Generator won't start

[Sk8Surfr]

Well - I pulled the cover - connected a paperclip from A on the pin - to C on the board... NOTHING

Started the generator at the switch... put paperclip from A on the pin - to C on the board - stopped.

I guess the board is bad....

[Morich]

But what do you see about the switch that is there at the generator? Am I right that there is a switch that you have used to start and stop it there closeby?
Does it go to the same board or take some other route?

See what I'm thinking? If one switch works, why not the others?

Darn hard to please, huh?

I would have to say that is far beyond what many would have done on the chase and it does look like the end of the line!

[Sk8Surfr]

The black rocker switch on the board - WORKS.

I am going to get some electric parts cleaner - spray it... and see if anything jumps out... and trace the rocker and wire C - and see what I can find..

Worst case I'll get a new board. Looks like $150. Not terrible.

[Morich]

I was thinking the board looks really dirty and that can lead to problems if there is much humidity/water around. Texas has a real problem with fire ants and they build mounds after it rains. The problem comes in when they happen to build a mound under an equipment hut and they crawl around inside. If a big juicy ant gets across a hot wire on a board they can short the whole thing out!!
One spot on this board does look suspect and there might be value in cleaning this spot to see if there is a trace burned to make it go open. Problem with that is what made it burn and that leads to something else on the board maybe going bad first so that the trace got too hot!

I had not noticed the switch on the board until you mentioned but this badspotdoes look likke it would be on the contacts sticking through the board??
Maybe mean anything??


When you get into that game the $150 may begin to sound better!

[Sk8Surfr]

Thinking maybe this (3rd photo) is the break. This is Pin C. Looks like it ties into the switch. But still allows the switch to function independently

[Morich]

That does look like a suspect!
But the wholeboard is a pretty ugly thing! Kind of reminds me of the days when I did repair on pagers for a crew that worked manholes. They dropped them in manholes full of water and brought them to be repaired.
One guy brought it in and wanted to know what I thought about getting it fixed, so I asked how long it had been in the water and he told me, " Not very long. I got it out as soon as I could!"
Sensing there might be more to the story, I asked how long? Three days!

Sometimes we just have to agree to start over! When I look at what it might take to get a wire soldered on to run around that point, if that is the open, it looks tough to get done!

With the right soldering iron and luck, one might be able to put a wire across the open if you can find the correct pins on the backside of the switch and the plug?
That's getting pretty close to being too hard headed for our own good!!
Sort of thing for old retired guys with little to lose and way too much time?
I might want to check if I could get a new board before working on this one as you could get a little too much heat and totally lose being able to start the generator at all!!

[Sk8Surfr]

Good call….. this worked. Started from dash switch and the hood.

I almost want to just solder a piece of wire to the back of the board. Ok fine. I’ll buy a new board

[Bones2003]

Good job! Soldering a wire and tacking it down with superglue is a perfectly acceptable repair. It is a common technique that was even used in the aerospace industry. Another technique is to scrape the green coating off the circuit trace on the board where the break is located and then solder a short piece of bare wire to bridge the break. Use rubbing alcohol to clean the grime off first.

[Morich]

At this point and considering how much you have worked to get here, I think I might give it a try. Getting a thin wire on the pins on the back has always been easier than going on the front as you do have a small nub sticking up on the back.
The problem with boards is that they are easy to get too much heat so that the board comes apart, etc.

But that is something that I've worked a fair amount and done it on other people's stuff so that I had little invested----other than rep!

The tricks I find worked for me?
One is a really hot iron before starting, really clean wire and pin. Something like rosin placed directly on the wire and pin before heating? Touch wire to pin and this is easier if you have something like a set of mini-alligator clips on a stand? Something to hold the wire where you want it instead of a shaky hand!
Like painting, the prep before you start is the key.

A small bubble of solder on the tip of the iron and then immediately to the joint just long enough to let the melted solder go in and around the joint but not enough to heat and loosen the pin in the joint from before. Almost just a touch and go! Remove the iron and blow to cool to keep the heat from spreading!

But I'm also good with replacing the board as you have proved to yourself that you can find the problem and there is nothing wrong with avoiding grief when we can!

[Sk8Surfr]

I think you’re right. I might as well give it a shot and solder a small piece of wire. THANK you again for all the help to get this far!

[Sk8Surfr]

Done. Finished product. Back to working in the cab to turn on.

Tried to float solder across the front of the board break. But it was too wide. So did the back of the board. And hot glued it down.

[Morich]

Looks good and I always like to see progress, even if it fails in the long run, you will have a done little extra to try to avoid the $150 hit!
You'll never hit a home run if you don't swing at a few pitches!

You may find you strike out as there can be major reasons for that trace to have burnt out but we gotta keep swinging if we want to win!