E-87 fault on R25 Mase Generator

[South lake]

My Mase Generator started giving me a fault code of E-87 today. It runs for 30 seconds, flashes the code and shuts down. I saw on another forum where several folks said it was commonly caused by a bad capacitor. Anyone else had this problem and if so, was that the problem?

Thanks,

 

[gusweber]

You're spot on, this is a bad start-stop capacitor. Assuming the R-25 is laid out similar to the R-29 -- the capacitor is attached to the corner post, on the forward/starboard side. It take about 20 minutes to change, biggest pain is removing all of the panels.

I was able to find one after-market (bought 2) and also had one shipped direct from MASE offices in Miami. ( 954-327-0234 ).

Good Luck.
Gus

 

[South lake]

Thanks Gus. I actually spoke with Sergio at Mase yesterday and he immediately said capacitor. So I ordered one from them. Should have it in a few days.

 

[captstu]

Sergio at Mace is really good. Helped me last year over a problem that was minor with his help.

 

[South lake]

So, the end result was that the capacitor was bad. New capacitor received from Mase and when plugged in, the generator started up and runs fine. However... I have been unable to get the old capacitor out. It's located low in the soundproof case. This is a 2.5 KW generator on an R25 so unlike the ones on the R31's there are no panels to take off for access. There's a metal strap or bracket that holds it in place and I can loosen the bolt holding it but it doesn't come completely off. I can move the old capacitor around but cannot pull it loose from the bracket. And of course there isn't much room to get to it with any kind of tool. Here's a photo. Click it to enlarge.



So after some struggle, I hooked up the new capacitor and lay it over the old one. The space is tight so with the top to the sound proof case installed the new capacitor won't move.

But there's a mystery. The new capacitor is a smaller diameter than the old one. And part of what is keeping the old one from sliding out is that is has a sort of rubberized sleeve around it. If you look at the capacitor in the photo you'll see where I stretched the sleeve in a few places with a screwdriver.

My friend Mike from "Just Dreamin" is so puzzled by why I can't get the old capacitor out that he's driving over this week to take a look and a try himself. Of course I think it's because Just Dreamin is still in the barn and he wants a cup of coffee and morning cruise in a Ranger Tug.

if anyone has any ideas on a) how to remove the old capacitor or b) why they're a different diameter, let me know.

In the meantime let's enjoy spring boating in the Northern half of the country!