Home Generator Repair

Reader Contribution by Ed Essex
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Generators are an important aspect of most homesteads and off grid living.  Our smallest generator is a 3500 watt portable unit that we use to top off our batteries or haul around the property for projects that might be a little out of range for our battery operated power tools.

I have no idea how many hours we have on it but it was purchased in 2008 and used extensively to build our house, keep our batteries charged on cloudy days and most importantly to run our 240 volt deep-well water pump. The water pump maxed out the generator capacity. This past year it finally gave out and could no longer produce electricity the way it was supposed to. It would work erratically on and off and anywhere from 50% voltage to 100 percent.

We live over 100 miles (200 miles round trip) from the nearest generator repair shop. By the time you take it there, pay the repair bill, and go back to pick it up you might as well buy a new one with ALL new parts.

I am the least mechanically inclined person I know and electrical is way out of my league but with nothing to lose I decided to do what I could to get this necessary piece of equipment up and running again.

I went online to You Tube and searched for a video that described my generator problems and ended up with a video from the Generator Guru. This video described how to remove the cover plate to expose the electrical wiring and parts that were directly responsible for generating power. It then goes on to lay out a step by step series of tests you can do with a voltage meter or multi meter to diagnose which part is not working properly. It also gives you the voltage parameters you will be looking for on each test.

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