Brand new please Help

Just2Gypsies

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2025
Messages
10
Location
New Hampshire
Hey there everyone!
My Name is Billy,
Recently my Girlfriend purchased a 2015 Thor château. Last month we successfully made it from Northern New Hampshire To the Florida Everglades and Back! We are Hooked.

The other Day we couldn’t start the Generator. I admit I am not the most mechanically inclined. I did however after a bunch of forum reading and YouTube videos come to a conclusion…. I need Help lol.

I believe we drained the “house” batteries beyond the point of were we can activate the solenoid to crank over the generator… now that’s assuming that this model pulls power from the house batteries for the generator I am not sure.

However, we have plugged into a house and tried to start the generator. Nothing it just clicks.

Also, we have turned on the motorhome motor itself and tried to start the generator from the control panel and from the generator itself and still nothing.

It will make a bunch of clicks when you first start turning it over and then will eventually go to one click every few seconds.

The generator itself only has 82 hours on it. It is a Cummings onan RV QG 4000

Any Help would be appreciated thank you very much
 
Your house batteries do start the generator.
Start the MH engine and then press and hold the "Emergency Start" switch when trying to start the generator.

Now, the question is: Why are the house batteries drained?
 
Thank you Ace! I will let you know how that went tomorrow.

As for your question: we were reckless. I have heard a lot of references of “boondocking” I assume that means not plugging in to a power source and using your battery bank. Well we did not use it sparingly and this I believe is one of our many upcoming lessons. Neither of us were aware that just because the lights on the control panel say there is battery left and the lights are still working doesn’t mean there is enough to start the generator.
 
For future reference... about being "plugged into a house" is called "connected to shore power". It's a holdover phrase because there's a lot of similarities between boats and RVs.

Going forward, as you learn about things in your new RV, pass that along here. It greatly helps to diagnose problems!

When plugged into "shore power", that AC current powers a device in your motorhome called a "converter" which has two major functions... it "converts" the incoming AC power to DC power which (1) powers your interior lights, etc. AND *should* charge your house battery (the battery which starts your generator).

The state of your house battery will determine how long that charging will take. But give it at least 3 -5 hours. Then try your generator again. Then please report your findings and we'll continue! 🙂
 
Note that if the batteries were severely discharged, and especially if left in a discharged state for long (hours? days?) they may never recover and accept a charge. Many auto parts stores can test the batteries for you. They do this for free - hoping you'll then buy a new battery from them. But I've never found them to 'cheat' on the test to scam you into buying a battery.

One other bit of info. Not related to your current problem but the fuel pick up for the generator is usually positioned such that the generator will run out of gas before the tank is empty. This way you'll still have enough gas in the tank to drive to a gas station.
 
Thank you Gentlemen!
Thank you Nomad, when she gets back to the Rv she will plug it into shore power for a bit and try it.

Ace … if I remember correctly there isnt a toggle for the emergency switch, so I believe that process will take two people. I’ll keep you posted.

And ghnl, thank you for the imput! Before I came to the possible conclusion that it’s the battery’s “ I did a reverse diagnosis lol” I thought it was the starter solenoid was bad…. Then I thought the starter was bad…. Fair to say I have no idea what I’m doing. And then someone tried to help yesterday and they told me that as well. When we first started having this problem a few days ago, we had a full tank of gas so we can rule that one out for this time. She went to our local Napa this morning and they said they don’t deal with RVs at all to complex of a battery system whatever that means.
And she reached out to a local truck repair company and they said they will come out tomorrow.

For future reference, how do I test the batteries to find out if they have enough juice to turn over the generator? From what I’ve read so far anything below 11.6 V is a bad battery?

Thank you guys very much
 
A fully charged automotive battery should show 12.6V. 12.0 is nearly dead! And you can't measure it right after charging. Doing so will give an erroneous reading. Either load test it or wait a few hours. This allows any 'surface charge' to dissipate.

My local auto parts store will do a load test on the battery. But I assume they will not/can not do any real diagnosis of the RV systems.

I take our ACE motorhome to a well regarded truck repair shop for any of the chassis related repairs (brakes, engine, etc) but they don't work on any of the RV stuff (nor would I suggest they do). If you're not a competent DIY'er I'd suggest you find an independent RV repair shop or mobile RV repair technician. They'll know how to diagnosis & repair your rig. Steer clear of big chains like Camping World. They seem to hire from the bottom of the barrel and expect them to learn 'on the job'. The good ones then move on to the independent shops.
 
Gentleman!!
Thank you very much for your help.
After plugging in to “shore “ power for a while we have successfully charged our batteries and can now turn on our generator without the emergency switch!
 
Just 2, you are doing great for newbies.
You are doing some of the most important things: asking the experienced experts here on the forum and giving good descriptions and most important replying with follow up info along the way so they can help you to the best of their ability.
Take care
 

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