Electrical questions
I’ll try to get everything in some semblance of order in hopes that it might help sort things out. Recently purchased a 27.5 ft 1993 Firan Telstar (on Ford E350 chassis) with 56K miles on it that had...
Forum Discussion
mikemc53 wrote:It surely sounds like you need two new house batteries. I also wonder if your 1993 converter is either bad or very sloppy in it's charging behavior. You might want to get it checked out, maybe replacing it with a current-day step-charging converter which is much easier on your batteries when plugged in for extended periods.
OK, I checked the batteries (2 in parallel)on their own while not charging and they are at 13.3 volts. While trying to start the generator the voltage drops to 8.5. Not sure what this means but it seems like quite a significant drop.
DrewE is right on the money in all he wrote. Just adding a bit more here. With our 2007 model 4000 Onan, priming was very confusing until I understood what was going on. There is a light in our Onan start switch. When priming by toggling down in the off position, the light goes on after 5 seconds or so. It is then that it begins to prime which then I have to continue holding the switch in for maybe 10 seconds before trying to start the generator.
The light going on does NOT mean it is time to try starting the generator. Just keep holding it in because you have just started priming the fuel line to the carburetor. Like DrewE says, if you listen closely, you can hear the fuel/primer pump running very quietly.
PS: I love the 1993-1995 Firan Telstar line-up. They seem to be one of the best made rigs of that era. I'd love to see some pics when you get around to it.
