AC Power momentary cutout - Gen and Shore Power??

[carolinacoast]

I ran our boat for about 4 hours to get her to a hurricane hole in downtown Wilmington before Irene arrived, and would like some advice some strange electrical symptoms. With the #2 gen running smoothly, the generator took itself offline - no AC power - and no breaker blowing. I went below, shut off the disconnect by the generator, and then back on. It loaded up fine and after another 2 hours I got a momentary AC power off alarm on the panel that corrected itself in a second or 2. After that it occurred again every 30 minutes or so for the balance of the trip. At the time, my mind was more focused on Irene prep, and getting the family home. Once in the slip, with the gen still loaded, it took itself offline again. I went to shore power and got the same intermittent momentary alarm that the AC power was off, but it corrected itself as before under gen power. I was stripping canvas and taping water entry points with the clock ticking, so no troubleshooting was in the cards. My instinct is corrosion somewhere in the AC circuit/panel that is soon to really show its ugly head. Where do I start? My electrical skills are far less than many on the HOF, but I do have a meter, corrosion block, boshield and lots of extra fuses. When I get back, I would like to troubleshoot this prior to leaving on a 300 mile trip back to SAV. I welcome your advice.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Was power actually off or just a false alarm?

 

[carolinacoast]

If it is just a false alarm, then what kind of problem will cause a gen to go offline without blowing a breaker? That is the bigger question if the 2 symptoms are unrelated. I believe it to be a false alarm.

 

[bobk]

An infra red thermometer may help to find high resistance or loads, loose screws at junctions etc..

Bobk

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If it was just the alarm going off, it may just be that the 12pt monitor board is going bad. Not the whole board, but a weak module on the board. If you don't need the "A/C Power Loss" alarm, just switch the switches off under each of the Ship's Service breakers. If you need it, you may have to send that board in to have it tested and repaired.