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i have a generaic china 4 stroke generator will add pics if i can

it starts first pull but as said no power output bloke i got it off used it for a caravan once stored it 6 months and then when used again did not have any power output

i have tryed the flash methed just in case its lost its magnatisim took off the 2 leads to the brushes cheaked the polarity and jive it a very short flash with a car battery quick touch just so i seen a spark and then started it again ( i assume thsi is right but have seen ways of addinga small battery and pulling it with the spark plug not attached as well )am i doing this right

and have cheaked the windings the armature (the tabs from brushes )buzzes out at 75 ohm with 25 volts when engine running

between numbers l1 and l2 buzzes .6 ohm and running 5 volts showing

l3 and l4 0.7 ohm and running 5 volts

and between l1 and l3 1.3 ohm and running 9.7 to 10 volts

i am supecting it the regulator but dont want to buy one and find out its not that

thanks for any help in advance





this i think from looking online sounds about right ?? any input on this great thanks

any help at all ?? please

from your measurement sounds like voltage regulator

Don't be distraught.
Some people look at the forum when at work so will be off for the weekend.
Also remember that many of us are not lisenced to work on the electrical side of generators, just on the engine so it may take a while for an informed reply.

sorry for thge late reply i sneek around and cheak the fourms out most on my nights when i got time(and if i get the time in work if i not got much to do ) to fill and been doing diy round the house for last few weeks picked this up and had in mind its way past my small know how as it was supposed to run but no power outout

i have spent a few hours on vids and fourms on how to cheak it out for info but as i have got a great deal of help on here and know walking you through a problem is better than farting about and hope you happen to get something right

the ohms on the armature seams to me a little high but im not any type of expert and the volts say as said seam to be ok the only thing i dont know any thing about is the top left gray box with 4 slide conectors on it is it a juction box or some thing else

and after cheaking the volts i did jump to the voltage regulator but want confirm its the problem rather than just chucking money at it will some times take a chance but informed chance not lets hope this fixes it job

is there any way to cheak its the regulator before chucking money at it or are there any more things to look at cheaks before to confirm

or even things to cheak before coming to any conclusions


thanks for all help and replys

The thing is every manufacturer of genset and model has different test procedures for components. Without the service manual for that model, there is no way of knowing what the components are suppose to test.

One of the reasons why stuff made in the PRC is so cheap is there is no service information, no technician training, no spares & no manuals.
All these things cost money for a long time after the units are sold.
Usually there is schematic diagram inside one of the covers and that is all you get.
Furthermore they are made in batches so some one like HF order 100,000 of them and the factory tools up and runs them till the tooling wears out.
So they make 500,000, sells HF the 100,000 then flogs the rest off to a wholesaler who floggs them off to any one who will buy them after changing the brand names.
Thus the exact same unit is never made again and the market is flooded with very similar looking units with different brand names.
Frome a radio shack type joint you can get cheap unregulated full wave rectifiers for a few dollars.
We fit them to old Pommie motorcycles.
You can try one of these most were good for 25 A at 12 V so if that works ( load test it with a few old headlamps or similar) then you can fork out for a proper regulated rectifier.

Personnaly and I am not trying to be rude or insulting, but it sounds very much like Chineese junk that belongs in the recycling.
I would bin it or perhaps look for an old gen set with a clapped out engine and do a motor swap if it has a reasonable engine.
You can usually find old gen sets at trash & treasure / car boot / church charity and other field type sales.

yep i think cheap carp but its a learning experance and love the challange or trying to sort it out so on i go

after looking on the net more i added a 12 volt supply to the armature after unpluging the avr only for a short time 20 secs or so and there was 60/80 volts showing on the meter this was from vid on line to show is the gen is producing power and shows the avr is at fault

again i do not know for sure this is right but think i am on the right way

again thanks for all comments and help

Have you tried to clean the commutator with a commutator cleaner stick?

Will have look at that but as said added a 12 volt battery to brushes and I then get an output so it would seam it's the avr faulty

reynoldston said:

Have you tried to clean the commutator with a commutator cleaner stick?

Click to expand...

Its something I have to do with my small Honda generator every so often after it sits for a long period of time for some reason. The cleaner stick I use looks like a large pencil eraser on a stick made for this, in which I bought from Granger.

The easiest way to confirm if it is the voltage regulator is to first disconnect the regulator form the system. remove it and set it on the bench. you should have 3 heavy wires that are your main power windings be careful as these could be hot. make sure the brush wires are disconnected. hook up jumper wires to the brushes. start the unit and hook a battery to the brushes. now check the power output between the 3 larger wires. if the AC voltage is over 120/240 (or the UK equivalent) the generator is fine. it is the voltage regulator that is bad.

********please note, do not leave the battery on for very long. the whole test should only take about 30 seconds*****************