McElroy Discussion Forums

We have a 28 Tracstar and the voltage at the plug to run the heater plate is around 80 volts. I have taken it to our local McElroy dealer and they told me that it is because there is not enough rpm's from the engine to spin the generator fast enough to get 120V. In addition, we cannot keep a battery from going dead. They are constantly needing charging and most of the time the machine needs jump started. Once running, it is fine. Is this all related or is this two separate issues?

This is likely two separate issues. The generator powers the AC portion and the engine has a stator to power the engine.

There is a guide for troubleshooting the generator. Ask your McElroy dealer for a copy of Tech Bulletin 54. It gives you a step by step guide with pictures for figuring out what is happening.

On the battery, check it's voltage when it is not running and when it is running. It should be 12 volts when running and more when it is. You could have a bad battery etc.

We bought a new battery after the first one failed and it didn't take long for this one to fail. It is either not getting charged or it failed as well. I'll have to check it when it is running.

Here is the trouble shooting info on the DC side:

The dc charging system for the battery is about as simple as it gets to troubleshoot. Look at print T800302.
You can view it on the parts finder at:

Basically, checking the voltage at the battery when it is running will tell you if the engine electrical system is charging the battery. If it is, you likely have a current leak while the machine is sitting or it is overcharging and killing the battery. I doubt either of these are the case but it is possible. My bet is that when the engine is running it is marginally over 12 volts which is not doing enough to charge the keep the battery charged. If so, the next step would be to check and clean the connections on the engine wiring harness. After that, look at the stator (and regulator). The crummy part on this is that I believe they are internal in the engine. At that point, a Honda troubleshooting guide would come in handy.