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Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

May 19, 2017, 06:49:06 am

My 12kw generator is tripping on over temperature after its been running under load for various times from 30 minutes to several hours.  It seems to run longer if it's just battery charging versus  multiple A/C's.  Each time I find the 10amp breaker tripped.  Once the generator has cooled down and coolant filled up again, it runs fine until next time.  The generator has about 1500 hours on it.
I thought maybe the breaker had gotten weak over time, so I got a new one from PT-no change.  Any ideas?

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #1 – May 19, 2017, 07:00:04 am

Your blower motor has/going bad.  I went to Granger and bought a new motor with squirrel cage and replaced both.  It is possible your breaker has gone bad. I thought the same thing. Replaced breaker,  still tripped and then replaced motor.

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #2 – May 19, 2017, 07:38:05 am

You say after it shuts down and cools you add coolant. When is the coolant going? Maybe there is air in the system and needs to be purged.. There is a process for getting the air out. Might be (2) different issues....

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #3 – May 19, 2017, 07:38:56 am

I was asking where is the coolant going?

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #4 – May 19, 2017, 08:42:26 am

I had a bad run capacitor on my 10kw powertech that caused my generator to overheat.  The fan motor wouldn't always run or stay running.

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #5 – May 19, 2017, 09:08:31 am

I had the same problem that you describe with mine (with no coolant loss though) that was caused by an intermittent faulty breaker.  It wasn't tripping right away but was losing connection internally, and then eventually tripping.  It was a small push-button re-settable breaker on the control box of the generator.  I replaced it and it worked normally until that one failed in the same way.  I replaced it with a fuse and so far no problems.  You should be able hear your fan running.  If it's not, then this could be your issue.  It causes the fan to stop running, causing the engine to overheat & shut down.  You can temporarily bypass the breaker by installing a jumper for testing.  If the fan is running during the entire run cycle, then it has to be something else. Bad thermostat that's not opening, maybe?

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Re: Power Tech 10amp breaker tripping

Reply #6 – May 19, 2017, 10:06:39 am

Power Tech says the fan motor is failing.  It shorts out once it gets hot.  As I said above, I've already replaced the breaker.  Where is the coolant going?-all over the ground!

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