Found! Cause of intermittant Generator Shutdowns

February 05, 2018, 08:37:39 am

For years I've been searching for the cause of intermittent shutdowns of my 12.5KW Power Tech generator(see prior posts). I've replaced the 10amp circuit breaker, which always had tripped before the shutdowns on overheat. I've replaced the fan motor at Power Tech's recommendation. FT searched for the cause, but only added an insulating pad to the top of the control box cover.

Yesterday I decided to fix the fatiguing brackets on my fan belt shroud since I have a friend in our RV park who is/was a master welder. While sitting on the ground with my body inside the rear of the generator compartment to install the last two bolts, I happened to look at the back side of the control box. There were two of the three electrical conduits hanging loose, exposing their wires. After I finished with the shroud, I took off the control box cover to reattach the conduits. That's when I found that the power wire to the fan had its insulation worn through where it exits the box. I'm embarrassed that I didn't find this earlier, but I did have a lot of company. I couldn't see anything amiss from in front of the generator. Generator operation can loosen a lot of stuff!

BTW, welding those shroud brackets was very difficult. Aligning them correctly after prepping the weld surfaces was critical to have any chance of all four brackets lining up with the bolt holes. I replaced the fan belt and bypass hose while I was back there as well.