Wild Westerbeke issue

[Theresamarie11]

Now I'm thinking "why didn't I pursue the Electrical Engineering degree" so I could BOAT!!!!

Not quite sure how to interpret this comment.... but I am Electrical Engineer, and the knowledge does come in handy at times, but most of this repair stuff has little theoretical knowledge involved, just a lot of practical knowledge and willingness to do a little work. We could send everything to the dealer, but I enjoy tinkering and solving problems... I guess it's the engineer in me.

You can also thank us engineers for almost every modern convenience you enjoy today... including commenting on this forum

 

[marks737]

I have the exact same problem with my 4.5kw westerbeke. Runs great but only shows about 30 or 40 volts when I flip the gen. switch to on. When I turn the water heater on I get normal voltage and them i can use other items. The water heater is the only item that will energize the output. Is it difficult to replace the diodes you talk about or should I have the shop do it?

 

[Theresamarie11]

I have the exact same problem with my 4.5kw westerbeke. Runs great but only shows about 30 or 40 volts when I flip the gen. switch to on. When I turn the water heater on I get normal voltage and them i can use other items. The water heater is the only item that will energize the output. Is it difficult to replace the diodes you talk about or should I have the shop do it?

Hi, remember that I changed both Diodes and Capacitor. I did the cap first because everyone here (and other forums suggested it was what goes wrong). If you can check the cap, then do that first (it's a much easier job). So I really don't know if it was the CAP+DIODE that fixed it or the diodes only. The diode replacement is not that bad, but you need to be comfortable soldering electrical components and it's very tight through the access area to pull and replace the diodes.
It all depends on your comfort level. Also, don't just turn off the power, you need to remove battery cables because I found out there was still voltage in the generator, even when the battery switches were off.

 

[370Dancer]

A thread was started about a month ago for generic replacement parts... This would be a good one to add... I think I paid $14 a piece for the WB plugs...

I know this was 6 years ago, but I am having the exact situation you rectified (pardon the pun) with new diodes.
Allied is out of stock, so I am searching other sources to find suitable replacements

You had brought up the packaging question of thread pitch on the stud. What was your conclusion on that question?
Also you can purchase these with either anode or cathode stud configurations

 

[370Dancer]

A thread was started about a month ago for generic replacement parts... This would be a good one to add... I think I paid $14 a piece for the WB plugs...

I know this was 6 years ago, but I am having the exact situation you rectified (pardon the pun) with new diodes.
Allied is out of stock, so I am searching other sources to find suitable replacements

You had brought up the packaging question of thread pitch on the stud. What was your conclusion on that question?
SKR = cathode to stud. I assume that was correct?