The troubleshooting journey is narrowed down to one of two root causes. The first is that the sensor is not putting out a reliable signal. Turning it with a drill will answer that question. The second is that the drive tang is not turning the sensor. That could be caused by one of two things. The first being the tang is not properly seated in the sensor. The nut that mounts the sensor to the engine is actually a turnbuckle style affair. The problem with tightening it down is that the engagement of the tang in the sensor slot is blind. The second cause could be the tang engagement with the engine is stripped. Any further investigation requires the sensor to be removed and Clarke is suffering from THE crud. Unfortunately I think I gave it to him.
Richard came over today....we unplugged the generator and spun it with a drill and it sent a signal to the tachometer, so the generator is fine. We then pulled the generator key and it is pristine. l we have determined that the "key" is not turning when the engine is on, and, therefore, not spinning the generator.
Any thoughts why the key is not turning?
I can't see how the sensor is attached to the engine, but I can feel around. There is a right angle gear box of some sort that is bolted to the front of the engine. There is a zerk fitting on the side of the gearbox but the fitting is blocked by a shaft on the water pump. The sensor tang fits securely in the gearbox and there are no signs of broken parts, wear, or scoring on the drive key.
I had Clarke bump the engine and the tang is NOT turning
Did you put the key in the engine accessory drive to see if it is engaged?? Could u snap a photo of the engine accessory drive? I think there is another shaft. Saw one on eBay for $10. Do you have a parts book for the engine??
Clarke I just sent you an email with some info on the tachometer.
Ok there is another shaft in the right angle drive. If not occasionally lubed. They break. I did see a drive for sale on one of the marine sites and a shaft on eBay. But not enough oomph in my IPhone to search it out.
jimmy, do you ever sleep?
tom
Mainly on the road. My vehicle knows the way!!!