Oldie But Goodie

[aquaholictom]

I have a 1996 29 ft Rexhall, which I bought about 4 years ago. It has a 5500 Generac generator. I run the generator with only one air-conditioner running and after 3 hours or so the power from the generator kicks off, Generator continues to run. I shut the generator down and wait a few minutes and start the generator up and after a few minutes the power comes back on and I can run the air again After this happened I did't continue to run the air and I shut everything down, so I don't know if the power will again go off after a time. Yesterday while testing it the 30 amp circuit breaker went off when the power went down. Today when it happened after running for 3 hours the circuit breaker did not click off but the power stopped. Someone told me that the circuit breaker or panel might have to be replaced but to the best of my memory yesterday was the first time the circuit breaker clicked off. Last year I replaced the voltage regulator and adjusted it to the correct voltage. I know by reading the generators manual I should be able to run both air-conditioners but I would be happy to have one available( I live here in South West Florida). When I hook up to a external 30 amp power the one air-conditioner works for days if I want it to. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

[jrusselltx]

Sounds like a thermal problem where the breaker may be opening up without actually tripping the actuator. Can you connect to another output on the generator to come out through a different breaker? If not, I'd replace the breaker to see if that fixes it. If not, it may be a problem with the actual electrical generator heating up and failing. Their literature doesn't indicate they have a thermal cutout built into the generator itself, but they might. Make sure that the whole rig is getting sufficient cooling air as well.

Good luck.

[aquaholictom]

Thanks, If the generator overheated wouldn't the generator stop running?

[jrusselltx]

In this case, I was referring to the electrical portion of the generator. Should have made that more clear. If the engine overheated, it might shut off; I don't know what kind of thermal protection it has. What I was referring to was the same kind of protection some motors have in that if the windings get too hot, there is a thermal cutout that shuts off the current. The engine in your case would keep turning. The other place is that the circuit breakers might be getting hot enough to open but not always trip the handle. Hope this helps.