Generator clicks but wont start

What sort of RV are you in?

Check the ground strap from the genny to the RV frame. Have seen several RVs where the ground had corroded and they exhibited this symptom.

Other potential causes: bad starter, bad starter relay

Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight. If I get a little corrosion it will cause pronlems. Cleaning the terminals cures the problems.

clayhubler wrote:
Clicks but wont turn over. Batteries are fully charged. It's an Onan 6300 LP Genset, Emerald Plus.

How do you KNOW that the batteries are "fully charged" ?

Even if they are, when batteries wear out they often appear to be fully charged but won't produce any useful current.

You NEED a multimeter to check the voltage at the batteries and at the generator WHILE THE START BUTTON IS BEING PUSHED.

Clicking like that generally indicates low voltage at the starter motor. As others have suggested, that can be due to poor connections somewhere along the way, either on the ground or the positive side. It's possible it may be a poor connection inside the generator particularly if the starter solenoid is separate from the starter motor (in which case it could be the wire between the two).

If the batteries are old, it is also possible that their voltage is sagging excessively under load. The generator starter is a pretty high current load, around 90-100A for my (4KW) generator.

When you say won't turn over do you mean it won't crank, or it cranks but will not run?

There are two kinds of Clicks the Generator makes
One is a single click when you push the button. This is the starter solenoid and if it clicks but will not crank.. You have a bad connection or a low battery. I have this problem with the main engine on my RV, it is a bad connection due to be fixed tomorrow.... I hope.


THe other is a click, click click click click.......

THat's the fuel pump. and if it clicks continusely check your fuel gauge

In this case the Generator will CRANK but will not start.. WHY. well 1/4 tank for the main engine is usually "out of gas" for the generator.

Why do they do this? SO you can DRIVE to the gas station of course.

You have two sets of batteries one for the house and one for the chassis/engine that you finally got to start... The generator could use the house batteries for starting. Are you sure those batteries are good on the coach that sat so long?

Try to start the generator while holding your dash "BOOST" switch so that you are using both your house and chassis batteries. If this works than you have a problem with one set of batteries. Either they are bad or the connections are bad.

I will check all the connections. The genny is propane, and I know there is plenty. The motor clicks once, but will not crank.

Check voltage at the generator while cranking:

Large red/hot lug to generator metal should be 12+ VDC.

What is it when not cranking?

What is it when cranking/trying to get it to crank?