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Generator Indicator Light


Alie&Jim's Carrilite

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We have a Generac GP5500 generator mounted on the back of the truck. How can I wire an LED light inside the truck that will tell me if the generator is running or not?

It is a manual pull start so I do not have a 12v charge back to the battery to work from. There is an hour meter but it is 120v driven and I really don't want to have 120v running behind the truck dash.

Any thoughts?

The genset runs 6-8 hours at low throttle which is fine for most moving days. The issue is that there is a low oil shut down that gets tripped on really bad roads like portions of I-10. Bouncing or turns that slosh the oil in the crankcase trips the low oil shut down.

On hot days I'll run an AC for the last 2-3 hours to help cool the interior, as well as keeping batteries charged for the inverter that runs a freezer and several other items.

I can e-mail the genset electric diagram to whoever can help here.

Jim's Adventures

Old Spacecraft.... Who knows whats next

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Usually they have a low oil light that comes on, can you piggy back off of that?

 

It don't tell you if it shut down for other reasons though.

 

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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Jeff's relay idea is the way I'd do it. Simply monitor the 120 volt output. If it goes off, the relay will trip a 12 volt dash indicator. Simple and effective.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
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Jeff's relay idea is the way I'd do it. Simply monitor the 120 volt output. If it goes off, the relay will trip a 12 volt dash indicator. Simple and effective.

Even simpler would be a 120v light mounted on the bed where you would see it in your mirror. No run, no light.

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I like the idea of the relay, hadn't thought about that. There isn't anywhere on the bed that I can mount a light that would be easy to see in the daylight. Had thought about that though, couple of christmas tree lights mounted where the hitch camera would keep an eye on them.

But the idea of a simple red or green LED light on the dash is what I like best.

 

No low oil indicator light. It either runs or it doesn't!

Jim's Adventures

Old Spacecraft.... Who knows whats next

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