EG4 Chargeverter neutral issue...

pr116 · Jul 18, 2023

I have a floating neutral diesel 6.5kw generator. As you know Chargeverter's 240vac plug has only ground and two live wires (L1 and L2). No neutral. Did a lot of research (including Signature tech support) and still can't get it to turn on from the generator. Just learned about bonding neutral to ground on the generator and did one 120vac plug successfully for the 120vac option. The generator has a selector for 120v or 240v so if you select 240v the 120v bonding plug ends its function. Is the bonding neutral to ground issue the real problem why the chargeverter does not turn on? If yes... how would be the proper way to bond neutral to ground on the 240v plug. It works fine from the grid. I noticed that inside the enclosure when it works fine from the grid two small green leds are on but when running off my generator two more red leds go on along with the green ones. Thanks in advance.

DIYrich · Jul 18, 2023

Try grounding the frame of the generator. It may be the ground that needs to go somewhere, not the neutral.

pr116 · Jul 19, 2023

Thanks for your reply my friend. That's just it. Been a "Neutral Floating" generator it means its ground is isolated from neutral and CV plug does not use neutral... only L1, L2 and ground. If I ground the generator still been in the same situation. CV works fine from grid because neutral and ground are bonded only at main panel. A bonding plug solves the problem at the 120v side but I'm not sure how to properly bond neutral and ground at the 240v plug which is the one I'm interested to use and hoping that would make the CV to at least turn on.

Browse · Jul 19, 2023

I have a floating neutral inverter generator (Honda EU7000is) and had no issue running the Chargeverter directly off of the generator.

pr116 · Jul 19, 2023

Browse said:
I have a floating neutral inverter generator (Honda EU7000is) and had no issue running the Chargeverter directly off of the generator.

If possible... could you check voltage reading from your generator 240v plug? From L1 to ground and to neutral? The same from L2 to ground and to neutral. Also do you have your generator grounded or standalone? Will appreciate the info.

DIYrich · Jul 19, 2023

pr116 said:
If I ground the generator still been in the same situation.

CV may be looking for a proper ground. Bonded neutral will fake the CV into thinking it is truly grounded, but then you introduce shock potential if you don't ground the generator. Before converting to bonded neutral, I would try properly grounding the generator frame (green wire of the CV connection).

Browse · Jul 19, 2023

pr116 said:
If possible... could you check voltage reading from your generator 240v plug? From L1 to ground and to neutral? The same from L2 to ground and to neutral. Also do you have your generator grounded or standalone? Will appreciate the info.

My generator is only grounded when it is attached to my main panel, otherwise it is ungrounded. It's buried in the back of the garage right now, and I converted it to tri-fuel to run on natural gas so I don't keep gasoline in the tank. The next time I get it out to exercise the unit, I can check the voltages and report back but it may be a while. Typically you should see 120V between hot and neutral and between hot and ground. You shouldn't see any voltage between neutral and ground.

Mattb4 · Jul 19, 2023

pr116 said:
I have a floating neutral diesel 6.5kw generator. As you know Chargeverter's 240vac plug has only ground and two live wires (L1 and L2). No neutral. Did a lot of research (including Signature tech support) and still can't get it to turn on from the generator. Just learned about bonding neutral to ground on the generator and did one 120vac plug successfully for the 120vac option. The generator has a selector for 120v or 240v so if you select 240v the 120v bonding plug ends its function. Is the bonding neutral to ground issue the real problem why the chargeverter does not turn on? If yes... how would be the proper way to bond neutral to ground on the 240v plug. It works fine from the grid. I noticed that inside the enclosure when it works fine from the grid two small green leds are on but when running off my generator two more red leds go on along with the green ones. Thanks in advance.

Those Diesel generators from China are not the best at producing a stable output. I had one for several years and ended up giving it away and buying a Honda inverter for my emergency purposes. You might check to see if your output voltage when switch in 240vAC and frequency is withing specs for your chargeverter. Than there is the outlet itself to double check that it has the same pin out arrangement that your plug has.

SniperX · Jul 24, 2023

Browse said:
I have a floating neutral inverter generator (Honda EU7000is) and had no issue running the Chargeverter directly off of the generator.

I have the same generator so this is good news this morning!

timselectric · Jul 24, 2023

Green lights mean that the boards have power.
Red lights usually mean that it's not happy with the input.
Generator may not be able to keep up with the quick demand.
Try a lower charging current at first. And if that works, ramp it up slowly.

EG4 Chargeverter neutral issue...

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