Gen not producing power

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Jonny
Weekend Camper
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:28 pm
B190 Year: 1991
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Gen not producing power

Post by Jonny »

Just got my hands on a '92 B190 - giving it the once-over, and could not make the air conditioner work (or the microwave) via the generator. Plugging in to shore power, both work. Removed the couch, took cover off transfer switch. Toyed with the back and forth relay on the transfer switch. Moved freely. Clicks one way when shore power is plugged in. Doesn't click the other when generator starts. Using an a/c power tester, checked generator wires coming into transfer switch. Dead. Opened the box on the side of the generator housing where the wires come from the generator housing over to the transfer switch. Dead.

It starts and runs fine. Has 96 hours on the counter. I can't get any tester to show power in the wires coming from the box to the transfer switch though. Is there a breaker or another spot inside the generator box that could be a problem? Could the gen itself be bad? If so, how would I know? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Tomorrow I plan to remove the generator and peek around, just figured I may be able to post now and get someone that knows what I may be up against.
URStruly
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:23 pm
B190 Year: 1991
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Location: Shelby, NC

Re: Gen not producing power

Post by URStruly »

Jonny

The generator has a circuit breaker to the right of the start button on the generator. Failure to produce power could also be bad brushes or voltage regulator. URStruly.
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Alaskan
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:00 am
B190 Year: 1999
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Location: Alaska and Washington

Re: Gen not producing power

Post by Alaskan »

Early vs. later model gens, there is an AC circuit breaker....

Early.....

Image

Late...

Image
Jonny
Weekend Camper
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Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:28 pm
B190 Year: 1991
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Re: Gen not producing power

Post by Jonny »

'Twas the external breaker :)

I feel stupid not looking in the box from the outside before I tore my interior apart. Flipped the breaker and everything works perfectly. All but the fridge, but that's another post later if I can't get it figured out.

Thanks again for the info!
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Alaskan
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B190 Year: 1999
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Re: Gen not producing power

Post by Alaskan »

Hey....thats why we are here, to give some of the answers. But, keep in mind that if that breaker was tripped another problem might pop up.

Toss in your fridge question of the correct forum....
nvestysly
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 149
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:22 pm
B190 Year: 1998
WBCCI: 16771

Re: Gen not producing power

Post by nvestysly »

Thank goodness for this forum. Problem solved based on the comments and pictures above.

I changed the air filter and fuel filter on the generator today. After that I decided to make sure everything was working on AC from the generator. I realized the transfer switch under the couch was not kicking in so nothing was working on AC from the generator. I looked all over for an AC power panel thinking a breaker had tripped. Hmmm... guess I'll take a minute to look on B190.com and see if others have had the same issue. When I installed the new fuel filter I must have accidentally flipped the AC switch on the side of the remote start box.

Thanks to everyone that contributes to the B190 knowledge base!
We sold our 1998 B190, V-10
Currently own a 2010 Airstream Interstate
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lido14co
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B190 Year: 1992
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Location: Los Osos, CA

Re: Gen not producing power

Post by lido14co »

Do you have the wall switch on the up position so the AV works not the microwave ?


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Julief8
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Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 8:06 pm
B190 Year: 1997
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Location: South Lake Tahoe, California USA

Re: Gen not producing power

Post by Julief8 »

Just wanted to say that I had this problem and after checking the inside breakers and opening the Automatic Transfer Switch, which by the way was difficult because the small screw that holds the cover shut was a bitch to get off since the box is located under the couch with no access from the front and the set screw is on the botton of the box. Anyway, after opening it and seeing that it looked brand new inside and that no power was there from the generator leads I looked on this awesome site and sure enough, it was that the breaker on the generator had popped. I flipped it up and wala, POWER. I've really never used the generator and it only has 6.6 hours on it so the prior owner never used it either but now I also read here that I need to start and run it occationally to keep the carb from varnishing up. So another problem solved by reading posts here on b190.com.

Thanks Everyone !!!!
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