GENERATOR WILL RUN BUT DON'T PRODUCE ELECTRIC

it does not idle when not loaded, generator have to run open to produce power when needed. contact mfg. for more into

The most common cause of portable generators failing to produce electricity is from the loss of residual magnetism. Generators work by moving electrical conductors through a magnetic field. Your generator does not have magnets. ... When the residual magnetism is lost, the generator will produce no power at start-up.

There are a few methods of restoring a generator residual magnetism

12 Volt Generator Battery Method

Locate the voltage regulator for your generator.Unplug the two wires that connect to the generator brushes. Normally one is red and the other is black or white.Connect the black or white to the generator ground battery terminal.Plug in a light, turn on the generator breaker or switch and start the motor.Connect the battery +12 volts (red cable) to the red wire on the terminals you removed for three seconds.Remove your wires and replace the plug. The generator should now be producing power again.

Make sure you unplug the brush wires from the automatic voltage regulator or you will damage the regulator. Do not contact the voltage regulator or other wires as dangerous voltages may be present that can cause electric shock.

An electrical generator has a finite amount of power it can produce. Drawing more power than what a generator is able to produce leads to low voltage conditions (brown out) that may damage both the power generator and the load(s).

Web search "northeast blackout 1965" for what can happen when electrical demand exceeds available and the power company doesn't load shed.

Is there any inline fuses that may have tripped. I had a similar problem many years ago and I needed to have the internal windings restrung / rebuilt. After this procedure my unit ran flawlessly and even above normal spec outputs

The most common cause of portable generators failing to produce electricity is from the loss of residual magnetism.

Generators work by moving electrical conductors through a magnetic field. Your generator does not have magnets. The magnetic field is created by taking some of the generator output voltage and converting it to DC and feeding it to a coil to make an electromagnet.

When there is a small amount of magnetism left over from the last time the generator was running, it is called residual magnetism. The little bit of magnetism is enough to produce a small amount of electricity. This small amount of electricity is needed to create an even stronger electric magnet. As the engine turns this magnet moving its electric field, through the stator windings, your generator produces even more power.

When the residual magnetism is lost, the generator will produce no power at start-up. This residual magnetism can be lost naturally from not being used or from the load on your generator being connected when the generator is shut off. It can also happen from running a generator with no load for too long.

Generators need to work and it helps maintain that residual magnetism. When they are running, a load should be connected to it. It helps create an even stronger magnetic field. Before you shut it off, turn off the switch or breaker to disconnect the load. If you shut off a generator with the load connected, it can essentially drain or demagnetize the electromagnet. Try and avoid running out of fuel.

How to fix it:

There are a few methods of restoring a generator residual magnetism

12 Volt Generator Battery Method

Locate the voltage regulator for your generator.
Unplug the two wires that connect to the generator brushes. Normally one is red and the other is black or white.
Connect the black or white to the generator ground battery terminal.
Plug in a light, turn on the generator breaker or switch and start the motor.
Connect the battery +12 volts (red cable) to the red wire on the terminals you removed for three seconds.
Remove your wires and replace the plug. The generator should now be producing power again.

Give us a call when you are with the Generator and we will run through it with you. Call your local office and speak to an engineer: http://www.generatorguru.com/ask-the-guru/
Generator Guru

Sounds like you did overload the capacity of the generator. What has happened is that the generator was happily running away producing the electricity required for approximately an hour and then an appliance such as an air conditioner, furnace, refrigerator, water heater, or similar large amperage draw fixture decided it was time to kick on for its cycle, or perhaps two or three of them kicked on at the same time, thereby raising the amperage requirement beyond the capability of the generator. All heavy duty appliances run at a given amperage but when they kick on for a cycle they draw almost 50 percent or more amps. Generators rated at 6000 amps or less will not power an entire home or business. When using this size of generator, disable some of your electrical items in the home by unplugging or switching off, and only connect the most important items needed for emergency use. A 3500 watt generator will only run a few lights and a television, plus only one appliance. This means that you could plug in the refrigerator and run it until it has gotten cold enough, then unplug it & connect the furnace or air conditioner or water heater so that they can do there job. Eventually you will be able to rotate through each appliance in turn, and hope the power will return soon. Your generator will likely have blown a capacitor, resistor or some similar repairable item. Some good quality generators will have an overload breaker installed, that trips before doing any damage and all that is needed is to find it and reset it, in order to continue using the generator.

I recently had a similar problem during "Sandy". I forgot to turn off the hot tub before starting the generator and the house lightswhere barely lit, dim, and flickering under the load. I quickly shut itoff andthe hot tub, but not before frying half of my generator. It will only produce 110now, not the 220 usual adn I need to get it fixed. I imaging you may be experienceing the same thing if you can't reset it. My generator has two reset buttons right next to the outlets on the unit itself.

Hi,

The small permanent magnets that start the field producing the electric have gone flat or lost their charge.
To get the generator part working again you will need to "flash" or reintroduce power back into the magnets.

This can be done in many ways... click here for one way

Here is another way to do it...

There are more if you want to google it...

heatman101

Could be several problems on the gen set itself. Check to see if there is a surge protection breaker or fuse, depending on age. Make sure all connecting wires are secure and switches are not set to 240v instead of 120v if you are trying to use outlets.