Onan onboard diesel generator run problem solved
Yahoo Message Number: 96664
Yesterday I replaced the 19-year-old fuel line from the main diesel tank to the fuel pump on my generator. It solved my long-standing problem with it running rough (originally) to it wouldn't start at all. Searching the group threads led me to checking the fuel line for dry rot, so I want to give back by sharing what I learned.
I used a large funnel that drained into a 5-gallon jerry can to catch the fuel while removing the fuel filter. The filter was empty, so I suspected the fuel pump. After replacing it I got good fuel flow when holding the prime button so I reassembled and ran the generator. While I was doing a victory dance the generator died.
I thought it must be air in the fuel line so I purged it by attaching a fuel line with funnel several feet above the pump and poured diesel into the funnel so the fuel would flow back into the tank. Worked great, but each of the 3-times I tried it the generator would run for a couple of minutes, then die.
That's when I began to suspect a leak in my fuel line. I removed the line from pump to filter and ran the pump. It had good flow but it was foamy. Off to the store I went for 22 feet of fuel line. Had to remove my house batteries to get access to the top of the diesel tank, but I managed to bypass the original fuel line and viola: now I had a nice solid stream of diesel from the output of the pump with no foam at all. Generator ran for 15 minutes and never even stuttered.
I was too tired for any dancing by then, plus I had to figure out how to replace the original line. It is far from an easy job and I recommend hiring someone. In retrospect I realize this has been a problem for several years. I've owned this coach 8-years and the generator has never run as well as it does now. It starts with no hesitation and runs just as smooth as you please. The dry rot in the original fuel line is easy to see, but who would have thought it would allow air in but have no evidence of leakage?
Thank all of you for your contributions to this group and I'll see you down the road.
Dean Forsyth
1995 Magna 5233
Topic: Onan onboard diesel generator run problem solved (Read 581 times)
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