Generac Running, But No Power in House

   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #11  
also...make sure breaker in generator is turned on. if you have 2 switches installed on one generator and both dont switch over....im guessing your not getting power from generator. if the unit wasnt producing power, it will fault out and shut down. Since it did not shut down, i suspect a breaker issue. OR

you need to have service tech simulate power outage. also, lightning may have damaged controller. if a controler is damaged, it may not be sending the 23 wire to ground, which is the signal to command the transfer switch to swap over.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House
  • Thread Starter
#12  
if you have alot of on off events, the newer generac units can be programmed to wait longer, up to 5 minutes, before they start up and transfer power. this prevents alot of false starts.
That's a good idea, and I'll look into it. It is somewhat common for us to have very short outages, which I suppose are due to local maintenance work. Today's outage was during beautiful and calm weather.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #13  
GRS ... if the MLCB in the generator is switched OFF, will the coils still transfer automatically? I should know that, but it isn't coming to me at the moment.

If the generator breaker is off, it will not transfer when utility power is lost. It needs power from gen to power coils.


That's what I thought but wasn't sure.

FWIW, I have a second electric meter and transfer switch in my barn. I didn't check that switch, but I also didn't have power in the barn during the outage.
One generator or two?

Check the main breaker inside the generator(s) for On or Off state.

And still this question:
OP, has it transferred normally in the past?
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House
  • Thread Starter
#14  
also...make sure breaker in generator is turned on. if you have 2 switches installed on one generator and both dont switch over....im guessing your not getting power from generator. if the unit wasnt producing power, it will fault out and shut down. Since it did not shut down, i suspect a breaker issue. OR

you need to have service tech simulate power outage. also, lightning may have damaged controller. if a controler is damaged, it may not be sending the 23 wire to ground, which is the signal to command the transfer switch to swap over.
That makes sense. The breaker in the generator was and is turned on. I let it run for about five minutes and then pushed the Off button, since it was just wasting propane. Then I set it back to Auto after the power came back on for a while.

It will be interesting to see what they find. This has been a costly and time-consuming set of repairs.

I previously suspect that the damage was somehow transmitted over ethernet lines, rather than electrical power. The laptop and one of the network switches were connected to a UPS, which has surge protection. The network camera that was destroyed was the only one that gets power over the ethernet line.

When they installed the generator, they accidentally cut through my direct burial ethernet line going from the house to the barn. They spliced it back together, but I'm wondering if the shielding of that line is compromised as a result. If the generator controller is also damaged, that would shoot that theory.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #15  
good thing is, if its the controller may be under warranty. i cant see 2 transfer switches having wires fall off of the coil. but who knows.

i wasn't sure how old gen was.
 
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   / Generac Running, But No Power in House
  • Thread Starter
#16  
One generator or two?

Check the main breaker inside the generator(s) for On or Off state.

And still this question: [has it functioned normally in the past]
I have one generator, and the breaker inside the generator is On.

Everything has worked flawlessly until this last experience. The generator is about 3.5 years old, and it has automatically provided power several times.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #17  
I've had instances where I've lost all kinds of networked gizmos and gadgets, but no main appliances or motor controlled items. Figured my hits came in via the telephone (DSL) line and hit the LAN.

But the controller on my 16Kw unit is not hardwired. It uses wireless only, so a LAN hit would be nearly impossible.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #18  
If you have extended warranty, the controller would still be covered. But standard warranty only covers parts for 2 years. I think i had this conversation confused with another one dealing with 10 month old unit.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #19  
I've had instances where I've lost all kinds of networked gizmos and gadgets, but no main appliances or motor controlled items. Figured my hits came in via the telephone (DSL) line and hit the LAN.

But the controller on 16Kw unit is not hardwired. It uses wireless only, so a LAN hit would be nearly impossible.
The controller is most certainly hardwired. There are either 5 or 6 wires between gen and transfer switch. 3 are utility powered, 2-3 are 12vdc powered (depending on unit). Lightning strikes can take out controllers. Rare, but happens

the wifi unit is wireless only.
 
   / Generac Running, But No Power in House #20  
Hardwired electrically, but not to the LAN/Network. A surge via the network will not affect the controller.
 
 
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