Why Does My Generator Run, but Not Produce Electricity?

Generators are large, intricate, power generating machines that we heavily rely on to keep the world running when a loss of utility power occurs. But what do we do if our generator stops producing that power?One of the most commonly searched troubleshooting questions about backup generators is:“Why is my generator running, but not producing electricity?”We asked our technicians for their expertise on the subject, and here’s what they had to say.Loss of Residual Magnetism (Most Common)Generators work by moving electrical conductors through a self-created magnetic field. However, generators do not contain any magnets. The magnetic field referred to is created by taking some of the generator output voltage, converting it to DC, and feeding it into a coil to make an electromagnet.Generators start up by using something called residual magnetism. This is a small amount of magnetism left over from the magnetic field that was created the last time the generator was running. This little bit of...