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Northern Lights Generator wont start
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The generator was running fine, was a way from the boat for a month and tried to fire up my Northern Lights generator, on the control panel no green light, and the I press the start button the Sea Fire panel makes a clicking sound a the PS1 light comes on monetarily. The main diesel has no problems, just the generator. Any one have any ideas?
Thanks, Mark Garver S/V Its Good SM # 104 |
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You probably will not get much help here. Northern Light generator was never used by Amel. Best, CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School +1 832-380-4970 | brouse@... 720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 www.AmelOwnersYachtSchool.com Yacht School Calendar: www.preparetocastoff.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html The generator was running fine, was a way from the boat for a month and tried to fire up my Northern Lights generator, on the control panel no green light, and the I press the start button the Sea Fire panel makes a clicking sound a the PS1 light comes on monetarily. The main diesel has no problems, just the generator. Any one have any ideas? |
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Mark McGovern
Mark,
As Bill said, most of us have Onan's so we won't have any Norhern Lights specific knowledge or experience to assist you. However, there are some common generator starting issues including a weak starter battery and corrosion on electrical terminals that you should check for. A quick check for the battery is to start the main engine and then see if you can start the generator while the engine is running. If you can, the likely culprit is a weak starter battery. -- Mark McGovern SM #440 Cara Annapolis, MD USA |
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Mark,
This
sounds a lot like a bad or weak battery. One thing to try: Start
the engine and let it run for about 15 minutes. Be sure you are
charging the 12v starter battery with the engine's 12v alternator
(I have gauges on my panel to confirm - not sure if other Amels
have gauges or just lights). Then, With the engine still running -
try starting the generator. See if it will crank. If it does - you
need a new start battery.
If
you need to replace the battery - get a more powerful one. This is
a weak spot of Amel. The cable run to the alternator is longer
than the engine run and some power is lost on the way. Buy a
battery with the most cranking amps as possible that will fit in
the same space. You can never have too many cranking amps.
With best regards,
Mark
Skipper Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275 Currently cruising - French Polynesia
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Thanks everyone, it turned out to be the Generator start battery. I have dedicated start batteries for the engine and the generator and confirmed the generator start is dead by cutting off shore power and testing the battery. I have a new Group 24 1000 AMP battery waiting for me at West Marine and jumper cables (lol) as a backup. I am hoping that is all that it was. Mark, I will let you know, thanks!
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To Bill’s point, my God… I bought an Amel and the PO un-Amel’d it. First thanks to Bill and others, I had to isolate the new Yanmar, then I had to redo the entire bonding system. I am still in the process of removing all of the old wiring which was left in place when essentially everything was replaced. Found numerous connections direct to the house bank, not the bus, to individual batteries. I won’t be able to return everything to Amel, but at least I can make it more like an Amel! lol! At least I am taking it all with a grain of salt. One thing about this however, is I have been able to learn from this group, which I greatly appreciate. Such as rebuilding the Bow Thruster, replacing the copper bonding strap, stray voltage, refrigeration issues and many others. Thanks! Best, Mark Garver S/V It’s Good SM #105 Gloucester Point, VA
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