Generator Jump Start

[plumbhappy]

Has anyone ever heard of jump starting the Stator?

Here's the background. I recently purchased a 340 with a Quicksilver 6.5 gs. It had two 12v batteries wired in series (24v) connected to a solenoid. The solenoid is triggered by the start switch and the hot side of the solenoid runs to the voltage regulator and connected to the stator(?). So I unhooked all this stuff and hooked all the wires up the way they should be and no voltage. I replaced the choke module thinking it wasn't getting the proper exciting voltage, no luck. Then I bought the manual, ran though the checks and the resistance on the stator excitor is lower than called for. The manual says replace the stator, but it works when a surge of voltage is applied to the stator. What gives?

I hooked the stator excitor up and ran the jump start of the stator and got voltage, but the gen ran hard like under a heavy load. So, I was back to the old set-up. I'm actually thinking of trying a capacitor instead of the second battery. I think it would be a better setup.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Does any of this make sense?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[northern]

I have never seen a 24 volt starter on a small engine. My 8kw Quicksilver is 12 volt start. If you are using 24 volts to start and run it in my opinion you could be doing damage to it. You might want to try running it on 12 volts and see what happens

 

[plumbhappy]

Northern, thanks for the reply.

I probably should have been clearer. The engine starts and runs on 12v. The 24v is wired into the generator head. Without the 24v kick, the gen does not put out any voltage. With the kick, it makes 120v or more.

 

[electricaldoctor]

My 1988 390 does not have 24 volts running to anything. Something sounds incorrect here.

 

[plumbhappy]

My boat is all 12v and the gen runs on 12v, but the gen is set-up so that 24v is used to excite the generator head (the part that makes electricity). The 24v power is only used for this and is not wired into anything else.

I'm really hoping someone has seen something like this before.

Rob

 

[plumbhappy]

Ok, well I've learned some new things. First, the Quicksilver is made by Generac. The stator has an integrated excitation winding, which means the field windings and the excitation are wound together. The "jump start" in my gen set is a common trick used when there is a problem with the excitation windings. What this does is flash the field windings with juice to start the gen. However this also can fry the field or your voltage regulator. I just purchased a new stator and should have it installed soon. I'll post an update when I get it done. I hope it works.

 

[plumbhappy]

Ok, I guess no one is really interested in this thread, but anyway; I replaced the stator and that fixed the problem. The problem was the excitation windings. So, if you have a bad excitation winding, you can rig it by hitting the field with an external 24v source. Maybe this info will help someone someday. Rob