Visit our Popular Forums

gunner · 12-28-2015, 02:36 PM

You are correct in regard to my cable they are all 10 gauge. Did you then use regular 20 amp 110 volt male and female receptacles or did you have to go to 30 amp due to the 10 gauge wires. I believe the two black wires from the motorhome where 12 gauge but I haven't verified since it has been raining heavy for the last two days with high winds and haven't wanted to be outside any more than necessary. You are correct regarding the neutral wire it was heavy and would have to carry up to 62 amps where 10 gauge is for 30 amp. Thanks for your input since it is much easier to change it now than when I have it installed and the neutral wire gets hot.

bkahler · 12-28-2015, 06:02 PM

Gunter, I used 30 amp plugs and receptacles due to the 30 amp rating on each leg of the generator. If I remember correctly each leg is actually something like 31 amps so technically the 30 amp plugs are borderline but in this application I felt they were more than adequate. 20 amp plugs would definitely not have been enough.

I think you're right about the black wires from the motorhome being 12 gauge. They really should have been 10 gauge.

I don't know about your 345 but doing the wiring on the 310 for those cables from the generator inside the coach at the breaker panel were a real pain. The box is under the passenger side bedroom closet and it's only accessible from a small fold down door

gunner · 12-29-2015, 05:03 AM

After receiving shipping details on the slides I found out they sell them singly instead of pairs, cancelled my order. I will see what they say after they open up this morning. Right now my plans have changed, I will weld up the bottom tray including adding a stiffener in the cut area. Install the generator in the motorhome without slides to make sure that the voltage regulator took care of my low voltage issue then go from there regarding slides and wiring modifications, no use putting more money into it if the voltage regulator did not solve the problem. Right now I am kind of bummed out regarding the slides but it is my own fault.

bkahler · 12-29-2015, 07:09 AM

To bad about the slides, I guess the price was to good to be true.

Sounds like you have a path forward that will work. I was skeptical that the voltage regulator replacement on mine would work but it did so with luck you'll experience the same success.

Brad

gunner · 12-30-2015, 12:09 PM

Installed the generator today and I have a problem. With the new voltage regulator the engine will start but will stop as soon as you release the start button. Also with the start button depressed to keep the engine running I did not get any ac voltage. Per the service manual that is either the 10 amp fuse, miss wiring or the voltage regulator. I verified the wiring several times also the fuse was alright. I reinstalled my old regulator and the engine ran fine but had the same low voltage that I previously had when I started all of this. I think it is time to take a break.

bkahler · 12-30-2015, 03:37 PM

Gunter, I'm out and about right now. When I get home I'll dig out the manuals and poke around.

I'm probably wrong but somewhere it seems like I read the generator won't stay running if it's not producing ac voltage.

Brad

bkahler · 12-30-2015, 05:01 PM

Ok I've been poking around in the 7cm service manual. If you have the version that I posted recently look on page 5-1 paragraph 8.

Paragraph 8 reads: To prevent this from happening a cranking interlock is provided. This consists of a circuit which provides a forward bias to transistor Q10 allowing the 1CR relay to be energized as long as AC is available from generator stator terminals 33 and 44. When the 1CR relay is energized, the normally open 1CR contacts close to provide a holding supply to B+ for the 1CR relay after the "C" contacts open.

Page 5-2 Paragraph 11 reads: If no signal to the bias circuit of the Q10 transistor is received from the interlock circuit, the engine will remain running only as long as the start switch is held in the start position.

Do you have AC voltage present while the engine start button is depressed, i.e. while you're holding the start button and the engine is running is the 120 vac present from the generator? If no AC voltage is present when you release the start button it will stop the engine.

Either your new regulator is no good or there is something wrong in the wiring between the regulator itself and where you're making connections to the on board generator wiring. There isn't much else that can cause the symptoms that you're having. Take a real close look at the new regulator wiring. I'm betting the problem is in that area.

We know the generator is capable of producing AC voltage. And in fact it probably is but something in the regulator circuit is keeping the regulator from performing it's function.

The seller offers a 14 day money back guarantee so worst case you'll get your money back less shipping. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Brad

bkahler · 12-30-2015, 05:25 PM

Another thought. While holding the start button down (i.e. generator running) check to see if there is any AC voltage on the two brown wires that go to the new voltage regulator. The regulator uses that AC voltage to determine that the generator is running.

Brad

gunner · 12-31-2015, 07:11 AM

On the new regulator I am getting approximately 34 volts on one of the AC wires and nothing on the other. On the old regulator I am getting approximately 100 volts on one of the AC wires and nothing on the other. I am not getting any voltage at the outlets with the new regulator but I am getting it with the old. All measurements taking from each side of the AC to ground.

gunner · 12-31-2015, 08:15 AM

I have decided to return the new voltage regulator since it is only passing 34 volts.

bkahler · 12-31-2015, 10:02 AM

At this point returning the regulator is probably not a bad idea. The key is to figure out why you only have 100 volts on one side of the generator and 0 on the other.

You've reached a point where I don't think I can be much help. I'm not an expert on generators, I've just tinkered with them over the years. Looking at the schematic for the 7cm the 120vac generator lines to the regulator come directly from the generator brushes. So if one of those legs is 0 volts then there appears to be something wrong at the brush end of the generator.

I hate to say it but your best bet would be to take it to a Kohler generator repair shop. I've done that once before and it wasn't overly expensive.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

Brad

gunner · 12-31-2015, 01:42 PM

Thanks for all of your assistance bkahler. Based on the schematic I agree each AC line goes to its own brush holder and I assume each should have its own voltage, but then when you look at how to test a voltage regulator in your service manual 6.8 it appears there is one 120 volt line going into the AC terminals. Also the service manual pages jump from pages 5.5 to 6.1 don't know if there is pages missing since you mentioned page 5.8 in one of your previous posts.
I really don't want to pull the generator again but I think my choices are either as you say take it to a service center or pull it.

bkahler · 01-07-2016, 10:44 AM

Gunter,

5.8 was a typo on my part, sorry about that. I probably meant 5.3 but it's kind of a moot point now.

Any progress on finding out what's wrong with your generator?

gunner · 01-07-2016, 01:53 PM

I received my money back on the voltage regulator, I see it is for sale again on e-bay. I plan on purchasing a commutator stone to clean the commutator to assure I have a good electrical connection between the brushes and commutator. That will mean pulling the generator out slightly to get at the commutator, would have been easier if it was on slides. I may wait for warmer weather before I accomplish this. Talking about slides, I finally received it after it was shipped from Illinois to Missouri instead of Ohio, then it was shipped to Cincinnati then to Kentucky back to Cincinnati etc. for a total of 9 days instead of 2, plus I was notified the company's web site was hacked and my credit card was also hacked due to this, luckily my credit card stopped the transaction for $649. I returned the slide the minute it was received. Makes me wonder if I should be working on my generator with all of this bad luck.

bkahler · 01-07-2016, 02:18 PM

Gunter, I will say this. It certainly won't do you any good to go out and buy lottery tickets right now!

It's unfortunate that this project has turned into such a challenge. I think cleaning the brushes is an excellent step to try next. It certainly can't hurt the situation and even has a reasonable chance of success.

I was looking closer at those drawer slides on ebay as I'm looking for some for the battery tray I'm building for my Argosy.

The picture of the tape measure up against the slide seems to indicate that the slide actually does slide out 4" more than the retracted length which is 18". So if you have a drawer that is 22" deep and you put these slides at the outer edge then when you open the drawer it will extend out 22". I've searched the Accuride side for information on these slides and can't find anything about "over extending" slides. But they obviously exist because he has pictures with a tape measure to prove it.

Since the price is so good the odds are I'll order a set once I verify the depth of the floor I will be building for the battery tray to sit on.

Brad

gunner · 01-29-2016, 02:17 PM

With the weather being somewhat decent I went out and stoned the commutator. The commutator ended up being nice shiny color. The result was my no load voltage 116.1, 1500 watt load 109.0 volts, 3,000 watt load 103 volts. I ran the generator for an hour under 1,500 watt load with no change in voltage. I found another new voltage regulator, the seller has a engine/generator repair business and selling his old inventory, he is very knowledgeable regarding generators and he advised that there may be two conditions causing this; one is the voltage regulator and one is a open winding in the generator. I went ahead with the purchase even though it may not be the final fix. I may have a new voltage regulator for sale if it doesn't fix the problem. He did say the previous one I purchased where I had to hold the starter switch down to keep it running did mean it was defective.

bkahler · 01-30-2016, 06:51 AM

Gunter, have you checked the voltage on both circuits of the generator since you polished the armature?

gunner · 01-30-2016, 08:07 AM

Yes I have and it is the same on both circuits. I took voltage readings at both transfer relays to make sure.

bkahler · 01-30-2016, 12:29 PM

I'm assuming you still have your original regulator installed and are waiting for the new one to arrive.

The voltages you're reporting right now are really close to what I was experiencing with my Kohler generator before replacing the voltage regulator. I'm betting once you install the new voltage regulator the generator will produce the correct voltage on both legs like it's supposed to.

Brad

gunner · 02-04-2016, 02:09 PM

Installed another Voltage Regulator today, the results are:
No Load Volts 122.3
1500 Watt Load Volts 116.8
3000 Watt Load Volts 113.3
I believe it is fixed unless someone has voltage readings that are higher under load.