onan 4000 watt no start

Question

hello, i have a onan 4000 Watt whisper quiet in my hauler and when i push the start button at the generator i hear a click coming from the start/stop solenoid but no cranking.thinking the solenoid was faulty i put a jump wire over and still nothing.the even weirder thing is if i go to push the prime side of the switch it will only work sometimes??i am not good with electrical troubleshooting but know how to use a voltage meter...any help is appreciated!

sar_tracker · Answer

How old are the batteries?  Check battery voltage.  Test to see if voltage drops dramatically when the genset starter switch is pushed.

colliehauler · Answer

I would agree with low battery or dirty terminals, would check that first.

ksg5000 · Answer

In addition to checking the battery voltage you should clean the battery terminals and grounds (including the generator ground).  Also - in most rigs turning on the engine will connect the engine battery and chassis battery providing more juice to help start the generator.

tinner12002 · Answer

Also check to make sure all wire connections are tight.

rotzilla · Answer

We have the same genset, the first year we owned it we had a similar sounding issue. You could hear the solenoid click but that was it. Turned out to be a frozen starter motor, fixed under warranty, thank goodness.
You do have to pull the unit out to change the starter.

Good luck.

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onan 4000 watt no start

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