Northern Lights Generator AC connections

[800lance]

Kevin
I have been on both Matt

[MattH]

Hi Kevin. I am an electrician and I have a NL generator on my Hylas 46. If you could post a sketch a diagram of your system I may be able to identify your problem.

[stgermain45]

Hi Kevin,

Yes, we have a Victron isolation transformer as well as a buck-boost transformer, but they only come into play while on shore power. On our boat, genset L1 and neutral hit a 50A ELCI then to Genset/Shore switch. Ground from genset straight to ground bus. The other side of the switch is where our isolation transformer lives.

Chris

[Kevin]

Chris,

Thanks!  One question.  Do you have an isolation transformer?  From what I have read that will impact the ground configuration on the boat.

Regards,
Kevin

[stgermain45]

Hi Kevin,

I think I wrote that reply before my 2nd cup of coffee! That setting initially fixed our breaker tripping issue, but I should have mentioned it was really a bandaid and not a fix. I don't recall whether inverter was set to on or off, but I now have the inverter "ground relay" set back ON in the settings anyway since eventually isolating a wiring issue.

I've made a bunch of changes to our AC distribution since installing the NL genset, and the real problem was finding and correcting a neutral wire from the inverter connected to the wrong BUS. I'd triple check your wiring first to ensure all is good there - in particular, put a spotlight on how your inverter is wired, especially neutral and ground connections. There's a  good chance installations like gensets and inverters were not installed by Queen Long, so there is undoubtedly some wiring variation between owners.

Chris
S/V Beleza - H46 #44

[Kevin]

Chris,

Thanks for the prompt reply.  One question.  Can you provide more details on the inverter problem?  Was yours turned off when this happened?

I have a charger/inverter, but it was turned.

Regards,
Kevin

[stgermain45]

Hi Kevin,

Attached is a pic of ours. U1 is jumpered to U2, V1 is jumpered to V2 and yellow cable switched over to 120V, per the same wiring diagram you posted. Of possible note, I initially had the same issue of the breaker tripping immediately. It was solved by toggling off a ground relay in the settings of our inverter (Victron Multiplus 3kVA). Maybe something to look into.

Both ABYC and Northern Lights recommend grounding the neutral at the genset in the interest of safety from a shock hazard. On the other hand, doing so can increase electrolytic corrosion. We decided to stay within ABYC compliance, but ultimately it's your choice.

You're gonna love the NL genset once you get it up and running!

Chris
S/V Beleza - H46 #44

[Kevin]

I recently had the original generator replaced with a Northern Lights on a Hylas 46.  However, there is confusion on how to properly connect the AC side to the AC panel.

Northern Lights has the attached diagram in the installation manual.  The generator is putting out 120v, but as soon as you flip the switch on the AC panel from Off to Generator, the breaker trips.

Can anyone with a Northern Lights generator assist with how the neutral (white) and ground (green) wires are attached at the V1 and V2 terminals.  And if your V1 and V2 terminals have a jumper connection.

Thanks,
Kevin