Tonight in preparation for a fishing trip I drug out my trusty, old EX1000 Generator. It had been sitting for a few years but started after about the third pull and runs very smoothly. I had been charging up my two Trojan 6 volt batteries with my 25 amp smart charger and they were pretty well topped up and charging at only 3 amps.I thought I would see if I could use the generator to power the smart charger so that I could use it while boondocking.I unplugged the charger from the wall and plugged it into the genset and heard a pop. I unplugged it right away and thick black smoke was coming form the charger. Fried!It also blew the fuse on the Generator.Anybody have any comments or similar experiences?Could it be that the generator voltage and/or frequency is not correct?Thanks for your anticipated feedbackRR

Was the 'pilot' light ON?Did the frequency meter indicate 60hz?Prior to plugging in smart charger?Do they work now?

School me on the "pilot light" and the frequency meter, it's been so long ago since I used this generator. Come to think of it, my dad gave it to me so I don't know if I've ever used it. lol

The battery charger is DEAD for sure. Plugged it into the wall to see what it would do and all I got from it is another loud pop and another good puff of death smoke!I went out just now to look and can't find a "pilot light" but do see the frequency guage thing (blue and white squares) how do you read this indicator?

Should be a 'light' and meter on front of generator (above AC outlets).Light should come on when gen up to speed and meter should show 60hz.IF high or low frequency...turn the governor adjustment screw to increase or decrease engine speed until the correct frequency is obtained

Uncledeadly wrote:The battery charger is DEAD for sure. Plugged it into the wall to see what it would do and all I got from it is another loud pop and another good puff of death smoke!Sounds like a capacitor may have blown. I did the smoke test on a power supply once and it sounded like a shotgun going off.

Honda EX1000 vs Smart Charger (charger lost!) | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

time2roll
Nomad
Sep 06, 2014
Another reason to have PI EMS to protect the RV.
Glad to hear you have it squared away.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Sep 06, 2014
80-245 volts the newer power supplies.

All around the mulberry bush the monkey chased the smartcharger...
Uncledeadly
Explorer
Sep 06, 2014
OK...just to close this thread off, (I hate when a solution isn't posted on these types of threads)
Turns out it was a govenor issue a few minor adjustments and it's running like a champ with an identical, new replacement battery charger.
Thanks for all the input and suggestions.

Amen
RR
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 05, 2014
Try a 100w incandescent lamp to see if it just needs a load but it seems the voltage regulator needs adjustment or replacement.
Uncledeadly
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
OK.....I tested it and it's putting out 226 volts for some reason?? Any ideas ?
Uncledeadly
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
I guess that's what happened to it. I'm going to grab a multimeter this morning that can monitor frequency and check the output of the generator. I'm just wondering if the smart charger I was using is too sensitive to be runn off of the possibly rough power output of this generator.
Peg_Leg
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
Uncledeadly wrote:
The battery charger is DEAD for sure. Plugged it into the wall to see what it would do and all I got from it is another loud pop and another good puff of death smoke!

Sounds like a capacitor may have blown. I did the smoke test on a power supply once and it sounded like a shotgun going off.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Sep 05, 2014
Should be a 'light' and meter on front of generator (above AC outlets).
Light should come on when gen up to speed and meter should show 60hz.

IF high or low frequency...turn the governor adjustment screw to increase or decrease engine speed until the correct frequency is obtained
Uncledeadly
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
The battery charger is DEAD for sure. Plugged it into the wall to see what it would do and all I got from it is another loud pop and another good puff of death smoke!

I went out just now to look and can't find a "pilot light" but do see the frequency guage thing (blue and white squares) how do you read this indicator?
Uncledeadly
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
School me on the "pilot light" and the frequency meter, it's been so long ago since I used this generator. Come to think of it, my dad gave it to me so I don't know if I've ever used it. lol