Problem with standby generator

[GaryG]

We have a 2 year-old 22KW Generac Guardian standby generator with a 200A Transfer switch. We had a power outage 2 nights ago at 4AM. The unit kicked in, ran for an hour, and quit. Power had been restored (thankfully!) by about 7:30 AM. The unit was showing "charger missing A/C" error. Some research suggested that the T1 fuse on the transfer switch panel had been blown. I replaced that fuse yesterday, and the generator's display is now showing an overload error. It says to push Off and Enter to clear the error. When I do so I get: "remove load/error 2100." It seems to me, a total novice at this stuff, that there is no load as power has been restored to the house and therefore there isn't any demand on the unit. It's the weekend, and the nearest approved Generac repair person is more than an hour away. What am I not understanding here, and is there something else I should try to restart the system?

[creia]

Any warranty on the unit? (labor and/or materials).
Michael

[KE4AVB]

YUCK.

Warranty depends if new or recon. New warranty has five year limited warranty and hopeful the OP is with the first two year period parts and labor period. Year three covers only parts. Years four and five covers only engine short block and/or alternator (generator head) replacement.

Wish could of further help this one beyond my experience level. All I have worked on have portable units.

One thing the OP can try is to manually disconnect (IE switch circuit breaker to off) at the auto transfer switch and try to if that resolves part of the problem. There is probably still a problem but this is where Generac will have get involved.

Either way let us know how things goes as to what happen to the unit as we all can stand to gain some knowledge on these units.

[GaryG]

Yes, the warranty is 5 yrs. The problem is finding a Generac-approved repair person in my area. No way anyone's coming out here to the KY boonies on a weekend, either! I'm trying to get a panel off to get to the battery. Hoping to disconnect it and reset the generator. Maybe that will clear the error. One screw is thwarting me: a stripped Allen head. I'm going back out now with my trusty Easy Outs. Why does stuff like this only seem to happen in snow and cold?!

[KE4AVB]

Ever heard of Murphy? He always showing at the worst time. The problem with him is he like to stick around at times.

It sorta like having a week of Monday morning that lasted for three weeks. I had one those this last Summer. Everything seems to have been a PITA to work on and vendors showing their behinds didn't help either.

The key with tight fasteners is the bump shock them when they are not bulging. If were the BFH and a punch I would have more stripped fasteners.


Whatever you do just beware this a live 220(240) circuit and can flat kill you in less than a heartbeat if you touch the wrong thing. Not the same as working with a non running portable generator due to that transfer switch.

[GaryG]

Since posting I contacted the certified repair person nearest us (about 45 min. away). He can't get to us for a week or more, so I contacted Generac. I had read some negative remarks on-line about their customer service, so I wasn't expecting much. I shouldn't have worried. They got back to me quickly, and had what I hope will be helpful advice. They recommend what they call a hard reset and sent me detailed instructions. However it's raining here and is supposed to continue for 2 days. No way I'm doing this until things are dry! I'll try it as soon as the weather cooperates and let you know.

[KE4AVB]

Thank you the update and when you the final as it will help of us later too. No telling I might just called out on one too this year with the same or similar problem.

[GaryG]

The rain finally let up yesterday, and I performed the "Hard Reset." This consisted of removing the 7.5A fuse from the display panel, completely disconnecting the battery, and removing the T1 fuse from the transfer switch. It obviously had an effect, but I'm puzzled by the results. The display went dark after downing all avenues of power (as you'd expect). Reconnecting everything showed the previous errors gone, and "entering Install Wizard." My hopes rose, only to be dashed when I was offered English as the language, hit Enter, and nothing happened. Indeed, nothing happens when any of the buttons are pressed. We had gotten a Mobile Link message that Schedule A maintenance was due (change oil & filter/check battery). I changed the oil & filter, and Mobil Link now says Low Battery. I ordered a replacement, which is due Wednesday. Communication from Generac has gone dark, presumably due to the weekend, and here we sit with $10+K of inert junk praying we don't have another power outage. The only thing that comes to mind is maybe the controller is failing, which sounds like warranty territory to me. I'll keep you posted.

[GaryG]

It has been a week, and very little progress has been made. I did change the oil and filter, and get a new battery. Working with Generac is losing its appeal, however. The technical rep and I had come to the conclusion that the control module must be bad. Communication with him went dark after that. He didn’t respond to a couple of emails, so I called Generac Customer Service.

They will not just send me a new module and let me install it. When warranty is involved the request for a part has to come from a dealer/service person. The CSR I talked to said that their Warranty Dept. won’t even speak to him without a dealer number. Generac provided me with the names of 2 companies “near” me who service their products, one of whom I had already spoken to. He’s 28 miles away, was sick last week, and planned to be on vacation for a week after that. The other company is 47 miles away and making noises like they don’t want to serve us. There’s another locality about 45 minutes east of us that might have some service people, so I’ll check on that in the coming week.

As we’re finding out, warranty is only an advantage in that eventually someone will do the work and the parts will be covered. Don’t expect quick response unless you’re in an area with significant population density. If your generator is out of warranty you can just diagnose, order and pay for the part (in this instance $600-700), and install it.

[KE4AVB]

Understand the warranty problems. OEM makes it as hard as they can to get claims honored.

Years ago I work for an Office Supply dealer that had a Victor Technologies dealership. Victor was such a pain to deal with that we just honored the warranties in house. It the same way with a lot other OEMs too. A royal pain to get anything done. This shouldn't be the way but the OEMs are looking for any loophole they use against the one that has the equipment.

Ever fully read a warranty and you see most times it doesn't actual cover anything much.

And it is like me being warranty center for Hydro Gear they won't pay for anything until they get the parts back so they can deny payment. My customers just don' understand why I want payment up front and when I get paid they get reimburse. Matter of fact the only warranty call I got last the customer refused to produce the invoice where he brought the new transaxle.