Carver Owners Forum

jisster1 wrote:Source of the post It's not a governor problem. I know what a high rpm is. When I rev it up to get volts out of it, it's at least 4000 rpm's to 5000 rpm's. It should not have to run at a high rpm to get power.

You are correct, you shouldn't have to rev it up like that to produce 110V.......But, Imo ,Try to avoid revving the engine up to that extent...there are parts in the generator head that can be damaged.

Many have asked what rpm you are running at......it is critical to get that in the ballpark accurately......the revs ( MIN RPM....no load ) are factory set to produce 110 volts +/- at between 59 and 61 HZ +/- .....these parameters need to be accurately measured to establish a baseline to help the guys diagnose further. I believe these units are fairly complicated to diagnose past the simple stuff.

A friend of mine had much the same goings on with his Kohler....he finally got the rpm close but had trouble measuring the frequency ( HZ) using his cheap meter. Much as Keith had advised he too had to play with different capacitor values.......good luck with your genny.

I only rev'd it up once or twice to see if I could get volts out of it. Will a different capacitor size do anything for me?

Generator trouble shooting is a logical process if it is to be successful. One of the basics is establishing the rpm the unit is operating at. You'll have to trust me that you can not "hear" what rpm it is running at. After 40+ years of full time marine generator repair, I could not tell you if a unit was running at 3550 or 3650. The difference could be one that generates AC properly and one that does not. That is what meters are for. There is no sense to changing parts without first establishing that it is running at the correct rpm. On that unit a frequency meter is preferred because it is difficult to read engine rpm. The magneto type system uses a dual ignition coil that fires both cylinders at the same time. One cylinder would be on the top of the compression stroke, the other on the exhaust. This causes a tachometer 2 read twice actual engine rpm and most meter are not accurate that high. Beg, borrow or buy a DVOM meter with the Hz function and see where you are.

Well said Keith.

Consider installing a meter in your breaker panel so you always have a visual of generator output and incoming shore power quality. It'll give you a good indication if you're getting proper power from your generator and the marina or utility service as this can change depending on demand and conditions. You'd be surprised at how bad marina power can be some times in the summer at the height of the season. This is good to know as running some equipment under less than desirable voltages and frequencies can cause failures.

You probably already have a voltage reading at your panel but here is an example of what I'm talking about for getting a frequency reading at all times... https://www.amazon.com/KETOTEK-Voltmeter-AC80-300V-Frequency-45-0-65-0/dp/B01D891MHO/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=AC+frequency+meter&qid=1610666348&sr=8-6

I cant use a HZ meter if I am not putting out volts.. I adjusted the governor to get the highest rpms from the motor and still no power. i have the run the motor at least half throttle to get volts. I tried using a 25 mf cap and that didnt help

You can use a photo tach for rpm....

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ko ... &FORM=VIRE

If you have had this boat for awhile and now the generator doesn't make power at what you believe are the same rpm's as before, you can read no further.
If it is a new to you boat and you are trying to get the genny to work I would really get a tach to read the rpm's. I have an esz not a cz, but i'm sure i am at or near half throttle with no load.
We don't often use it because it is loud, and i even have the full sound shield enclosure.
Its either a kawasaki or a honda two cylinder i do believe.



this may work.

For some reason this link won't post.

Hardline products 2 cylinder tachometer and hour meter $28.05 on amazon

I did not hook up a tach to it. But even if I adjust the idle screw and the governor to get to the motor to the highest RPM possible and it still will not put out more than 8 volts. If I rev the motor to past half throttle it will put out 120 volts or more.

I broke down and bought a tach. Hooked it up and ran it. at 3600rpm's I get 8 volts. At 4800rpm's I get 120 volts. This was with no load.