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Old 05-16-2018, 05:15 PM   #1
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Generator Repair

This is an update on a thread I started some time ago. My generator would not run without a load for more than 5 minutes. All winter I ran it for an hour per month but as soon as I would turn off the space heater it would die and display an error code 14. My RV is a 2016 Miramar.

I took it in to Cummins yesterday and just got a call detailing the problem with an estimate as to the cost of repair. I was hopeful it would be covered under the extended warranty.

Turns out the warmth created by starting it monthly attracted mice. They packed in nesting material all around the fins and throttle linkage. The only way to clean out all the material and free the linkage is to pull the generator and thoroughly clean all the grass and other "stuff" from it.

Total cost of approximately $1,300.00. Warranty doesn't cover issues relating to mice. Lesson learned...don't forget to insert a couple of bags of moth balls in the generator compartment.

Moth balls work great at keeping mice out. I even place them in the battery compartments for the chassis and house and never see mouse droppings since I started doing this. I just never thought of the generator. Man I could buy a lot of moth balls for $1,300.

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Old 05-16-2018, 05:36 PM   #2
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I am sorry to hear about that, but that cost seems ridiculous w/o parts?. They are claiming it will take approx 10 hours to clean this thing out?
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Old 05-16-2018, 05:47 PM   #3
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That is correct. He said 7 hours to remove and clean and another couple hours to replace the linkage if needed. I haven't picked it up yet so don't have an exact break down of the fees. I hopeful the $1,300 was a high estimate and may actually be less. Either way it's a lot to pay for repair on a 2 year old generator, thanks to mice.

I'll update when I get the exact bill.
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Old 05-16-2018, 05:52 PM   #4
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I had those critters (or a squirrel) build a nest in the splash well of my boat last winter. They chewed through one of the hydraulic steering lines and the gas gauge wiring...$480 and me doing the repairs!! They may have gotten into the wiring a bit.
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Old 05-16-2018, 08:56 PM   #5
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Update: Just received a call from Cummins...they pulled the generator and it was packed tight with grass, paper and plastic (as plastic bags)...all the stuff mice use to make a place their home. He said it was packed tight and they had to do more disassembly then originally planned. They also have to replace the oil for the cooling fan. He said I was lucky it didn't catch on fire. Thankfully it shut down. Anyway, total cost $1,700.00

Just a word of advice to motorhome owners out there...keep mice out of the generator!
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Old 05-16-2018, 10:45 PM   #6
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The main lesson here is: don't go to the Cummins Onan center!
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Old 05-17-2018, 01:35 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by TyCreek View Post
The main lesson here is: don't go to the Cummins Onan center!
Must be like CW: a good one here and a bad one there.

My experience was completely different: I took ours there because the genny quit (they had a batch with bad fuel pumps). Guy at the front desk was telling me that I'd have to make an appt and it would be a few months before they could get me in. Meanwhile the mechanic in the back opens up the genny looks in, says "hey I think we have these pumps in stock", replaces the fuel pump in about 15 minutes, calls the front desk: "Its done send him on his way"...

No charge.
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Old 05-17-2018, 01:55 AM   #8
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U had an angel looking over u
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Old 12-12-2018, 04:32 AM   #9
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I usually face generator related problems. I hire generator repair service NJ for quality generator services. I came to know about them from one of my friends. I make sure to call them as soon as I face any generator issue.
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Old 12-13-2018, 04:20 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miramar Owner View Post
Update: Just received a call from Cummins...they pulled the generator and it was packed tight with grass, paper and plastic (as plastic bags)...all the stuff mice use to make a place their home. He said it was packed tight and they had to do more disassembly then originally planned. They also have to replace the oil for the cooling fan. He said I was lucky it didn't catch on fire. Thankfully it shut down. Anyway, total cost $1,700.00

Just a word of advice to motorhome owners out there...keep mice out of the generator!
Prob not, but I hope you requested photos of all that.
I was at an RV shop a few weeks ago for an auto gen start system install
and that tech said for a gen repair he didn't do the actual repair
but pulled the gen in about an hour, sends it to the area Cummins shop
for work then another hour to install back in the MH.
7 hours to pull seems a bit much.
However, it may be different on each MH.

Glad they found the issue with no other problems.

Mice are a problem for sure.
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Old 12-13-2018, 01:01 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Tupelo Kid View Post
Prob not, but I hope you requested photos of all that.
I was at an RV shop a few weeks ago for an auto gen start system install
and that tech said for a gen repair he didn't do the actual repair
but pulled the gen in about an hour, sends it to the area Cummins shop
for work then another hour to install back in the MH.
7 hours to pull seems a bit much.
However, it may be different on each MH.

Glad they found the issue with no other problems.

Mice are a problem for sure.
I did not request photos...I know the guys that work there and feel pretty confident in their work. This year I added moth balls into the actual generator compartment and hung a couple moth ball "blocks" under the generator itself. I also sprayed all around the generator with mice repellent...basically a peppermint oil.

Just a side note...they had to remove the compartment door to pull the generator. If you saw the melted plastic stuck to everything, you'd understand why it took so long to do. When the problem first occurred and the generator shut down, I could smell plastic burning. I thought the wiring was melting. As they said, I was lucky it just melted and didn't actually catch on fire.
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Old 12-14-2018, 01:04 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by TyCreek View Post
The main lesson here is: don't go to the Cummins Onan center!

Totally disagree here. CW ( or any other dealer) doesn't manufacture RV's...they sell them an attempt to repair them but selling is their 99% objective. I just got back from the Wakarusa Factory Service Center. 1,600 miles round trip and an out-of-pocket for travel expenses around $1,500. I would do it over again vs. going to a dealer for warranty or any other type service. Thor had the coach in the shop for 2 days. Made every repair perfectly, fixed a couple things not on the list, replaced every cabinet door latch with the "new design", ran it thorough the "rain test" again, followed with another 52 point inspection adjusting everything back to specs. They replaced the awning motor and gave me a new spare for JIC. They also gave me a couple tubes of sealant and caulk for seams and roof. No one knows these generators better than Cummins/Onan. To spend the money we do for a high-end RV and start shopping around for the cheapest way out doesn't make sense. One of my favorite sayings is..."never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over". My next service trip is to the local Cummins/Onan dealer here and have the unit serviced and checked out. Do it once...do it right...and never have regrets. BTW...if you ever get through the Elkhart area, a Factory Tour is a must-do!! It's kind of amazing to walk through, talk with the designers and assembly people and realize just how much we talk and complain about and the issues we have with these coaches actually makes it's way to design and procedural improvements.
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Old 12-14-2018, 01:56 PM   #13
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Our Cummins/Onan experience:

Onan had a run of bad fuel pumps about the time we picked up our Axis. Sure enough on our 2nd camping trip out the generator quit and wouldn't start (crank and crank and crank no fire).

I talked to our dealer and they said: "Just take it to Onan/Cummins since that's what we'd do anyway--save yourself a step". So I took it to our local OC shop.

They take a look at it and the guy at the front desk is telling me: "Its a bad fuel pump, we'll have to schedule you an appointment and we're running about 3 months behind right now" meanwhile the tech is standing there "I think I saw one back in the shop, hang on" before the front desk guy could have the paperwork done the tech had the fuel pump replaced and the generator was purring along happily.. LOL
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Old 12-14-2018, 01:58 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton View Post
Totally disagree here. CW ( or any other dealer) doesn't manufacture RV's...they sell them an attempt to repair them but selling is their 99% objective. I just got back from the Wakarusa Factory Service Center. 1,600 miles round trip and an out-of-pocket for travel expenses around $1,500. I would do it over again vs. going to a dealer for warranty or any other type service. Thor had the coach in the shop for 2 days. Made every repair perfectly, fixed a couple things not on the list, replaced every cabinet door latch with the "new design", ran it thorough the "rain test" again, followed with another 52 point inspection adjusting everything back to specs. They replaced the awning motor and gave me a new spare for JIC. They also gave me a couple tubes of sealant and caulk for seams and roof. No one knows these generators better than Cummins/Onan. To spend the money we do for a high-end RV and start shopping around for the cheapest way out doesn't make sense. One of my favorite sayings is..."never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over". My next service trip is to the local Cummins/Onan dealer here and have the unit serviced and checked out. Do it once...do it right...and never have regrets. BTW...if you ever get through the Elkhart area, a Factory Tour is a must-do!! It's kind of amazing to walk through, talk with the designers and assembly people and realize just how much we talk and complain about and the issues we have with these coaches actually makes it's way to design and procedural improvements.
Gritz, I couldn't agree more! The only comment I would add is an independent dealer will sell more RV's if they are responsive to their customers. I drove over 100 miles away to purchase my Miramar due to positive reviews, with 2 CW's much closer and passing 3 other independent RV dealers on the way. When the salesman is part of the ownership of the dealer, they tend to be more responsive to handling issues.

With all that said I would definitely make a trip to Elkhart if I had MAJOR problems with the motorhome.

Great comment, Gritz!
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Old 12-14-2018, 02:12 PM   #15
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Here is my story:
The Onan 4000 in my 2018 Chateau would crank but not start, and there were fewer than 100 hours on it. A Camping World shop said they thought it needed a new coil and a new control module. Further troubleshooting and repair would require removing/reinstalling the generator and that would be about 6 hours of labor.


I then took it to a dedicated generator shop that was a Cummins/Onan dealer, and they told me the same thing -- it probably needed a new coil and control module and removal/installation would be about 6 hours labor. So Camping World appeared to know what they were doing.



I had the Cummins shop repair it, and it turned out to be that the coil was cracked. They also replaced the control module.


The repair took a really long time to get done. Getting Cummins authorization for warranty work seemed to be a lengthy and painful process, and at first they didn't want to pay for the remove/install labor. The shop had to remove it and diagnose it, then get warranty authorization, then order parts, then do the repair. So it took multiple visits to get it completed, and we ended up doing a big 3-week trip across the country without an operational generator because we were waiting for warranty authorization.
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Old 12-14-2018, 02:36 PM   #16
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"I then took it to a dedicated generator shop that was a Cummins/Onan dealer"

"Dealer" is the key word here. If the opportunity exist to go directly to the manufacturer's service center for anything big, it's the best medicine. You'll pay more but you'll probably get it fixed right the first time. Dealers are independent operations and, while some are genuinely concerned and know their business, many do not and are more motivated to generate "hours" for the shop. Most "service writers" anywhere will base their recommendations or suggestions on their last experience because they are not technicians. I'm fortunate to have a factory owned service center near me. It's sad that such a few dealers give a bad name to the otherwise great businesses.
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