I have found a person who knows what that little black device is...and he actually has some (however he has just moved and they are packed away in a box somewhere).  He has successfully repaired these Fault Modules using them.

The device is an SCR - Silicone Controlled Rectifier.

This is the definition of an SCR:

An SCR, or Silicon Controlled Rectifier, is a solid-state electronic switch with three terminals: an anode, a cathode, and a gate. It acts like a diode that can be turned on and off, conducting current in only one direction when a trigger signal is applied to the gate.

So it appears that I have found a source......someday when he is unpacked!

MMRanch wrote on 12/05/25 at 20:55:07:


I hope you are right!!!!

I believe the needed repairs to this generator are pretty minor and limited to replacement of a few "plug and play" components.  The Governor Control unit are known troublemakers - the Fault Modules do go bad occasionally.  I believe all of this stuff worked pretty well when it was new - but a lot of it has been shipped around the world and stored outdoors for the last 20+ years.  A lot of the equipment may show low use on the hour meter - but it may have gone through something called a "reset" where the equipment is rebuilt with new components and put back in service.

I am just hoping to get small, reliable and efficient 3KW diesel backup generator out of this.

Last year I bought and worked on a 5KW version that weighs 800 pounds and has a 2 cylinder diesel engine.  It needed the fuel tank cleaned out and some leaky fittings replaced, new fuel and injector return hoses, new filters, a new fuel tank sender and fuel gauge - and an outlet added to supply 50amp 240 volt service.  This generator now works really well - but it is a bit big for what we need.


All this is new to me - thankfully there is a forum called Steel Soldiers that deals with all the government surplus equipment and vehicles.

This is what the wiring looks like in the engine compartment!