# Cat Generator voltage regulator



## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

I need some help with a faulty voltage regulator. It's a mid eighties vintage Cat 3306 with a Brown Boveri Canada 150kw brushless alternator. The voltage regulator in question is a Basler Electric KR4F with a 120v input.
The field volt requirement is 60 and the current is 1.96.
CAT won't help me, as I can't find a serial number that keys up information in their system (I have given them all the serials I found).
I have very limited experience in this area, however due to our geographical location I am the most qualified and more importantly, the only one willing.

I am looking for some advice on how to proceed.
Do I: 
Try to troubleshoot and repair the regulator?
Send it away to be repaired?
Replace it with a used Basler replacement?
Replace it with a NOS Basler replacement?
Replace it with a new compatible Basler replacement?
Replace it with a generic replacement, and if so what brand(s) and/or suppliers should I look at?

This unit is only used during power outages for a large church. It is more for convenience and not of vital importance. As such cost is a factor, but I don't want to install junk either.

Thanks in advance


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## scotch (Oct 17, 2013)

I'm sure you'll find there are some folks who deal with Emergency Gensets in SK ...look in the yellow pages or online . It's rather specialized field to set it up...especially if you've no prior experience...it's not hook it up and go home !


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

farlsincharge said:


> I need some help with a faulty voltage regulator. It's a mid eighties vintage Cat 3306 with a Brown Boveri Canada 150kw brushless alternator. The voltage regulator in question is a Basler Electric KR4F with a 120v input.
> The field volt requirement is 60 and the current is 1.96.
> CAT won't help me, as I can't find a serial number that keys up information in their system (I have given them all the serials I found).
> I have very limited experience in this area, however due to our geographical location I am the most qualified and more importantly, the only one willing.
> ...


This puppy was very likely donated by a local miner... the number one market for units of this kind... in your neck of the woods.

Reach out to them. 

Your troubles are old news to them.

BTW, don't even assume that it's a faulty voltage regulator. 

Engine speed is a huge factor. 

Who says you've got it warmed up and running right ?

I rather doubt that you do.

It's far more likely that the problem is with the prime mover -- or the green operator.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

farlsincharge said:


> I need some help with a faulty voltage regulator. It's a mid eighties vintage Cat 3306 with a Brown Boveri Canada 150kw brushless alternator. The voltage regulator in question is a Basler Electric KR4F with a 120v input.
> The field volt requirement is 60 and the current is 1.96.
> CAT won't help me, as I can't find a serial number that keys up information in their system (I have given them all the serials I found).
> I have very limited experience in this area, however due to our geographical location I am the most qualified and more importantly, the only one willing.
> ...


http://gen-powercontrols.com/basler_products.htm#rebuilt

http://www.genpowerusa.com/content/files/MANUAL-BASLER-AVR-KR4FFMX.pdf


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## JRaef (Mar 23, 2009)

Those old Basler units were very subject to drifting if there was any noise or harmonics in the load, but up until the 80s, that wasn't an issue. But beginning with the widespread use of solid state soft starters in the 80s, Cat began having massive field call outs because of these things and starting in around 85/86, jettisoned them from their gensets. For a while they were offering retrofit kits for whatever their new, more immune version was, but I looked for one in around 2005 and found that there was nobody at Cat that even remembered that this had happened, or maybe there was a corporate edict telling employees to never talk about it again, thinking that by then, all of those units were out of service.

The issues may not matter to a church, unless they have VFDs or soft starters on HVAC equipment, so rebuilt or NOS replacement may be OK for you. But if they do have VFDs or soft starters, I would opt for replacing it with something new.


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## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

http://www.partsfortechs.com/asapcart/universal-avr-advr635-replaces-advr648-p-153.html

What about something like this? Or is it junk?


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## QMED (Sep 14, 2016)

Not sure how you fared but out of curiosity what type of excitation does the gen have? I know it's fairly obvious but the AVR may not be getting power


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