Need to troubleshoot generator. Any thoughts?

[NM_Shooter]

Coleman Powermate Generator 8250 max Watts, 7KW continuous. 

Breaker is tripping under light load.  Genny runs great, seems to be running at 3600RPM as judged by ear.  No noticeable startup issues for any of my power tools.

I went to test the gen set by plugging it into my transfer panel with the large power cord that came with the panel.  With generator running, I flip the 220V switch to power my well.  The well motor starts up, I see the power meter drop back to 1500W per phase, and about 5 to10 seconds in, the circuit breaker on the generator trips.

I noticed that it was tripping frequently when I was using it with my compressor at my ranch this year too.  The generator has about 80 run hours on it total.

I'm guessing that :

1)  Something is awry with the breakers on the genny
2)  Maybe the brushes are worn (although I would think I would hear a problem in startup with my circ saw if so)

Any other ideas?

Coleman PM0497000.01

Thanks,

-f-

[firefox]

Right after it trips, feel around all the connections , breakers, etc and see if any are much
hotter than others. If so, clean and retighten the connections, or swap out the breaker.
It is usually something simple like a loose connection.
Bruce

[Rob_O]

Replace the breaker

[Windpower]

I would suspect the breaker to be 'weak'

Should be fairly inexpensive to swap out