Generator and house power issue.

[New RV guy]

Hopefully someone has ran into this issue. I have a 2016 Thor Quantum 31ft C class. Went to start the generator and I lost all power to the house except the fridge. When I plug in the shore power I get power to everything except the stereo. Went through and checked all the circuit breakers and voltage. I had a friend take it for the weekend, so I sent him with my little Honda generator.
He called me a few hours later and said everything came back on. He tried starting the generator again and lost power again and a few hours later everything came back on.
Could it possibly have something to do with the auto gen start system?
Thank you for any help.

Mike

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by New RV guy

Hopefully someone has ran into this issue. I have a 2016 Thor Quantum 31ft C class. Went to start the generator and I lost all power to the house except the fridge. When I plug in the shore power I get power to everything except the stereo. Went through and checked all the circuit breakers and voltage. I had a friend take it for the weekend, so I sent him with my little Honda generator.

He called me a few hours later and said everything came back on. He tried starting the generator again and lost power again and a few hours later everything came back on.

Could it possibly have something to do with the auto gen start system?

Thank you for any help.



Mike

If things work on shore power but not on the generator there only are a couple of likely problem areas. First check that the generator is actually putting out the expected power. Check with a volt meter at the generator. There is a circuit breaker in the side of the generator that needs to be in the proper position. The second, and more likely source of your problem is the automatic transfer switch. It is where the shore power and generator power come together and it is the device that switches (prioritizes) generator power over shore power. Does running the generator “shut off” the shore power(it should) or are you trying the two systems separately? I’d pop the cover off the ATS and check the security of the connections.

[16ACE27]

To clarify:

You tried to start the generator
It did not start or turn over
All DC power was lost in the RV

Sounds like a bad battery connection to me. The large generator starting current instantly heats the poor connection and causes it to "burn open".

Check your battery connections.

[New RV guy]

Correct, the generator would not start and all DC power was lost.
Just got it back today and of course the generator started and everything works.
I ordered a transfer switch which I’ll swap out today.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by New RV guy

Correct, the generator would not start and all DC power was lost.
Just got it back today and of course the generator started and everything works.
I ordered a transfer switch which I’ll swap out today.

If the generator does not start the transfer switch doesn't even come into play. Put the "Parts Canon" away and check the connections to the battery.

[New RV guy]

Lmao!
I’ll go through the wiring.
Thank you for the help.

[New RV guy]

Fixed the problem.
Behind the batteries there was a battery cable hub that the nut was never tightened down.
Really appreciate the help.

[16ACE27]

Glad you found the issue! Thanks for reporting back and updating the thread.

[jbreeder]

Originally Posted by New RV guy

Hopefully someone has ran into this issue. I have a 2016 Thor Quantum 31ft C class. Went to start the generator and I lost all power to the house except the fridge. When I plug in the shore power I get power to everything except the stereo. Went through and checked all the circuit breakers and voltage. I had a friend take it for the weekend, so I sent him with my little Honda generator.

He called me a few hours later and said everything came back on. He tried starting the generator again and lost power again and a few hours later everything came back on.

Could it possibly have something to do with the auto gen start system?

Thank you for any help.



Mike

Is your cabin power switch turned on or off? Your stereo will not come on and you will not charge your house batteries unless it is.

School of hard knocks.

[Thor 25]

If I could be so lucky on my Gen issue. Driving me bonkers-! Just drove it. Gen worked with ignition on-! Shut down when I turned ignition off. Gen wouldn’t restart-! 16 min later it started, then off about 25 min later. Humm shore aka house power was plugged in at same time... Maybe it’s an ATS ISSUE.. where is the ATS.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Thor 25

If I could be so lucky on my Gen issue. Driving me bonkers-! Just drove it. Gen worked with ignition on-! Shut down when I turned ignition off. Gen wouldn’t restart-! 16 min later it started, then off about 25 min later. Humm shore aka house power was plugged in at same time... Maybe it’s an ATS ISSUE.. where is the ATS.

The ATS has nothing to do with starting the generator. Get a voltmeter and check the voltage of your house batteries.