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Old 10-22-2020, 01:19 AM   #1
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THOR #2688
Generator startup problem. Vegas 2016 24.1

Hi
I have a problem starting my onan 4000 gen. Does not crank start/stop sw no light (dead). House batteries are charged , did reset breaker near switch.

Wondering how to check if power is going to gen.

I did put 2 new 12V batt. now wondering if I have a connection issue. Does anybody have a wiring diagram for these batt.

Thanks for your help.

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Old 10-22-2020, 01:36 AM   #2
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Did you try starting it outside at the Generator using the switch there?
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Old 10-22-2020, 11:47 AM   #3
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Did the genset work before replacing the batteries? The thing that changed was the batteries. Do house lights and other 12 items work? My money is on the batteries 1) loose connection at the battery or 2) wired in series vs parallel giving you 24 volts vs 12.

Dual batteries in parallel are positive to positive, negative to negative.
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Old 10-22-2020, 12:44 PM   #4
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Yes it was done from the outside, directly on the gen.
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Old 10-22-2020, 12:49 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by jimbo12 View Post
Did the genset work before replacing the batteries? The thing that changed was the batteries. Do house lights and other 12 items work? My money is on the batteries 1) loose connection at the battery or 2) wired in series vs parallel giving you 24 volts vs 12.

Dual batteries in parallel are positive to positive, negative to negative.
Everything works fine in the RV. If it was connected in series would the light and 12 items work the same????

Will definitely check the battery cabling.

Thanks
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Old 10-22-2020, 01:08 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by michbout View Post
Everything works fine in the RV. If it was connected in series would the light and 12 items work the same????



Will definitely check the battery cabling.



Thanks


It depends on the device - they are all different. The genset manual section 6.3 states that if there is no status light then the likely problem is with battery wiring or low batteries. It looks like the genset needs a minimum of 6v to crank.
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Old 10-22-2020, 01:51 PM   #7
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Find the positive cable from the Onan and follow it back to the batteries or use a voltmeter at the Onan to see if you have battery volts there. Here is a general diagram with the J1 connector pinout for further investigations.


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Old 10-22-2020, 02:09 PM   #8
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Use this link and start on page 6-5

https://www.rvwithtito.com/wp-conten...anceManual.pdf
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Old 10-22-2020, 02:16 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by michbout View Post
Hi
I have a problem starting my onan 4000 gen. Does not crank start/stop sw no light (dead). House batteries are charged , did reset breaker near switch.

Wondering how to check if power is going to gen.

I did put 2 new 12V batt. now wondering if I have a connection issue. Does anybody have a wiring diagram for these batt.

Thanks for your help.
Exactly what breaker did you reset?

The generator has a separate cable coming from the house batteries going through a 100 Amp standalone DC breaker near the batteries. That cable has to be connected to the positive side of the batteries and the breaker must not have the "tripped" flag out.

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Old 10-23-2020, 01:01 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by jimbo12 View Post
Use this link and start on page 6-5

https://www.rvwithtito.com/wp-conten...anceManual.pdf
I started the generator, problem was power to gen. relay sw. near batteties (yellow flag was out). The only way I charged them was by starting the RV first, then gen. started. Actually the house batt. are charging with rv running or gen. running.
The problem I have now, is that house batteries are not charging on utility power, wondering were to look exactly. (relay,inverter fuse ...)
Thanks everybody for your help I do appreciate.
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Old 10-23-2020, 01:24 PM   #11
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The first thing I would check is the battery voltage on shore power to see if the distribution center is trying to charge them. Use a digital voltmeter. 1) coach hooked to shore power, 2) use/store to use, 3) measure voltage across batteries. If the distribution center is charging them then you should have a voltage above 13.6 volts. 13.6 volts is the normal mode for slow charging batteries, 14.4 volts is bulk mode.

I assume you have a WFCO distribution center. The operator manual has a good section on troubleshooting.
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Old 10-23-2020, 04:30 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by michbout View Post
I started the generator, problem was power to gen. relay sw. near batteties (yellow flag was out). The only way I charged them was by starting the RV first, then gen. started. Actually the house batt. are charging with rv running or gen. running.
The problem I have now, is that house batteries are not charging on utility power, wondering were to look exactly. (relay,inverter fuse ...)
Thanks everybody for your help I do appreciate.
That's not a relay, it is a DC breaker. You have one for the Generator (100 amp) and one for the DC buss (50 amp).

The batteries charge from the generator in the same manner that they charge from Shore Power (SP) by supplying 120 VAC to the Converter in the Power Distribution Center. The Converter then supplies 12 - 15 VDC to the batteries through the USE/STORE (Battery Disconnect) latching relay and 50 Amp DC breaker.

So the only problem that could allow charging from the Generator, but not from SP would be in the Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) which in your RV would also be a problem for all 120 VAC loads in the AC breaker panel.

The batteries charge from the engine's alternator from the BIRD/BIM isolation/charging circuit regardless of the status of the USE/STORE (Battery Disconnect) latching relay or 50 amp breaker.

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Old 10-23-2020, 04:41 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by jimbo12 View Post
The first thing I would check is the battery voltage on shore power to see if the distribution center is trying to charge them. Use a digital voltmeter. 1) coach hooked to shore power, 2) use/store to use, 3) measure voltage across batteries. If the distribution center is charging them then you should have a voltage above 13.6 volts. 13.6 volts is the normal mode for slow charging batteries, 14.4 volts is bulk mode.

I assume you have a WFCO distribution center. The operator manual has a good section on troubleshooting.
Thanks jimbo12
I did the above procedure yesterday, meter showing 12.15 steady.
Tried it today meter at 13.35 now, sometime things happen !!!
Will let it charge for 24 hours and re-check tomorrow.
Hopefully all is ok,
Thanks again
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Old 10-23-2020, 05:16 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by michbout View Post
Thanks jimbo12

I did the above procedure yesterday, meter showing 12.15 steady.

Tried it today meter at 13.35 now, sometime things happen !!!

Will let it charge for 24 hours and re-check tomorrow.

Hopefully all is ok,

Thanks again


Excellent. 12.5 volts would be 50% charge and 13.35 is full charge with distribution unit probably in float mode now. Good way to end the week.
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Old 10-28-2020, 07:30 PM   #15
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Generator Starting

I find that even though my Onan Genset cranks it doesn't start unless the engine is running. It might be because the cranking draws the voltage down, but the extra juice provided by the alternator does the trick. I also find that there is considerable difference in the house lighting when the Ford engine is running. It is much brighter. I really don't have much of an answer except the wiring might be undersized or there is a poor connection somewhere. Need to measure voltages and am short of time and help.
David
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Old 10-29-2020, 01:38 AM   #16
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Sounds like your house batteries are discharged, and running the engine is recharging them. Have you checked the water level in the batteries?
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Old 10-29-2020, 06:43 PM   #17
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Excellent. 12.5 volts would be 50% charge and 13.35 is full charge with distribution unit probably in float mode now. Good way to end the week.
You are right, was able to start the gen., problem was that not enought power coming from house batteries. I am happy that I did a oil and gaz filter change on it. I think the time period is more important than the the hours run time.
Thanls
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Old 06-22-2023, 01:55 AM   #18
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Same problem. How did you fix?
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Old 06-22-2023, 01:10 PM   #19
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Same problem. How did you fix?
Which same problem (several are discussed in the thread)? And on which RV?
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Old 06-22-2023, 07:16 PM   #20
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I found the reset switch by the batteries. My battery was holding reset button down. I moved the battery over and reset. Works great
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