I have a genset made by Caterpillar for the Canadian Air Force. It's wet stacking right now and probably needs a load bank applied to clean it up. My problem is it recently lost excitation or something and is no longer generating so a load bank is sort of pointless. The beast isn't like the USA version because it has a very complicated control mechanism and also weighs 5000#. I wasn't prepared for the weight when it arrived in Houston, Tx from Canada. I came equipped to pick up a 3000# genset and 5000# created a problem especially when the fork lift used for loading was rated for 3000#. It was a character building experience for me.

It was a sudden kind of thing, one minute it was working, the next minute nothing. I suspect either a control relay or something fairly simple but a manual would be very helpful if nothing more than for recommended test points.

This genset has the most complicated control circuitry I've ever seen on a older genset.

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Tom,
sorry cannot help much but there may be some fuses in the control systems to check for being blown--likely they are the white/grey sealed cylinder type and so may be difficult to tell by external examination if it is blown--need a self illuminating test light or a multi-meter to test them.
An Airline down here had some D315G Turbo engine powered gen sets that were of a special High Frequency which suited the Electra planes of the day.
If the set is a HF unit it would likely make the gen set not suitable for general power generation purposes.

My involvement was with troubleshooting engine low power problems and nothing to do with the gen set side of things.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Hey Tomseabee,

When I bought MaryAnn and retired her from her Seabee's days, I purchased a crate of manuals from the Antartic. I have many gen set manuals, I'll look tomorrow to see what I have.
Glen

Great!
I would appreciate you checking.
Thanks

Tom

Hi again,
we encountered problems with control units burning out--blowing fuses or worse when someone in the Army decided that for a Gen Set it was correct to idle the Set down for cooling off before shut down--bad idea--as the controller works over time trying to maintain correct electrical output and everything gets overheated--I am was not into Power Gen myself but that is what was found and told to me by the gurus at our Dealer when I spoke with them.

Many people are not aware that the Set should be taken off load at full governed speed, cooled out and then shut down at those RPM's. This also means the Set starts at full governed RPM's which can be startling to the uninitiated, but is correct procedure to preserve the Gen and its controller.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

"edb" wrote:

Hi again,
we encountered problems with control units burning out--blowing fuses or worse when someone in the Army decided that for a Gen Set it was correct to idle the Set down for cooling off before shut down--bad idea--as the controller works over time trying to maintain correct electrical output and everything gets overheated--I am was not into Power Gen myself but that is what was found and told to me by the gurus at our Dealer when I spoke with them.

Many people are not aware that the Set should be taken off load at full governed speed, cooled out and then shut down at those RPM's. This also means the Set starts at full governed RPM's which can be startling to the uninitiated, but is correct procedure to preserve the Gen and its controller.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Hi Eddie,
I replyed to your first response but it somehow got lost in the shuffle. Great poop on the genset operation. That's news to me and sounds a bit counterintuitive but sort of makes sense from the controller standpoint.

I am fairly proficient in electrical and electronic stuff and have most of the gear to make basic tests. The control panel on this genset has the normal charging circuit module but in addition to that it has a rack of contactors and a bunch of time set relays. I'll upload a picture to give you an appreciation of what this thing has inside of it.

A manual for the standard D311 genset probably won't help with all that electrical stuff but it should be handy if it includes any basic troubleshooting poop.

Thanks again,
Tom

Hey TomSeaBee,

Attached are what I found. I wasn't given much to go on with Generator ID.
Let me know if this stuff helps. It has basic Trouble Shooting.

Where you a SeaBee?

"7upuller" wrote:

Hey TomSeaBee,

Attached are what I found. I wasn't given much to go on with Generator ID.
Let me know if this stuff helps. It has basic Trouble Shooting.

Where you a SeaBee?

The first two look very interesting. I have the D311 parts manuals and the normal engine service manual but the generator service manual should be very handy especially with the basic trouble shooting. What are you asking for them?

I was a construction mechanic in the Seabees from 1966-68 and was in the reserves from 1968-76.

Thanks,
Tom

"tomseabee" wrote:

The first two look very interesting. I have the D311 parts manuals and the normal engine service manual but the generator service manual should be very handy especially with the basic trouble shooting. What are you asking for them?

I was a construction mechanic in the Seabees from 1966-68 and was in the reserves from 1968-76.

Thanks,
Tom

BTW, my serial number is 4V5956.
Thanks

That control panel is way beyond anything normally supplied with a D311 Genset. Have you tried researching military manuals. There are thousands of free access manuals available. Would help to have some identifying numbers.