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Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 6:15 pm
by Marty
May be a dumb question but after being on the hook for 5 days and starting perfectly fine I received an OC error code and the genny would not turn over at all. The generator ran 3-4 times per day charging the house and starter batteries, but I only ran the engines once leaving me to believe that the genny isn't charging its starter battery.
I contacted Carver today and they told me that the genny should charge its starter battery as long as the breaker, but i'm thinking it may not?
The Genny is a 6K Kohler.....thoughts??
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 7:27 pm
by g36
Yes it should charge its own battery. You will have a few fuses mounted on the genset. One of them is for the charger to the battery. Make sure its not blown.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 9:26 pm
by Midnightsun
It's like any typical engine with its own starting battery. It has an alternator that charges when running.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 9:47 pm
by bud37
It should be charging it's own battery if all is well......where was this OC error code ?
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 9:59 pm
by Marty
OC code was on the Genny. Over Crank. Gave me the same code multiple times even after shutting off both main breakers.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 7th, 2020, 9:20 am
by bud37
Marty wrote:Source of the post OC code was on the Genny. Over Crank. Gave me the same code multiple times even after shutting off both main breakers.
Can't really add anything but the obvious here. I would check the connections at the battery , especially the ground cable, and the generator battery voltage. It really doesn't take much of a battery for a genny......300 CCA is more than enough to start well.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 7th, 2020, 10:08 am
by Midnightsun
bud37 wrote:Source of the post Marty wrote:Source of the post OC code was on the Genny. Over Crank. Gave me the same code multiple times even after shutting off both main breakers.
Can't really add anything but the obvious here. I would check the connections at the battery , especially the ground cable, and the generator battery voltage. It really doesn't take much of a battery for a genny......300 CCA is more than enough to start well.
Depends, gas or diesel? My 9kw Yanmar Diesel genny came with a 1000CCA
As for "overcrank" basically means it is cranking over fine but just won't start. It eventually times out and stops cranking hence overcrank.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 7th, 2020, 11:20 am
by km1125
Midnightsun wrote:Source of the post As for "overcrank" basically means it is cranking over fine but just won't start.
It eventually times out and stops cranking hence overcrank.
On a lot of generators those kind of codes have to be manually reset or cleaned. Makes no sense to keep cranking the engine if it's not going to start because that would lead to a dead battery. You need to find out why the engine didn't start during a normal cranking cycle and fix that. You should be able to reset the gen to get it to crank again for troubleshooting.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 7th, 2020, 11:54 am
by bud37
In this particular case we are talking about a low hp gas engine. ( same as used as the prime movers on lawn tractor/small equipment power units ).
Of course in this case if the engine was cranked and cranked ( no start ) without closing the raw water intake there could be other issues as well....I am absolutely no expert when it comes to these things.......hopefully Keith sees this.
Re: Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?
Posted: July 7th, 2020, 9:24 pm
by Viper
km1125 wrote:Source of the post.....Makes no sense to keep cranking the engine if it's not going to start because that would lead to a dead battery......
In some cases it can lead to much worse than that, such as a shot starter or worse, in some models the engine can ingest water.
km1125 wrote:Source of the post.... You need to find out why the engine didn't start during a normal cranking cycle and fix that......
Agreed
Start with testing your battery properly to ensure it's up to par, then go from there. If its voltage drops too far while cranking, it could prevent her from firing.