be going over to his place within a week and we'll go over the set pretty thoroughly at that time.

Hey Speeddmon, can you come over to my place and look at my genset too? Nothing wrong with it, just look at it?