Generator Problem...

I am on a trip to Nashville and have a generator problem. I just installed a Progressive Surge Protector EMS-LCHW30. It is hard wired into the AC input on the trailer. Everything works fine when I am plugged in to power outlets. My Honda 2000i generator gets an error code of open ground, E-2 on the Progressive display and the unit will not power up.

Any ideas?

The Progressive surge protector requires a ground-to-neutral bond.  I know very little about electricity so the whys and wherefores of this are beyond me, but shore power has the ground and neutral wires bonded at the breaker panel.  Inverter style generators like yours have a floating neutral (or floating ground).  Whatever it's called, the ground and neutral wires on your generator are not bonded (connected to each other).

You have two choices.  You can have surge protector ignore the error and let the current through.  (I have the Progressive also, but I can't tell you how to do this without reading the instruction book.  I assume you have the book too, so just look it up.)  The other thing you can do is create a ground-to-neutral bonding plug and plug it into another outlet on your generator.  This is just a 3-prong 15amp plug with a jumper wire going from the ground prong to the neutral prong.  You can make one in 5 minutes for $3.  Google it for instructions.  I'm not comfortable going into more detail.  This is the solution I chose though and I can vouch for it.  I talked to the guy at Progressive and he recommends this, despite the pamphlet's instructions not to use a generator with the surge protector.

TT

I forgot to mention that I'm in Nashville, essentially.  If you still have problems with this, let me know and maybe we can get together.

TT

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Thanks TT. Thanks everyone. That sounds like the problem. I may make a ground wire from the ground terminal on the 2000i generator to the frame of the trailer. I think that will work. It will ground the generator to the trailer.

Any opinions on this?
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Nope, that won't solve the problem. The connection from camper frame to gen frame is already made via the power cable. The problem is the generator neutral is floating; the neutral to ground connection is missing. I sugesst the N-G plug described by others and in the JmSokol article. Should work fine and it's cheap.

Originally posted by Cap-n-Cray Thanks TT. Thanks everyone. That sounds like the problem. I may make a ground wire from the ground terminal on the 2000i generator to the frame of the trailer. I think that will work. It will ground the generator to the trailer. Any opinions on this?

Yeah, as Charlie said, it won't help.  This may be the same url Techntrek posted: http://www.noshockzone.org/generator-ground-neutral-bonding/.  Follow the link.  This is really easy, even if it's kind of esoteric.

TT