Genset Dies – Any Ideas?

July 12, 2012, 06:49:20 pm

In my case it was bad fuel lines, that had to be replaced to and from the fuel tank to the Genset. It

would strart and run awhile, but when the coach moved or there was vibration the flexing of then fuel line would allow air to enter the fuel system and cause the genset to shut down, erratically. TWI 2004
intrigue 11731

Original Message:
-----------------

From: stuart3488 stuart.thornton1@... Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:14:10 -0000 To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] Genset Dies ? Any Ideas?

My HDKAK 8kw Onan has started dying when the ignition key is turned on (10% of the time) or after the

engine is started (90% of the time). It make take 10 seconds or 5 minutes, but it always dies. I

systematically removed and then replaced the Xantrex RC7-GS remote, the Silverleaf engine monitor,

and the rocker start switch which eliminated all three when the problem continued to happen. When I

disconnect the cable at the genset, the generator no longer fails over any time period so the genset is
eliminated.

Here is where it gets heavy. In tracing the circuits, the generator start and stop signals (wires 159 red

and 158 brown respectively are normally high (12 volts). When any one of the three components,

inverter, Silverleaf or manual rocker switch connect wire 157 (ground) to wire 159 or wire 158 the

generator starts or stops (again, respectively). The only reasonable conclusion then is that when the

ignition is turned on, there is a gremlin conditioning that 158 wire with a false ground.

To test the theory, I monitored wire 158 (genset stop) with a digital volt meter. With the genset off,

there was 12 volts nominal on the wire. When I started the generator, the voltage on 158 dropped to
9.5 volts and stayed there, probably because it is a sensing circuit. Then
I turned on the ignition key,

but the generator continued to run. It only dies 10% of the time with the key. Then I started the engine.

Less than a minute later there was a negative spike (dropped to 4.5 volts) for less than half a second,
and the generator died.

Does anyone have a clue where that split second spike might be coming from? I doubt a short because

it come fast and predictablely, not like a bad ground or frame short would generally present. This just

started in the last year. It never happened before that so something has started to fail.

Stuart Thornton, 2005 Allure, #31217

mail2web.com - Microsoft® Exchange solutions from a leading provider - http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange