Mep016d no voltage

[dstang97]

Going to look at a mep016d that will not produce power. What are some of the things to look for? Bad voltage regulator? Need to field flashed? What do you think a fair offer is for the genset?

 

[Isaac-1]

Out of the handful of MEP-016D's I have seen very little if any attention was taken to the control box wiring when the diesel conversion was done. Metal fatigue on the wiring, gauges, etc. is common so a loose or broken wire is very possible having said that the voltage regulator may be another possibility, but they do tend to fail voltage high.

Ike

p.s. I paid $400 for mine from GL, but it had very low hours showing on the meter and bright red paint on the engine and no rust on the black paint on the exhaust. Of course it turned out some idiot had wired the 24V hour meter to the 120V outlet leads and the fuel filter was clogged with sand.

 

[rustystud]

MY MEP-016D also had it's issues. The engine was basically brand new, but the generator was trashed. I spent about $300.00 trying to fix the electronics only to find the windings on the generator where toast ! I'm now in the process of trying to find a replacement generator head for mine. I'm going after market. No more 3 phase crap for me !

 

[Guyfang]

The MEP- 016D always had issues when it stood long time periods without starting. I would check for field flash, then manually flash the fields. If I remember correctly, there is a manual field flash switch in the control panel.

Isac-1 is correct. Very little was done to these sets other then put a new engine on them. This is one of the few military generators I hated to see, let alone work on. Good luck. Take or at least read the manuals before fooling with this thing.

 

[rustystud]

The MEP- 016D always had issues when it stood long time periods without starting. I would check for field flash, then manually flash the fields. If I remember correctly, there is a manual field flash switch in the control panel.

Isac-1 is correct. Very little was done to these sets other then put a new engine on them. This is one of the few military generators I hated to see, let alone work on. Good luck. Take or at least read the manuals before fooling with this thing.

I have all the manuals and have read them all. I flashed the field manually, (mine does not have a flash switch, in fact no MEP-016D has one) that's not the problem. It would produce 120 volts on one pair of windings but the other two only produced 50 volts and 60 volts. After testing the stator (OK) and field windings I found a short in them. That is why I took the generator head off and am looking for a new generator head.

 

[dstang97]

What's it worth in this unknown condition?

 

[Isaac-1]

In unknown condition like buying from GL, I only went as high as $400 on mine because of the great looking paint condition, but that is just me. At the time I did not NEED another generator, if I needed a small diesel generator I would probably have went up to $500 or so as is on a MEP-016D, but you are not looking at as-is, you are looking at does not produce power, which the going opinion online is scrap value. Having said that the Yanmar L70 engine on there is worth a fair amount on its own, if you can find a buyer. This really is a dice roll, it could be a loose wire, maybe a bad voltage regulator that can be replaced by a $50 SX-460 clone, or the thing could be a big paperweight like Rustystud has. However if you get a good one I feel they are great little diesel generators that sip fuel if you don't mind taking the time to deal with the old wiring issues inside the control box (there is not that much inside them so it should not take too long), certainly as good as anything you can buy for under $3,000 new.

 

[rustystud]

In unknown condition like buying from GL, I only went as high as $400 on mine because of the great looking paint condition, but that is just me. At the time I did not NEED another generator, if I needed a small diesel generator I would probably have went up to $500 or so as is on a MEP-016D, but you are not looking at as-is, you are looking at does not produce power, which the going opinion online is scrap value. Having said that the Yanmar L70 engine on there is worth a fair amount on its own, if you can find a buyer. This really is a dice roll, it could be a loose wire, maybe a bad voltage regulator that can be replaced by a $50 SX-460 clone, or the thing could be a big paperweight like Rustystud has. However if you get a good one I feel they are great little diesel generators that sip fuel if you don't mind taking the time to deal with the old wiring issues inside the control box (there is not that much inside them so it should not take too long), certainly as good as anything you can buy for under $3,000 new.

I only wished I had gone up to $400.00 on mine ! I ended up paying $1200.00 for a busted generator ! The picture looked great though ! and the engine runs like a champ ! To bad it makes no power .

 

[dstang97]

Ok picked it up today. Where do I start diagnosing this thing?

 

[Guyfang]

Start it up. Measure on the F-1 and F-2 (Exciter circuit wires) for D.C. voltage, with the start switch, (S-1) in the start position. Any voltage? Does it light off the main generator? Does the voltage fall off after releasing the S-1? Take a gander at the troubleshooting section of the manual.

 

[dstang97]

Ok so I opened up the control panel and every wire was labeled. Someone was in here before trying to diagnose the problem. Here is what I found. I think I have a bad wire in the generator head or a bad generator head. I got no voltage at f1 and f2 and 10volts at tb1 and tb4.

 

[Guyfang]

The AC volt reg, (excitor) sends the excitation voltage to the head on F1 and F2. So if there is no voltage there you need to look at the volt reg. Or see if the voltage is coming from S-1 switch, during the start phase.

 

[dstang97]

Shouldn't there be power at tb1 and 4 or f1 and f2 before it even enters the voltage regulator? Those are coming right off the generator head. Also what do you mean by start position? Working on generators is new to me.

 

[Isaac-1]

I think Guyfang may be thinking about a different model here, maybe the MEP-016E those I think will flash the field when the start switch is held in the on position.

p.s. I don't have the wiring diagram in front of me, but the wires feeding the voltage regulator should have residual voltage even if the voltage regulator is not working, this will likely be only a few volts. If there is no residual there are still things that could be causing this other than a bad generator end, like bad revolving rectifier diodes, ...

 

[Guyfang]

Ok, when the old lady gives me some time, I will dig out the books and take a look see.

 

[dstang97]

I think I'm going to give up on this generator. I can't find much info or parts on it. Reading through the manuals I believe it's the rotating diodes, but can't find replacement parts.

 

[Isaac-1]

They are a easy to find studed diodes altough you may have to go with higher spec rating than the original (assuming they are the same as on the MEP-016B)


Ike
ps see these threads

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79894

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50838

Unfortunately we can't ask KD what he used as he was killed in a tractor rollover accident a few years ago

 

[kloppk]

Are there any markings on the existing diodes?

 

[Isaac-1]

Also it has been noted that these can be changed without the complete disassembly of the generator called for in the TM, although you may need wobble extensions or dog leg box wrenches to do it.

 

[rustystud]

Also it has been noted that these can be changed without the complete disassembly of the generator called for in the TM, although you may need wobble extensions or dog leg box wrenches to do it.

I wouldn't try. They must be soldered in place and that would be next to impossible with this generator. I have mine totally apart and after looking at how they mounted the diodes I just would not attempt it.