Electrical schematic on 80's Rambler

[Daveputt]

I plugged my alt wire (from new cable) with the diode and cranked it up this evening. I got a steady 13v on my battery. Finally I am into charging the battery vs draining it. It isn't as high as I would hope but it's a step in the right direction.
When off, I see a drain on the battery of 1.4A. I unplug the alt wire in question and the drain dropped to .03A. This was with all breakers and fuses installed.
It's good but not resolved. I will likely start labeling all cables and check continuity to trace down all the lines associated with my alternator to figure this out. I was hoping to avoid it since it may be down for several weeks but I have no choice.
I cycled the jacks a few times. They don't want to retract once the weight of chassis is off of it. I assume they are dirty and haven't been cleaned and lubricated properly.
I also was not able to keep generator running. I plugged in the shore power and had my Power Switch turned to "Generator". I tried "Off" and "Inverter" and nothi would keep it running. Anything else to try? It starts easily but as soon as I release the button it dies. Is it common for the board to go out? Is there another switch that I need to try?
I may try to run the motor and see if it stays on then.

[ahicks]

2 thoughts. First, the wire you are connecting/pulling on the alternator? It should only be hot with the key in the on position. If it's hot with the key on or off, there's something wrong with it. If hot when the key is off there will be a drain on the battery.

Second, the generator should run on it's own. It should not need or care about anything else turned on or off. When it runs on it's own, and it doesn't make power, THEN you may have something external to it going on.

If it only runs with the start switch on, there's an issue with the gen set itself. It does have an oil pressure switch that's designed to shut it down when/if it looses oil pressure. Without oil pressure it will quit as soon as you lift your finger off the start switch. That's why I asked you if it was full of reasonably clean oil earlier! If it's got oil in it, and it's not the consistency of gasoline, your attention is likely best focused elsewhere until you can get some time to do some serious trouble shooting here. There's also the possibility that it's not making (or able to deliver) power internally that's required to sustain itself. That would also cause it to quit when you take your finger off the start button - and that is not dependent on anything external either. Everything it needs to run (other than fuel) is contained within itself.

[Daveputt]

Originally Posted by ahicks

There's also the possibility that it's not making (or able to deliver) power internally that's required to sustain itself. That would also cause it to quit when you take your finger off the start button - and that is not dependent on anything external either. Everything it needs to run (other than fuel) is contained within itself.

What's the easiest way to check this with my meter? I do have oil and it's clean. I will check the consistency tonight.

[ahicks]

It's really model specific. Suggest you start hunting down a manual specific to your gen set. That should include a wiring diagram and a troubleshooting guide.

You might try Googling the make and model number?

Best of luck! -Al

[Dave78Chief]

If you provide the make and model number I may be able to help you track down the generator manuals.

Dave

[Daveputt]

I chased wires this morning. It doesn't appear to be identical to the pic below. I will try and redo the schematic to show what I have.

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

Dave

I noticed that my breaker on the inverter is in the off position. I doubt this has anything to do with my generator problems but let me know if there is a chance it does.

Also my generator is a Kohler 7000 The sticker has 2 model and spec #'s: Model K582EP Spec 36321 and Model 7CM21-RV Spec 14032-A.

[ahicks]

Here's your manual:
http://campkahler.com/files/kohler-7...ice-manual.pdf

[Daveputt]

I had difficulty tracing a few wires. A small wire (10g) on the starter showed 4V on the fusible link wire VS 6V (used 6v battery to test wire with my MM to read same V on other end). Would the fuse cause it to read less or do I need to keep tracing.
Also, when looking at the schematic do I assume all the wires are 2/0 gage except those triggering the solenoids (blue wires on schematic)?
I also didn't check the output wire on the aux switch. It was more complicated than I would have thought for a toggle switch (with light)

[Daveputt]

Here is back of toggle. Aux switch is center. Is it easy to determine the output wire?!

[Dave78Chief]

K582EP is the engine style.
7CM21-RV Spec 14032-Ais the generator model

Chevy uses mm squared (mm2) wire size on their drawing. You have to convert it to AWG gauge.
2/0 gauge from battery to AUX Solenoid to Starter.

Alternator B+ to diode isolator is 12 gauge (3.0 mm2)
Alternator red wire (B terminal) is 14 gauge (2.0mm2)
Alternator Brown wire (A teminal) is 16 gauge (1.0 mm2)

Dave

[ahicks]

Re: switch output wire, based on that pic, it looks like the orange and black wires are shared with other switches. If that's the case, my bet would be the pink wire is the output wire. That could be confirmed pretty easily with a test light or voltmeter by pushing in on the switch?

"A small wire (10g) on the starter showed 4V on the fusible link wire VS 6V (used 6v battery to test wire with my MM to read same V on other end). Would the fuse cause it to read less or do I need to keep tracing"

Anything is possible, but a 2v loss from one point to the next, with no load placed on it, isn't very likely.

[Dave78Chief]

Fusible links use wire that is 4 AWG sizes smaller than the base wire. A circuit that uses a 10 gauge wire will be protected by a fusible link that uses 16 gauge wire. As such, heat can weaken the fusible link over time. Resistance increases resulting in a large voltage drop.

I noticed that my breaker on the inverter is in the off position. I doubt this has anything to do with my generator problems but let me know if there is a chance it does.

That breaker is only for the inverter itself. If OFF, you would not get any 110VAC output when the Inverter/OFF/Generator switch is in the Inverter position.

It starts easily but as soon as I release the button it dies. Is it common for the board to go out? Is there another switch that I need to try?

If generator engine starts but dies when you release the START switch, then the 2CR relay on the controller board is working. You have the condition of Section 5, step 11 (page 5-2) of the Kohler service manual. Either no AC voltage is being generated, the circuit interlock board is bad, there is a VR circuit problem (check 10 amp fuse), the controller board is bad, or there is a wiring problem.

Dave

[ahicks]

We'll need to agree to disagree here. If one strand of that fusible link is intact, his voltage reading should be the same, or very nearly the same. Now if we're measuring amperage, that's a different story.

" Fusible links use wire that is 4 AWG sizes smaller than the base wire. A circuit that uses a 10 gauge wire will be protected by a fusible link that uses 16 gauge wire. As such, heat can weaken the fusible link over time. Resistance increases resulting in a large voltage drop."

[Daveputt]

Well I managed to break my aux start button while testing wires. The plastic is brittle and the threads broke. Where is the best place to buy a replacement online?
It has several wires even, not sure why. It has a built in light and it is self closing.