I have a Northern Lights genset and want it to auto start/stop when the batteries reach a pre-determined level of discharge. I recall reading that Dave on Swan Song has such a system, but NL cannot supply. Any recommendations on what to use and where to buy? Robert Straghan "Belle" Diesel Duck 462 Motorsailer _________________________________________________________________ Find hidden words, unscramble celebrity names, or try the ultimate crossword puzzle with Live Search Games. Play now! http://g.msn.ca/ca55/212

Robert STRAGHAN <rstraghan@hotmail.com> writes: >I have a Northern Lights genset and want it to auto start/stop when the >batteries reach a pre-determined level of discharge. I recall reading that >Dave on Swan Song has such a system, but NL cannot supply. > >Any recommendations on what to use and where to buy? This is usually controlled by the inverter. Dave has the same ones I do, Trace SW4024. These have an output that can be used for automatic generator control. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

> -----Original Message----- > From: Scott H.E. Welch > This is usually controlled by the inverter. Dave has the same ones I do, > Trace SW4024. These have an output that can be used for automatic > generator control. > > Scott Welch > FirstClass Product Manager REPLY A bit of clarification is in order here. Trace and several other brands including Victron can output a signal that signal the battery needs recharging. In market speak this is often labelled "genset start" signal. But it can't start a genset alone. Its a mis nomer because that dry contact switch is incapable of carrying even the solenoid current used to start a diesel genset. I asked Dick Gee, the engineering guru at Alaska Diesel ( Northern Lights) when I was down there doing some tests on the original Xantrex Prosine 2.0 He tells me that an auto start diesel controller is fairly complicated and usually designed specifically for a particular model. The cost is enough to make them uncompetitive for amaller gensets - which is why Northern Lights do not offer them on gensets under about 25kW. Customers for smaller gensets usually shop price and an extra $500 will kill a sale. The RV industry was accustomerd to gasoline generators (easy starting) from way back and several third party brands of auto start have survived till now. A safe and reliable auto start controller has to cover several aspects. It must have a timer and high current relay to handle the glow cycle. Nearly every manufacturer has a different recommended time intereval. So you need an adjustable timer relay. You need a cranking limiter. Otherwise the unit keeps the starter motor cranking and cranking until you burn out the starter motor if the genset for any reason does not fire on first try. Question becomes, for how long do you crank? If you time-out after a 15 second interval, then you ry again. Do you go through the glow plug cycle once moer? In some cases not because you can burn out the glow plug. Do you use long or shorter interval? If so how much time? How do you tell if the motor has actually started? And so it goes. Most of use never give it a second thought when doing a manual start. We hit the glow plug switch, count up a bit, then hit the crank switch and listen for engine rumble or look for life on the gauges, then we release the starter crank switch. If the gauges show life and the voltage comes up, we're good to go. But a dumb controller card has to be taught or programmed to do these things. that is why they often take a fair amount of time to install and configure and why they cost more than $39.95 at Sam's club. If the controller is not set up correctly; it can damage the genset and the warranty is void. I have seen and worked on these for RV and they are not simple. There isn't enough volume sales to get the price down low. regards Arild