Does the Generator Charge the Genny Starter Battery when running?

[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??

[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.

[Midnightsun]

It's like any typical engine with its own starting battery. It has an alternator that charges when running.

[bud37]

It should be charging it's own battery if all is well......where was this OC error code ?

[Marty]

OC code was on the Genny. Over Crank. Gave me the same code multiple times even after shutting off both main breakers.

[bud37]

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.

[Midnightsun]

Source of the post

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.

[km1125]

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.

[bud37]

Source of the post Depends, gas or diesel? My 9kw Yanmar Diesel genny came with a 1000CCA

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.

[Viper]

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.

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.