B190 Enthusiasts

Well my brand new gen i had installed for 3k has about 1/2 hr on it. I have not been traveling so no use.

I start in weekly but only run it a for a few mins to keep things moving.

Well we fired it up, let it run and turned on the air cond. Ran it for 15 20 mins then turned it off slowly ramping down from med to low to fan then off. Well the gen died when I hit off.

I restarted to cool it down and smoke came pouring out of the contactor metal box mounted on the side of the gen cabinet under the couch!!

I have not looked yet but Im guessing the contactor melted!! For whatever reason, age, crusty contacts, loose wire I dunno.

My rig is not corroded and all electrical is in as new condition. But the contacts may be dirty from service as can be typical and pulled to much current.

Oh well no geny once again--- LOL cant win no matter how much money I throw at iit!!

3yr warranty but the issue may be mine, they did touch the wires on the contactor last- BUT if its dirty thats my bad...

Not blaming anyone, just saying cant win on my geny. Its a house on wheels go figure...

Do you mean the transfer switch? If so, at least they're a lot less expensive than the generator to replace...

I would say so. the component if i recall correctly is a nothing more than a contactor that must get turned on when the gen gets 110v. but i could be wrong its been sometime since I seen it...

Have you seen these go bad much?


I am surprised it broke only becuase I have only 50hrs on the entire gen circuit. Althought the original gen took a dump so I guess anything is possible.

And...for a split-second you envisioned your rig going up in smoke...?

LOL one never knows, although it seemed to be contained within that box once i dropped the couch arm rest and looked!!

But yes I was moving pretty fast and had a few large items in my way, like a 12inch dodsonian telescope that we was taking to the mountains for a looky see..


So have you seen these burn up before?

Not really, but keep in mind it was unused for how many years, collecting dust... That can be hard on things.

That is so true, use it or lose it..

also i am not convinced my air cond is not also suspect of pulling to much current. If you rememberin my old post's my air cond seems to tax the gen set on cold or hot start up. cycleing it from low to high has shut dwon my new gen in the past. i have been sneaking up on the knob while useing the air cond. which has not been much anyway as like i say only 1/2 hr on the new gen. i think i need to get deep into this issue --like a amp probe on the air cond and see what it is realy doing on start up. pain in the rear!! 1994 air cond could in need of replacement as well..