re. ST5 with brushes and AVR
Hello all, it's been a long time since I've been on the forum or used my Listeroid Metro 6/1. I want to get it ready for winter and add the improvements I always wanted to do, so I checked it out in the shed where it is mounted.
A mouse had recently started a nest on top of the generator's brush terminals. I cleaned that out before trying to start and checked the brushes and terminals. They looked okay. I pulled the brushes and wiped them and the rings with a denatured alcohol moistened paper towel. The rings looked shiny and the ends of the brushes weren't cracked or broken. This is a low hours engine and genset. It doesn't look new only because there hs been some rust on the flimsy doghouse sheetmetal on top of the gen head where the thin paint cracked off. One of the things I want to do now is remove it and build a proper junction box off the generator.
Anyway, the Metro started easily, and the genset spun up and I had 120V showin on the meter with the panel switch still in the "off" position. I left the engine to warm up for aa minute to check the water lines and radiator to make sure the cooling system was working. When I got back I noticed there was no indication on the meter, and moving the switch to "on" no difference. There was no sign of electrical overheating anywhere, and there had been no electrical load on the generator since it was started.
I own a VOM, but am not quite sure where to start checking for the problem. The switch and the light are very cheesy quality, (one of the light socket contacts feels loose) and I'm wondering if that circuit is the source of the problem. The switch and light (incandescent) are in series together, and the leads that feed them go back throught the pass-through into the generator case. Thery're bundeld together with some other wires in an insulator sleeve, so I can't tell exactly where they go. Is that to the field?
So first question is, can I jumper the two leads together that go to the switch and light to bypass them?
And if that doesn't work, Is there a troubleshooting procedure of steps to test with the meter to find out where the problem is? A link is fine if there is somewhere in the forum. Or if not, can someone make suggestions?
I greatly appreciate it.!