No power at the outlets, tripped breakers, and voltage faults.
Yes, you can run a portable AC on solar. Here’s my real 4-panel setup — combiner box, 3,840Wh LiFePO4 power station, and a refurbished Midea 12,000 BTU AC — with the actual wattage numbers from the Arizona heat.
Generator putting out low or high voltage? Low points to a weak AVR, RPM, or overload; high usually means a failed AVR. Steady vs wandering tells you which.
Inverter generator runs but no power? It has no AVR or brushes — here’s the reset, the flashing-light CO sensor, and when it’s the inverter board.
Predator 3500 problems decoded: no power and the overload light, the “AC under voltage” code, and surging — what to reset, flash, test, and replace.
Generator overload light on with nothing plugged in? It’s not a load problem — here’s the reset, the inverter-board check, and when it’s worth fixing.
Generac generator won’t start or showing an error code? On portables it’s usually fuel; on standby units it’s often the battery, an RPM/overspeed code, or maintenance mode. Here’s how to read it.
No power from a capacitor-style generator? The run capacitor that excites the alternator may be dead. Here’s how to safely discharge, test, and replace a generator capacitor.
Generator producing no power or wrong voltage? The AVR (automatic voltage regulator) is a common cause. Here’s how to test it, rule out the brushes and windings, and replace it.
The decision tree starts with one test: does the breaker trip with nothing plugged in? Yes points to a bad breaker or internal short. No means overload or downstream fault — and 90% of calls land there.
Engine runs fine but the outlets are dead? Four suspects, four tests, four fixes. The free 12V flash-the-field procedure solves about a third of these cases with zero parts.
