Light Flicker - Generac

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brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
check the torque of the neutral connection at the transfer switch and generator.

i'm assuming you have no problems when connected to the grid?
what are your voltages there.
 

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Are you a Generac dealer ? I ask this because the last time I had a problem with a Generac generator the first question I was asked by the factory was "Are you a dealer"? Supposedly, if the generators are not started up by a dealer there could be warranty issues. Anyway, I had a 13 KW generator engine throw a rod after being installed for 4 months. It never ran under load. I had purchased the generator "on line" and installed it myself (except for the gas line) and thought it was a pretty good install. When the dealer's rep. got there he pointed out 3 or 4 reasons why the unit threw a rod and one of which was an incorrectly sized gas line. Long story, short they stood behind their product, I corrected the gas line size but it took 3 months to get the generator repaired.

Anyway, from my experience the voltages shouldn't be more than a volt or two apart. Re-check the voltages again at the generator in both exercise mode and under load. Also, check the connections at the 1st connection port (they're usually not the greatest). If you're still getting a flicker, disconnect the wires from the load side of the generator breaker and temporarily connect a keyless fixture with a 60 watt bulb right to the breaker and run it in exercise mode. If you are getting the flicker there then the problem is in the generator. If not, reconnect the wires in the whip and connect the keyless fixture right to the xfer switch (be sure to shut off all the breakers). If you still have the flicker then the problem is in the whip. If not then turn one breaker on in the auto xfer switch and connect the keyless fixture there to see if you have the flicker. If you get the flicker there the problem is in the xfer switch.

If you are able to narrow the problem down to a Generac part you'll have to contact a dealer to make or provide any corrections or replacements.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
What types of loads?

Natural gas or diesel?

Percentage of load?

Did you listen to the generator for surging?

Did you use a meter on min max for voltage and frequency?

Adequate fuel supply?
 

wirebender

Senior Member
goldstar said:
Are you a Generac dealer ? I ask this because the last time I had a problem with a Generac generator the first question I was asked by the factory was "Are you a dealer"? Supposedly, if the generators are not started up by a dealer there could be warranty issues. Anyway, I had a 13 KW generator engine throw a rod after being installed for 4 months. It never ran under load. I had purchased the generator "on line" and installed it myself (except for the gas line) and thought it was a pretty good install. When the dealer's rep. got there he pointed out 3 or 4 reasons why the unit threw a rod and one of which was an incorrectly sized gas line. Long story, short they stood behind their product, I corrected the gas line size but it took 3 months to get the generator repaired.

Anyway, from my experience the voltages shouldn't be more than a volt or two apart. Re-check the voltages again at the generator in both exercise mode and under load. Also, check the connections at the 1st connection port (they're usually not the greatest). If you're still getting a flicker, disconnect the wires from the load side of the generator breaker and temporarily connect a keyless fixture with a 60 watt bulb right to the breaker and run it in exercise mode. If you are getting the flicker there then the problem is in the generator. If not, reconnect the wires in the whip and connect the keyless fixture right to the xfer switch (be sure to shut off all the breakers). If you still have the flicker then the problem is in the whip. If not then turn one breaker on in the auto xfer switch and connect the keyless fixture there to see if you have the flicker. If you get the flicker there the problem is in the xfer switch.

If you are able to narrow the problem down to a Generac part you'll have to contact a dealer to make or provide any corrections or replacements.


I will be back out there tomorrow or the next day and will try all these suggestions.

Thanks
 

wirebender

Senior Member
brian john said:
What types of loads?

Mostly lighting, one fridge, one A/C and a steam table.

brian john said:
Natural gas or diesel?

NG

brian john said:
Percentage of load?

60%, if you mean percentage of the 30 KW capacity. Running load is approximately 75 amps.


brian john said:
Did you listen to the generator for surging?

Didn't notice any.
Did notice it lugging down more often than could be attributed to the A/C inrush.IMSO

brian john said:
Did you use a meter on min max for voltage and frequency?

We don't have a meter for measuring that. Wish we did, but we haven't had the need before.

brian john said:
Adequate fuel supply?

Plumber said it was:rolleyes: , but I haven't checked it.

Could that cause these problems?

Thanks, Brian.
 

wirebender

Senior Member
Well, I guess I won't get to try any of these suggestions. The boss contacted a dealer is going to have a tech come check it all out.

I think goldstar's post about the warraty issues scared him.

I'll let y'all know what they find.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Generator flicker normally equals a frequency problem. Check all your meters and see if you have one that has a "Hz" setting. On many gensets, the corrective action is as simple as a pot adjustment.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
wirebender said:
Did notice it lugging down more often than could be attributed to the A/C inrush.
Maybe there's a motor not starting, like the refrigerator. Remember, compressors need to sit for 2 or 3 minutes before a restart.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
mdshunk said:
Generator flicker normally equals a frequency problem. Check all your meters and see if you have one that has a "Hz" setting. On many gensets, the corrective action is as simple as a pot adjustment.

Not on a Generac, you need a laptop and the Factory/service only software and this feature is not available on smaller units (per a Generac tech).
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
brian john said:
Not on a Generac, you need a laptop and the Factory/service only software and this feature is not available on smaller units (per a Generac tech).
Dandy. Another reason to add to the list entitled "Reasons To Not Buy Generac".
 

shockare

Member
Location
New York
I just did a service call last week on a new install.
started up and ran but idel was off. voltage readings were off.
Two of the three below were wrongand are the usually overlooked


One- open air cleaner see the the fuel selector is set to NG or Lp
Two -dip switchs dip 1 is for exercise rpm
third- is the pot trimer to set voltage with load

I was done in 15 mins ( 12 of that the exercise time)
 

Cramersbj

Member
Location
Pewaukee
Marc, I often enjoy your educated and insightful answers to posts on this board. I will have to say, to this comment I must object. I have been an electrician for over 20 years and have installed several hundred generators. Generac by far is a much more reasonable purchase for consumers than the competition. I have had my share of issues but most were related to installer error. All manufacturers test their units before they are shipped and try to provide the best product available to the consumer. When a company owns 70 percent of the market it will have its share of issues.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Cramersbj said:
Marc, I often enjoy your educated and insightful answers to posts on this board. I will have to say, to this comment I must object. I have been an electrician for over 20 years and have installed several hundred generators. Generac by far is a much more reasonable purchase for consumers than the competition. I have had my share of issues but most were related to installer error. All manufacturers test their units before they are shipped and try to provide the best product available to the consumer. When a company owns 70 percent of the market it will have its share of issues.
I can appreciate your opinion, but I still am not persuaded. The only reason to buy a Generac is price.
 

Cramersbj

Member
Location
Pewaukee
mdshunk said:
I can appreciate your opinion, but I still am not persuaded. The only reason to buy a Generac is price.

I follow the posts as often as I can and see many contractors and professionals that are truly unfamiliar with the proper installation, sizing, start up and equipment understanding. I feel that all of these factor into whether or not a generator will run properly when needed after the install. I would not recommend a product to a home owner or customer based solely on price alone. Generac has been successful on many fronts, for instance, Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year 2005 winner, Frost and Sullivan 2007 Product of the Year. They received other awards for the advanced engineering they implemented into the industry. Very few people know that the Briggs air cooled engine is a Generac design and Briggs bought the portable line of generators from Generac in late 99 and continued to use the engines until just a year or two ago. Generac helped Caterpillar out when they built the Olympian generator for them. So I guess the answer to your comment would be there are many reasons other then cost to purchase a Generac generator.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Cramersbj said:
So I guess the answer to your comment would be there are many reasons other then cost to purchase a Generac generator.
No. The only reason I can recommend a Generac is on cost alone. I really don't care how many obscure awards something might win. I'm the guy who's gotta put the thing in and service it into the future. Surely you know that many in the biz call them "Genercrap"?
 
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