Coleman Powermate Generator / Billy Shafer

Hi,

What can make a generator put out different voltages ? I have one that doesn't work as in generate electric, but motor runs like a top . Took generator power head end cap off today and looked at wires and did a few tests . Brushes are free , where they ride on rotor is clean looking , Field coil or rotor wires don't look burnt . Nothing looks or smells burnt . Took panel where plugs are off and tested there for a bad breaker , didn't find one and probed a 120 plug and was getting anywhere from 2.0 volts ac up to 30 some volts ac and then it would go upwards to 50 vac . Occasionally, it would go up to 90 vac and then up to up to 115 vac . When it hit 115 vac it might hold it for a few seconds or up to a minute possibly before it would let it go and drop back down to 2.0 vac and start flucating again. How long it held 115 vac varied . One time when it read 115 vac I plugged in a 110 vac drill and it ran fine for a few seconds and then stopped . I laid the drill down with the trigger locked on and occasionally it would jerk a little like it was trying to start running again . Motor is a Briggs engine and it has preset rpms from factory . there's no throttle lever. Motor runs like a top and never misses a lick . There's no weird noises coming from genset either. It has 4-110 vac outputs and a 220 vac output . I was getting 110 vac occassionally on two wires on the 220 plug . I didn't have the generators earth ground lug hooked up to an earth ground either, but shouldn't have made a difference . Nothing felt hot or smelled like it was heating up . The AVR was plastic on top and sides ,but the back was full of the black epoxy that they put on there to protect circuit board . There was a capacitor sticking out of it and a transistor . Capacitor looked good and wasn't bulging . Transistor looked good also and there was a bolt threw it with a nut on it to hold a heat sink on it . Where bolt went threw trans. there was a little rust on bolt . Any ideas on this as neighbor wants it fixed . It's a 2007 model Coleman Powermate 120/220 vac 5000 / 6250 watt generator. Model PMO545002. A lot of parts have been discontinued from manufactuer so an idea of where to get parts would be nice too . I, along with an electrical genius friend, as well as an auto mechanic friend ,think that it could be the AVR. But , I guess that it could also be the rotor , field coil, or possibly the brushes or a combo of any of them . Thanks for any and all help !

Whizkid

P.S. Sorry so long
 
Whizzy, if he doesn't see this and reply right away, he has posted on Tales he's had a stroke.

A few days later, there's a post from kcm.MN that says he's doing well.

Sp, hopefully he'll be back soon.
Stroke post
 
i had a coleman given to me a few years back that had the problem yours is having,,i went the same route that you have ,jump in and look for a answer,,it ended up being the magnetic field in the machine was gone,, i was told if they set too long of a time this can happen as well as some other reasons i cannot recall..if i remember it is the same principle as polerizing a 6 volt relay system on a old tractor,,i took a 6 volt car battery and a piece on romex that i put a plug on the end of the wire and plugged it into the 110 v plug on the genny and then held the black wire on the neg. post and took the red wire and just hit the + post on the battery do not hold it there just strike it like a match after that i took and cut the plug off the romex wire,,so no one could electricute themselves .when i started the genny it was pruducing electricity.
 
I forgot to add that I flash the generator to check the magnetic field by using the old drill process . Didn't fix it ! Maybe I didn't do it right or it wasn't the problem . Any way to test and see if that's the problem ?

Whizkid
 
As you know I have had a stroke. So I am a little slow at this time.

The main problem with brush type generators. Is a film forming on the slip rings. Which is removed by motion or by flashing the fields. I am open to talking might be the best way. 1-903-536-2816
 
Billy Shafer ,


Thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear about your stroke. I'll keep your number for later references ,but as of right now my neighbor said to forget it . Cost too much ( I was also working on a APG propane for him ) he said . I'm going to try and buy the propane one off of him . How do you suggest that I flash the fields ? I already used the drill method which didn't work . I heard of using a 4 inch angle grinder the same way to do it basically and I've heard of hooking a 12 volt battery to the brushes as well as using household 120 to do it . Also, I didn't want to bother you since you are sick now . If I'm able to buy them I'll give you a call later about them .

Thank you,
Whizkid
 

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