Generator starting?

[West]

I've got a generator question. To start mine if it has sat for a day or more I have to hold stop for awhile then crank it for a while then hold stop for awhile again and then it will usually start. If it has sat for a month it usually takes an extra cycle of priming and cranking. It doesn't matter how long I hold the stop side to prime it, it still won't start right up after one try. Is this normal?

[axis earl]

Sounds just like mine.... Seems to start up on the second try. I run mine for the recommended two hours under load once a month.

[Dan9841]

Yup sounds legit.

[Phil Saran]

Yes, sounds like mine too.

[EA37TS]

Mine normally fires on the first attempt but then since the coach sits next to the house I will run the generator for about 15 to 20 minutes every two weeks just to warm up and circulate fuel. I'll put it under heavy load (both AC units) once a month.

[West]

Thank you. I only have a couple weeks left on my warranty so I didn't want to miss out on the chance to get it fixed under warranty if something was wrong with it.

[EA37TS]

West

I'll have to look but I believe, and I could be mistaken, the Onan warranty may be longer than the Thor 12 month warranty. Most of Onan's RV generators have a 3 year warranty on them that can be extended to 5 years.

[West]

That would be handy just incase. Thanks.

[EA37TS]

I'm the coach now doing this and that so I pulled the generator manual and mine has a 3 year 2000 hour warranty.

The warranty is through Onan/Cummins and not Thor.

[West]

Nice. I'd rather have an Onan specific dealer work on it if needed anyway. So far my dealers repairs are almost worse than just leaving it alone.

[samven]

I find that after I prime the first time I usually have to crank it twice before it starts, but I do not prime it a second time because I dont want to flood it. In the beginning I thought I could smell gas when I was priming it multiple times. I also notice that if I just press stop and let go when shutting down, it starts much easier next time than when I used to hold the stop button until the generator came to a complete stop.
On a related note a friend had a hard start problem with his unit until one day it would not start at all. He took it to Cummins and they thought it was a starter until they went to pull
the generator out and found the battery cable had fallen off. They reattached it and it now starts faster than mine. I need to crawl under and check that my cable is tight and not corroded.

[mustang94]

I push the stop up button until a light comes on then push down for a second or two and starts right up. Starts right up every time...