honda eb4000 wont produce the proper HZ

[plotthound]

boy this old honda has been giving me a rash.its one of those projects that should have been trashed before it started and now its a challenge.have spent way to much on this older unit with the points ignition.new carb,re-ringed,ect,ect,ect.damn thing starts and runs great but when I put my kill a watt meter on im only getting 50 HZ and that's after winding the adjustment screw all the way in. on the unit the rating plate says the unit is a 60 hz generator.could a defective generating unit cause this problem or am I missing another adjustment some where?


thanks

[creia]

What does the Kill-A-Watt indicate for the voltage at 50Hz and what rpm are you running at 50Hz? It could be that you are not getting up to maximum/adequate engine RPM because the governor is not adjusted properly.
Michael

[Arkie]

What does the Kill-A-Watt indicate for the voltage at 50Hz and what rpm are you running at 50Hz? It could be that you are not getting up to maximum/adequate engine RPM because the governor is not adjusted properly.
Michael

Right about checking the governor static adjustment.

But what is the voltage at 50HZ?
Unloaded you should be able to push the throttle linkage manually on the carb to 60Hz easily with it unloaded, even with the governor fighting you. But do not exceed 135 volts.

[plotthound]

will fire it up tomorrow then reply back.
thanks guys

[plotthound]

spent a few more hours on my project today.if I bump the rpm's up to 60HZ im putting out about 117 to 120volts under a load.thats about the same voltage I get at 51-52 HZ under load as well.i removed the adjuster spring and it looks the same as an OEM I found a picture of.only thing is that the spring has been stretched,3 coils of the spring are pulled away from the others thus making the spring longer.i wonder if that's where the trouble lies? I wish I owned a proper tach,this one I have that wraps around the plug wire is garbage.


thanks again

[bgsengine]

spent a few more hours on my project today.if I bump the rpm's up to 60HZ im putting out about 117 to 120volts under a load.thats about the same voltage I get at 51-52 HZ under load as well.i removed the adjuster spring and it looks the same as an OEM I found a picture of.only thing is that the spring has been stretched,3 coils of the spring are pulled away from the others thus making the spring longer.i wonder if that's where the trouble lies? I wish I owned a proper tach,this one I have that wraps around the plug wire is garbage.


thanks again

Yup looks like you got a governor issue,probably the spring and yes a stretched spring will be enough to cause your problem. If you are getting 120V at 60Hz loaded,that is exactly where you wanna be, and it won't be the generator side with the problem.

[creia]

I wish I owned a proper tach,this one I have that wraps around the plug wire is garbage.
thanks again[/quote]

What RPM is your "garbage" tach reading at 60Hz? There ARE some "wire wrap around" tachs that ARE accurate and work well for diagnostic purposes. We have the original "Tiny Tach" from DTI, Inc. and it has served us well for years. They go for about $ 50.00. If you have one of those cheap Ebay China knock offs that sell for $ 12.00 shipped they are no good at all for diagnostic purposes(guess how I know?)
Michael

[madmantrapper]

The frequency of a generator is solely related to the RPM it is turning.

[KE4AVB]

The frequency of a generator is solely related to the RPM it is turning.

Correct...

2 Pole Generators (Gasoline engine powered)
RPM/ 60 sec = HZ (frequency)

4 Pole Generators (Diesel engine powered)
(RPM * 2) / 60 sec = HZ (frequency) or RPM / 30 sec = HZ (frequency)

That is why you don't have to have a Hz meter if you do a little calculating while using a tachometer.

[bgsengine]

That is why you don't have to have a Hz meter if you do a little calculating while using a tachometer.

*AND* also why having both figures (or 3 or 4, since voltage needs to come out right too) can be handy for troubleshooting.. if you got what should be correct RPM, but still not seeing the Hz (or the volts) you probably got a genny problem.. Or perhaps a rotor spinning on a crank (or a busted crank), etc etc etc...