I have a older generator with a 8hp briggs engine. Not sure if its made by briggs, homelight or what its orange. The info on the gen is model#ec3000, SS7639, serial#43551 madee byPioneer Gen E Motor Corp. engine model#200y32, type 0141-01 code 7210. It is brand new never had gas in it and was in my grandfathers garage. I put gas in it checked oil and it started with 1 pul. Runs great but no power output. Any idea what to check? Is there brushes that might be stuck or something with the armiture? Any help would be great. Also if anyone can identifie the setup and where to get manuals. By the way its a striaght 230V, 27anp gen.

This is a tip I copied from another site. It often restores power with conditions you describe. As an alternative to flashing a rotor winding with a battery applied to the brushes, an electric drill may be used.

Follow these steps to flash the generator:

* Plug the electric drill into the generator receptacle. (Cordless drills do not work)

* If the drill is reversible, move the direction switch to the forward position.

* Start the generator

CAUTION
Do not get your hand or other materials caught in the chuck. As soon as the field is excited, the generator will produce power and the drill will turn on.

* While depressing the trigger on the drill, spin the drill chuck in reverse direction. This will excite the field and the generator will now produce electricity. If spinning the chuck one direction does not work, try spinning the chuck in the other direction as you may have the reverse switch positioned backwards.

The reason this works is because the electric motor in the drill will act as a small generator when spun backwards. The magnets in the drill's motor induce a voltage into the motor windings, which is fed back through the trigger, cord and into the generators receptacle. From there it goes into the power winding of the stator. The voltage going through the power winding creates a magnetic field, which is intensified due to the iron core of the stator laminations. The rotor intersects this magnetic field as it is spun past the power winding, thus inducing a voltage in the rotor winding. Once current flow is present in the rotor winding the rotor has been flashed.

If flashing the field does not make the generator work, you may have additional problems, besides a lack of magnetism in the rotor. Further testing will be needed.

Thanks 30yeartech, Good info. only problem is this is a stright 230V generator so a 115V dill won't work. Can I try a 230 air compressor or maybe a pool pump if I can some how spin them without loosing a finger?

I have only ever had to do this once and it was on a 120 volt unit. I have read that you can flash a generator with a 9 volt battery, but have never done that. I would think that you could flash each side of a 240 volt generator independently, but I don't really know for sure. It would also require a brush type motor and not a brush less design, if it could be done with some kind of 230 volt motor. I don't think I would want my hand anywhere near it.

Would you know how to flash it with a battery? If not I will try it with a 240v motor.

I found the info on the net awhile back, but neglected to save it. Now I can't locate it, but you might try searching for info on flashing a generator and maybe you will have better luck. If I find it I will let you know.