Generator/ Reverse Polarity Question

KD4UPL wrote:
I agree that it sounds like your bonding plug is wired wrong and bonding the hot to the frame. Test the bonding plug with an ohm meter rather than cutting it open. Then, if it's bad, you can return it.

Good plan, thanks but how do I test the plug? Sorry, total novice here. I do have a multimeter. Cheers!

TheHound wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
I agree that it sounds like your bonding plug is wired wrong and bonding the hot to the frame. Test the bonding plug with an ohm meter rather than cutting it open. Then, if it's bad, you can return it.

Good plan, thanks but how do I test the plug? Sorry, total novice here. I do have a multimeter. Cheers!

Put your multimeter on ohms (lowest setting if it has several). Touch the leads to each other and you should read something near 0. Now do that between the ground and neutral on the bonding plug and again between the ground and hot. The neutral is the one that is a larger oin or would plug into the larger slot on a receptacle. You should read near 0 between neutral and ground and nothing between hot and ground.

Why use a surge device with a generator????

pianotuna wrote:
Why use a surge device with a generator????

Cause failure of voltage reg could cause HIGH Voltage

Bobbo wrote:
Be sure it is wired GROUND pin to NEUTRAL pin. Nothing should touch the HOT pin.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Jumper wire should go from GROUND Terminal to NEUTRAL Terminal

Sounds like jumper is on Hot to Neutral (defective plug/cross wired)??

Actually, to me it sounds like that bonding plug is wired GROUND to HOT. If it was wired HOT to NEUTRAL, it would blow the breaker on the generator.

OP stated
" With the bonding plug inserted it came back with HOT/NEU REV ..."

AC Reverse Polarity is Hot & Neutral being swapped.

forget the error codes, put the surge guard in bypass mode
or
don't use it with the genny
a generator is an isolated power source, not connected to power grid

there NO reference voltage, no zero point, for the surge guard

your generator could maybe go low voltage or maybe go high (if things get out of whack)

but it can NOT deliver sudden power surges like those that occur on the power grid
those are created by electrical/mechanical mishaps, like vehicles crashing into POWER POLES, or lighting strikes, or transformer failures from overload

Something is stragne I will admit. the issue is not reverse polarity but open ground. The Ground on the genny is N/C (not connected)

Many threads on bonding neutral to ground on Genny's discuss it way more than I wish to here.. But you do not need the surge guard with an Inverter type Genny.

This is the grounding plug I made up from search on google...


Google image

I plug it into the spare 120VAC receptacle on my 2KW Generator and my 30A to 15A adapter cord on the other 120VAC connector...


Roy's image


google image

Roy Ken

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
Be sure it is wired GROUND pin to NEUTRAL pin. Nothing should touch the HOT pin.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Jumper wire should go from GROUND Terminal to NEUTRAL Terminal

Sounds like jumper is on Hot to Neutral (defective plug/cross wired)??

Actually, to me it sounds like that bonding plug is wired GROUND to HOT. If it was wired HOT to NEUTRAL, it would blow the breaker on the generator.

OP stated
" With the bonding plug inserted it came back with HOT/NEU REV ..."

AC Reverse Polarity is Hot & Neutral being swapped.

In house wiring, you are correct, however, this is a floating voltage generator.

A generator that isn't bonded doesn't actually have HOT or NEUTRAL. It is floating. The only thing that makes one side HOT or NEUTRAL is the physical location of the pins, IOW, our standardized practices.

His EMS is determining a "reversed polarity" by noticing that the GROUND pin is at the same voltage as what SHOULD BE his HOT pin. IOW, his GROUND pin is wired to his HOT pin.

If you short the two floating (current carrying) pins, you will trip the generator's circuit breaker. Think about it. If you take a couple of inches of wire and strip the ends, then bend it into a "U" shape and insert it into the generator's outlet, what will happen? That is exactly what you would get if his bonding plug was wired HOT pin to NEUTRAL pin.

wa8yxm wrote:
Something is stragne I will admit. the issue is not reverse polarity but open ground. The Ground on the genny is N/C (not connected)

Many threads on bonding neutral to ground on Genny's discuss it way more than I wish to here.. But you do not need the surge guard with an Inverter type Genny.

No. Nothing is strange here. If he takes out the bonding plug, he will get the "OPEN GROUND" message. When he plugs in his defective bonding plug, he gets the "REVERSE POLARITY" message.

If you make a bonding plug but wire the GROUND pin to the HOT pin by mistake, this is EXACTLY the results you would see.

While the generator does have an open ground, the bonding plug to fool the EMS into thinking there is a functional ground is wired incorrectly. It is wired "reverse" what it should be, thus the "reverse polarity" message.

I, personally, would never consider using my generator without my EMS inline. Generators can, and do, fail.