Briggs and Stratton generator low voltage

Hutch1234

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I have a storm responder 6250 watt generator I bought from HD during our last big storm. I'll start by saying I know it's under warranty still but the nearest service center is 20 miles one way and I'm not trying to drive 80 miles total if this is user error or a simple fix. The generator has less than an hour of run time on it. It starts and runs like a champ. It was working great and then I turned it off to do something real quick and when I fired it up 10 minutes later it was only putting out 30 volts. I tried resetting everything I could find to reset. I even did the drill trick to re magnetize to the generator but I thought that was unlikely since it was working 10 minutes prior. I'm not getting any kind of error on the screen and it says 0 percent power load. Any ideas or tips would be great before I have to load this thing in my SUV or in my trailer and run it down to the dealer. Thanks!
 

tom3

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Plug a couple hundred watt old school light bulbs in it and see if the load brings it up.
 

Hutch1234

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Plug a couple hundred watt old school light bulbs in it and see if the load brings it up.
I was actually trying to run 2 halogen work lights and 1 led workout light off it. They were on working just fine and then I turned it off. Less than 5 minutes later I fired it back up and the lights were all really dim except the led light which did nothing. The load never changed no matter what I plugged into it. I dont know if I have any 100 watt bulbs laying around. I'll check though.
 

Hammermechanicman

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If the engine is running at proper speed sounds like the AVR (automatic voltage regulator) is bad. Did you shut it down with a heavy load on it or start it up with one? That can take out the AVR.
 

AVB

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Appears to be a Briggs 030592 generator.

If so then It is more likely that either the voltage regulator [AVR] or rotor has failed. Disconnect the brushes note the wire connections. Using a 12v battery connect the positive terminal to the brush closest to end bearing and the negative to other brush. Now test for output if the rotor is okay you should find 120/240 range if not then the rotor failure is a good possibility. If you get 120/240 output range then it is likely it the AVR that has failed.
 

Rivets

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Please don’t do anything to the unit while it is still under warranty. Generators are units that Briggs has a hard time covering, because so many people cause their own problems and try to resolve electrical problems. Bite the bullet and take it in for warranty service. Flashing the unit (trying to magnatise the rotor) will void warranty.
 

tom3

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Oops. Warranty. Missed that. Don't touch it. Good catch Rivets!
 

Hutch1234

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Appears to be a Briggs 030592 generator.

If so then It is more likely that either the voltage regulator [AVR] or rotor has failed. Disconnect the brushes note the wire connections. Using a 12v battery connect the positive terminal to the brush closest to end bearing and the negative to other brush. Now test for output if the rotor is okay you should find 120/240 range if not then the rotor failure is a good possibility. If you get 120/240 output range then it is likely it the AVR that has failed.
I turned it off with the load above I described on I didn't turn them off first unfortunately. Hopefully this weekend I can drag it out and take it to the shop. Either way it sounds like it's gonna be a warranty issue to get the replacement parts. Thanks for the help!
 
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