# New to me ex5500



## tkrrox (Mar 5, 2017)

I got an older ex5500. When I bought it, it ran rough and was missing the battery. For the price I figured I'd roll the dice. Flushed the tank, cleaned and rebuilt the carb, fixed the low idle (eco) switch, new air filter, spark plugs and put in a new battery. We she runs absolutely awesome, BUT.......I checked the voltage at the battery while running and it fluctuates between 15.8-16.2 volts. I ran it for 3 hours and no excessive battery heat or bubbling, but I'm concerned that is too high. I read somewhere that it could be the ground, but I put a new one on and that didn't fix the issue. (I'm thinking about running a jumper negative to the frame from the ground to the motor, but not sure that will do any good) I have been trying to google the issue and if there is a regulator/rectifier that could be the culprit, but to no avail. Does anyone have any insight to fix this issue? All help welcomed.


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## thehandyman1957 (Feb 11, 2017)

That voltage is way to high. I'm in the RV solar business and at that voltage your talking equalize voltage and you only want to do that for a couple hours max. I would be curious on how many amps it's putting in though. 

Is this the generator your talking about?
http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31ZA0600.pdf

I did find this and it perhaps will help you. 
Honda EU-series generator DC output | QRZ Forums

Their big question was is the voltage your getting, open voltage or is the battery connected while measuring?
I realize that these guys are talking about the DC output but my understanding is that it comes from the same place inside the generator whether it's hooked to a battery for starting or actually using the DC terminals. Their over all comment was not to trust 
the DC voltage as it was pretty much unregulated.

If this was a regulator/rectifier issue then you would see higher voltage at the AC side also. Did you measure the AC output?
Do you have a way to measure the Hz level?


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## tkrrox (Mar 5, 2017)

thehandyman1957 said:


> That voltage is way to high. I'm in the RV solar business and at that voltage your talking equalize voltage and you only want to do that for a couple hours max. I would be curious on how many amps it's putting in though.
> 
> Is this the generator your talking about?
> http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31ZA0600.pdf
> ...


I'm not really electrically smart. I took it to a shop when I got it and had them load test is and the AC output was good...it has an AC gauge that works and is adjustable.
The DC voltage was while the generator was running and tested at the battery terminals. With the generator off the battery reads 12.6v Should I disconnect battery and test the voltage? What will that tell me? I thought the AVR was responsible for AC output.


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## thehandyman1957 (Feb 11, 2017)

If you tested it while the battery was connected then that is all you need. As far as the voltage regulator. Some control both. 
If your AC is good then it is only regulating the AC side with the regulator. I would not know where to go from there as I don't know 
the particulars of this gen set. Perhaps someone else can chip in.


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## tkrrox (Mar 5, 2017)

I was able to contact honda support and they said my numbers are within spec. I guess all is good. Thanks guys.


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## thehandyman1957 (Feb 11, 2017)

Hmmmm, within specs and good for a battery are two different things. Like I said, it will boil a battery over time. But hey, run it and see. If you have a wet battery after a few hours, then you know : ) I actually use an old solar panel and controller to keep my battery charged. That way it's fully maintained and ready when I need it and no worries over some over voltage.


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