Review of malfunctions of an autonomous power plant. DIY repair features. The gasoline generator has broken down. How to repair it? How to fix, repair a gasoline generator. (10+)
Reserve electric generator. Malfunctions. Repair
I will dwell on the malfunctions and repairs of a four-stroke carburetor gasoline autonomous electric generator. Some recommendations can be applied to other types of power plants, but mostly they relate specifically to carburetor engines.
The generator was started. It works, makes noise, gases come out of the exhaust pipe. But there is no electricity at the exit. Faulty wiring, automation or generator. It is necessary to check that the protective circuit breaker on the front panel is turned on and the electrical protection lamp, if you have one, is not on. Next, remove the front panel and inspect the wiring. With a tester, we check the presence of electrical conductivity of the circuit breaker and connections. If the connections and the machine are in order, then the electrical generator itself is probably faulty - the unit that converts the rotation of the shaft into electricity. In this case, I would advise you to buy a new autonomous power plant, and rent this one for non-ferrous metals. Repairing or replacing a generator is more expensive than a new power plant.
It is necessary to check the oil level, inspect the electric petrol generator for traces of oil leakage. If there is an oil leak, the oil seals and / or gaskets through which the leak occurs must be replaced. Try to buy parts from this particular generator. It is not always possible to do this. Suitable sized oil seals are available from motorcycle engines. The spacers are cut by yourself with a very sharp knife (eg a paper cutter) from special cork slip sheets that are commercially available. I do not recommend using gaskets made from other cushioning materials. You put the cork gasket once and never change it again. There are two difficulties in working with cork. Firstly, it is rather fragile, it is difficult to cut it neatly. Secondly, it is necessary to press the cork gasket very carefully. It is easy to break if tightened too much. Before installing the gasket, it must be lubricated on both sides with a high-temperature silicone sealant (such as red). Add the recommended oil after replacing the oil seals and gaskets.
Video (click to play).
If there are no oil leaks, but the level is still low, then the oil must be topped up. The oil will gradually burn out during normal operation of a working internal combustion engine. So the reason may be that the oil has not been topped up for a long time. There is a special hole for adding oil, closed with a threaded plug. We unscrew this plug and pour oil with a syringe until it flows back. The oil level is also checked through this hole. The oil should reach the edge of the hole. You can verify this by sticking your finger shallowly into this hole. It should be moistened with oil. After refilling, it is necessary to monitor the generator. If the oil quickly burns out again, then the reason is a breakdown or stuck piston rings. Usually this defect manifests itself in the appearance of gray smoke from the exhaust pipe, but sometimes there is no smoke, and the oil drives everything away early.
Replacing the rings is quite difficult. It is necessary to disassemble the cylinder head.Rotating the engine shaft in the direction of its natural rotation during operation (Never rotate the shaft in the opposite direction, this can break the timing), we achieve that the piston protrudes completely. We remove the rings from it and replace it with new ones. Now comes the tricky part. The rings must compress slightly to fit into the cylinder. For this, a special tool is used. It's such a sleek clamp. This clamp is lubricated with machine oil, slid onto the ring-bearing cylinder and clamped. Then the clamp is pressed against the cylinder and by gentle tapping the piston moves from the clamp to the cylinder. The operation is subtle. It's difficult to make it yourself out of habit. So to replace the rings it is better to contact the service. In the service, you will immediately be offered to grind the inner surface of the cylinders and install new pistons with a larger diameter, in general, make an overhaul of the engine. It makes sense to do this only if the inner surface of the cylinders is in a very poor condition, all uneven, serrated, rough. It is usually sufficient to simply change the rings. Overhaul of such an engine is more expensive than the engine itself, so it should only be carried out if this particular power plant is dear to you as a memory.
The petrol generator will not start. I have come across several reasons for this phenomenon.
There may be no spark due to problems with high voltage wiring, low voltage wiring, ignition coil, and spark plugs.
Let's test the spark first. Remove the high-voltage wire from the spark plug. Let's take a spare candle. Let's put a high-voltage wire on it. Let's fix the candle on the gas generator body. Make sure that there are no flammable objects, gasoline, and its vapors nearby. Let's try to start the engine. A spark in the candle should be visible.
If it is not there, obviously, there is a problem in the formation of high voltage. I noticed that high-voltage wires of the worst quality are put on good generators. The high voltage wire must be replaced. I need to buy a silicone wire for the car ignition system. Let's leave the end of it that goes to the candle with the connector fixed on it. It makes no sense to rearrange the old connector. Cut the other end of the wire to the required length so that it reaches the coil, but is not too long. The wire is attached to the coil with a self-tapping screw, which is screwed directly into the core of the high-voltage wire. We rotate the old wire around its axis counterclockwise. It is twisted out of the coil. We insert a new wire into the hole in the ignition coil and, slightly pushing it into this hole, rotate it clockwise until it stops.
If the spark does not occur after replacing the wire, then the coil or low voltage wiring is probably faulty. We check the low-voltage wiring with a tester. We put it on measuring alternating voltage, connect it to the low-voltage contacts of the ignition coil, and try to start it. The tester should show voltage pulses. If not, then the breaker or low voltage wiring is faulty. If they are, but there is no spark, then the coil is faulty. If you cannot buy a suitable coil, then you can use any energy storage, designed for the required voltage. The voltage in such systems is 6 or 12 volts. If the voltage is 6 volts, a 6 volt coil from a motorcycle will do, if the voltage is 12 volts, a coil from a classic Zhiguli will do. One generator with a coil from the classics has been working for me for many years. Unfortunately, such a coil cannot be installed in the same place. It must be brought out and securely fastened, for example, with a clamp to the carrying handle of the power plant.
If the coil is in good order, and the problem is in the low-voltage circuit, then you need to ring all the wires with a tester and clean the breaker. It is not uncommon for dirt to enter the gap of the mechanical breaker. This causes the ignition to fail. You can clean the gap with a piece of regular thick paper or very fine sandpaper.
There are interrupters based on a magnet and a reed switch. The reed switch closes the contacts when the magnet attached to the engine flywheel passes the reed switch.These breakers rarely break. In the event of a malfunction, the reed switch must be replaced.
If the high voltage part is OK, it is useful to replace the spark plug anyway.
A gas generator is an apparatus that converts the internal combustion energy of fuel into electrical energy. For example, stations such as Hyundai HHY3000FE, FUBAG BS 1000 i, FUBAG BS 6600 A ES consist of 2 parts: an internal combustion engine (internal combustion engine) and an electric generator. The principle of operation of the unit: a gasoline (two or four-stroke) motor rotates the generator shaft, which generates the required voltage level passing through the filters. Simply put, a mini-power plant. In production, there are also inverter gas generators, which differ in the presence of an inverter and a pulse-width modulation unit. Their purpose is to create a stable voltage at the generator output.
Nothing is eternal. And your generator, too, will sooner or later stop working. Let's take a look at the possible causes of a generator failure and how to fix them. Because the device consists of two parts, then we will divide the repair tips into two parts:
Faults include the lack of oil, fuel, clean air filter. These are the main elements of good work, without them many models simply will not start (protection will work), stall without a supply of fuel and oxygen. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the fuel filter mesh and air filter (should not be in oil)
Another possible problem is the lack of an ignition spark. To eliminate this problem, unscrew the candle (you need to use a special key for this), remove carbon deposits with sandpaper and an iron brush, wipe with alcohol (gasoline) and dry. Next, you need to check the spark and try to start the generator. Recall that carbon deposits are formed when supplying poor-quality fuel, due to incomplete combustion of fuel.
It is also possible that additional adjustment of the carburetor will be required, soot may not yet appear when the device is not operating at full power. Major breakdowns - malfunctions of the carburetor, piston, speed regulator.
If there is no voltage, disassemble and inspect the device, in this case anything can be. Due to the lack of contact, malfunction of the brushes before the burnout of capacitors, PWM units, etc. If the motor speed is constant and the voltage jumps, then the AVR (excitation regulator) may be faulty. Before replacing a faulty unit, you need to establish the exact reason for its failure.
Gasoline generators, even if they are made in China, very reliable with proper care... Nevertheless, during their operation, small problems can arise that can usually be quickly fixed with your own hands. Serious breakdowns with the knowledge of the owner of the device and the principle of operation of the generator will also not be able to disable it for a long time.
If you arrange possible malfunctions of the gas generator in a kind of rating, you get the following list:
Failure or contamination of the spark plug: difficult or impossible starting, unstable operation.
Failure of the ignition coil: no spark, inability to start.
Starter breakdowns: breakage, biting of the cable, destruction of the ratchet.
Violation of valve clearances: difficult starting, increased noise during operation.
Wear of brushes (on synchronous generators) - lack of output voltage.
Speed governor malfunction: floating engine speed, dips when changing load.
Wear of the bearings of the crankshaft and the rotor of the generator - an increase in operating noise, oil leakage.
Wear of the cylinder, piston rings - difficult starting of a cold engine, excessive oil consumption.
It does not take into account breakdowns that result from a gross violation of the rules for operating the generator: for example, seizures on the crankshaft neck due to insufficient oil level, burnout of the generator windings or voltage converter (on inverter gas generators) with frequent overloads.
In fact, malfunctions of a gasoline generator can be divided into three groups: mechanical, electrical and fuel / ignition system malfunctions.
Difficulty starting the generator, which manifested itself suddenly and not accompanied by an increase in engine noise, is a clear sign of either deviations in the operation of the carburetor (too lean or rich mixture), or a faulty ignition system (weak or intermittent spark formation). Since the diagnostics of the state of these systems is interconnected, it is combined into one section.
Remove the spark plug and inspect the carbon deposits on the electrodes.
Dense and dry black carbon deposits - a sign of a rich mixture (the carburetor is faulty, the air filter is clogged);
Oily black carbon - a sign of severe wear of the piston rings, oil enters the combustion chamber;
White soot - a sign of running on a lean mixture, it is necessary to check the carburetor.
Brick brown carbon deposits - normal for carburetor engines.
Red, green-red carbon deposits - a consequence of working on low-quality fuel.
It is simple to check the performance of the ignition system itself because of its extreme simplicity: turn on the ignition, insert a known good spark plug into the plug cap and, putting it on the nearest metal part of the engine with its skirt, turn the recoil starter abruptly. If there is no spark, disconnect the ignition switch and the oil level sensor from the ignition coil in turn: if, when both elements are disconnected, there is still no spark, replace the ignition coil.
If the spark is present and has sufficient strength (white or blue-white), remove the spark plug after several starting attempts. A candle filled with gasoline is a sign of an over-enrichment of the mixture, a dry one is a lack of fuel.
Sometimes, after long storage, the carburetor needle and float stick and prevent gasoline from flowing inside. Several times sharply, but do not hit the float chamber lid very hard and start again.
The most common carburetor malfunction is contamination. The ingress of dirt into the air channels leads to over-enrichment of the mixture, into the fuel jets - to depletion. Dirt on the float shut-off needle leads to loss of tightness and overfilling of the float chamber, which will be immediately noticeable by the leakage of fuel from the carburetor.
Let's take a look at the carburetor maintenance using the example of a Honda GX engine installed - its design is typical of a gasoline generator.
Remove the float chamber cover (4). Wash it in gasoline or a carburetor spray cleaner - dirt and deposits accumulate at the bottom.
Proceed in the same way with the gas valve sump (22).
Check if the gas valve is blown in the "open" position.
Take out the float shaft (3), take out the float and the shut-off needle (2). Blow out the channel with air.
Blow out the fuel jet (25), emulsion tube (11) and all carburetor passages with an aerosol cleaner or compressed air.
Remove the adjusting screw (5), blow out its channel. Then screw it in until it stops and loosen, depending on the type of air filter, by 2 (foam, paper filters) - 2.5 turns (cyclone filters).
Assemble the carburetor.
The electrical system of gas generators is quite reliable. Most often, you can face two problems: lack of battery charging on generators with electric start or lack of voltage at the generator output.
The lack of battery charging is a consequence of the failure of the rectifier or low-voltage winding. It is easy to check this system with your own hands: connect a 12-volt light bulb in parallel with the low-voltage winding of the generator and start it. A lit light means that the generator itself is working properly, and it is necessary to replace the rectifier.
The absence of voltage at the generator output is most often the result of wear on the brushes. Remove them and assess the degree of wear, replace if necessary. If your generator is an inverter type, check if the voltage comes to the input of the converter by connecting a low-power 220 V lamp in parallel with it.
Video about the step-by-step repair of the gas generator
One of the routine maintenance provided by the instruction manual for gas generators is the control and adjustment, if necessary, of the valve mechanism clearances. An increase in clearances above the norm will lead to a decrease in engine power, an increase in noise during operation. The most dangerous is a decrease in the gap, since it is not audible during operation, but the pinched valves, especially the exhaust, begin to burn rapidly. As a result, the engine starts to work unstably and, when the plate is burned out, it stops starting.
Valve Adjustment Procedure pretty simple:
Remove all components that interfere with the removal of the engine valve cover.
Remove the spark plug.
Remove the valve cover.
Set the crankshaft to top dead center of the compression stroke by the mark on the flywheel (if any) or by controlling the movement of the piston through the spark plug hole. Do not confuse compression TDC (both valves are closed) with TDC issue (the outlet valve closes, the inlet valve opens).
Loosen the locknuts of the adjusting screws and, using a flat feeler inserted between the rocker arm and the end of the valve, set the clearances by turning the screw. Typically, a clearance of 0.2 mm is adopted for the outlet valve, and 0.15 for the inlet valve (check in the operating instructions).
Tighten the locknuts and turn the crankshaft twice to TDC. If everything is done correctly, at the next dead center both gaps will go away, after another turn they will take the set value. Increased gaps after the first revolution are a sign that they were adjusted at TDC of the exhaust stroke.
Assemble the generator.
Manual starter malfunctions - perhaps the most common mechanical problem... Either the cable breaks, or the starter refuses to rewind it due to a broken return spring, or the ratchet does not turn the crankshaft.
Remove the starter by unscrewing the bolts around its casing. By unscrewing the screw (1), the ratchet can be removed. Check its cams (4) and return springs (5). Then carefully remove the pulley with the spring (7). Replace a broken cable or broken spring, whichever caused the repair.
When reassembling the starter, care must be taken to ensure that the spring remains in engagement with the shroud and pulley during installation. The cable must be fully wound around the pulley. With the ratchet in place, check the cable travel and how the starter returns to its original position.
Review and repair of the Einhell STE800 gas generator
