Duvie
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2011
- Messages
- 343
After getting the Solace in the water this Spring I started the Onan generator and was only getting 15 volts output. After going through the troubleshooting steps in the YD service manual it seemed as though I had a bad voltage regulator.
I bench tested a spare voltage regulator board I had as well as the one that came out of the generator. The spare tested somewhat good but it seemed as though one of the pots was corroded or something as the output flickered a LOT. When I bench tested the unit that came out of the Solace it smoked instantly! This confirmed my previous beliefs.
A new or rebuilt board on line was several hundred dollars. After doing some research on Smokstak it seems as though many have used an SX460 regulator to replace the stock unit. These SX460 regulators can be had for around 30 dollars on many sites and need to see a field resistance of over 15 ohms. I had to add a 5 ohm resistor for my MDJE to meet this spec.
After installing the SX460 and resistor the unit made electricity like a champ. I completed a quick voltage and stability adjustment and all is good. Total cost of repair was 38 dollars.
Picture on top is the new board with resistor and field circuit breaker. Picture on the bottom is the old set up. I had to make up an aluminum adapter plate to bolt in the new board.
Thought I would share as it might help someone out with one of these older Onans.
I bench tested a spare voltage regulator board I had as well as the one that came out of the generator. The spare tested somewhat good but it seemed as though one of the pots was corroded or something as the output flickered a LOT. When I bench tested the unit that came out of the Solace it smoked instantly! This confirmed my previous beliefs.
A new or rebuilt board on line was several hundred dollars. After doing some research on Smokstak it seems as though many have used an SX460 regulator to replace the stock unit. These SX460 regulators can be had for around 30 dollars on many sites and need to see a field resistance of over 15 ohms. I had to add a 5 ohm resistor for my MDJE to meet this spec.
After installing the SX460 and resistor the unit made electricity like a champ. I completed a quick voltage and stability adjustment and all is good. Total cost of repair was 38 dollars.
Picture on top is the new board with resistor and field circuit breaker. Picture on the bottom is the old set up. I had to make up an aluminum adapter plate to bolt in the new board.
Thought I would share as it might help someone out with one of these older Onans.
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