Could Low Oil in my Generator Cause This?

Rick Jay wrote:
Hi,

I think low oil, or possibly "thin oil", might be your problem. I have an Onan 7000 gas generator on our motorhome. On several different occasions, usually while travelling down the road, I've had the electricity knock-off with the generator shutting down due to low oil. However, I have also observed, on occasion, the electricity gets interrupted yet the generator keeps running. About 30 seconds later, the transfer switch reconnects and all is fine.

Here is what I have learned.

Always check the generator oil and if it's below the full line, I top it off before heading out on the road. We generally run our generator while rolling down the road, so each day of travel, I'll check the oil.

I always use the thickest oil possible as specified by the owner's manual for the temperature range of operation. And it might be psychological, but I seem to have had better luck (more consistent generator operation) with a single viscosity oil, rather than the multi-viscosity oils. The thinner oils slosh around more and that will trick the sensor into thinking that there is a low oil condition and sometime initiate a shut-down. Sometimes, as I mentioned, the engine sputters enough to disconnect the power, but the engine will keep running.

It's taken me a number of years to develop this routine, but I haven't had a generator shut-down due to the oil in several years.

Good Luck,

~Rick

I have had the same thing happen on my 5500, as you said, when the oil is hot and gets sloshed around from a sudden stop, (usually while in reverse) or going slow over a speed bump the AC will shut off momentarily even the the generator is still running. Like you I have found that keeping the oil level as full as possible and using 30 weight oil I don't have the problem