jerry8mm wrote:
I cranked my Generac 55G generator to do its monthly 30-minute run and it cranked quickly, but then shut off after about 5 or 10 seconds. I tried this several times and it always shut off.
I checked this forum and others and found that the most likely problem was a bad fuel pump. I replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter and the air filter, but that didn't fix anything.
After a lot of testing, I found that if I removed a wire from the oil pressure switch, it would run fine. Since this switch shuts the generator off if the oil pressure is below 8 pounds, I assumed that I had a bad switch.
But just to be on the safe side, I installed an oil pressure gauge and found that I didn't have any oil pressure.
To make a long story short, I found that it was low on oil. I added about 3/4 quart of oil and now everything works fine.
Bottom line, don't overlook the obvious when troubleshooting a problem.
I forgot to take your advice today! Went out to start the motorhome and take it down to top off the fuel tank. As I was pulling out of the garage I tried to start the generator to let it run too and I got nothing. The switch was not lighting up and I was getting no power to the starter. Went and filled up with diesel and came back to put it away. Tried to start the generator again and nothing. So I started looking for the problem. Checked the breakers first and all was good. Tried to start it from the switch on the generator and still nothing. So I start looking at the battery connections at the generator and back at the battery. After getting good and dirty and climbing up under the thing and not finding anything wrong, I figure I'll put the motorhome away and I'm going to have to take it in to have this fixed. Once I got the motorhome into the garage I tried to turn on a couple of 12 volt lights and got nothing. I checked the battery disconnect and sure as heck, I had the 12 volt system disconnected at the switch and forgot to turn it back on when I took the MH out. Flipped the switch and the lights came on. Checked the generator and it fired right up. Apparently the generator starts from the house batteries. I did not know that. I know it now.
