So when I bought my RV the generator would crank right up and work fine, it was serviced and has all new parts on it. I took it home and on the way I stopped at a rest stop and tried cranking it to charge my phone and laptop and it did but ran very slow and then shut off. After that it would turn but not start and then when I got to my destination when I tried to crank it it didn't even turn over. What could this be?? I have a feeling it's something simple but have no idea where to start. I literally have ZERO experience with generators. Batteries are charged and the fuse on the gen looks fine. Any ideas?

Usually motorhomes are set up so that if you're low on gas, maybe less than a quarter tank or so, the generator won't run. (This is done by having the generator gas pickup tube stop somewhere above the bottom of the gas tank). That way, you can't run out of gas and strand yourself by running the generator.It should still crank even if it's not getting gas. (If you mean it cranks but doesn't fire, that's still turning over; the motorhead terminology can be a bit confusing if you're not used to it. Turning over just means the engine crankshaft rotates somehow.) Slow or no cranking would suggest that the house battery is discharged or there's a poor connection somewhere between it and the generator (usually it's connected to the house battery and not the chassis battery). This could be either a positive connection or a ground connection. There are other possible causes, but those would be the first ones to check.

Fla904 wrote:So when I bought my RV the generator would crank right up and work fine, it was serviced and has all new parts on it. I took it home and on the way I stopped at a rest stop and tried cranking it to charge my phone and laptop and it did but ran very slow and then shut off. After that it would turn but not start and then when I got to my destination when I tried to crank it it didn't even turn over. What could this be?? I have a feeling it's something simple but have no idea where to start. I literally have ZERO experience with generators. Batteries are charged and the fuse on the gen looks fine. Any ideas?If it does not crank or turn over when you press the start button. I would first check all the battery connections and make sure the are clean and tight. What is your resting voltage on the battery?

Gjac wrote:Fla904 wrote:So when I bought my RV the generator would crank right up and work fine, it was serviced and has all new parts on it. I took it home and on the way I stopped at a rest stop and tried cranking it to charge my phone and laptop and it did but ran very slow and then shut off. After that it would turn but not start and then when I got to my destination when I tried to crank it it didn't even turn over. What could this be?? I have a feeling it's something simple but have no idea where to start. I literally have ZERO experience with generators. Batteries are charged and the fuse on the gen looks fine. Any ideas?If it does not crank or turn over when you press the start button. I would first check all the battery connections and make sure the are clean and tight. What is your resting voltage on the battery?Battery's are reading fully charged, my gas tank is full I was aware of that feature,And like when I push the start button on the generator it self nothing happens, no turn over, no clicking, nothing. Before that it would continually turn over but not run, but was running fine not even a week ago. No idea what the problem is.

When that happened to mine, it was a bad connection of the negative cable on the house battery. However, it could be a bad connection anywhere on the electrical path. Check all of the connections, especially, the ground connections to the frame of the MH.

Fla904 wrote:Gjac wrote:Fla904 wrote:So when I bought my RV the generator would crank right up and work fine, it was serviced and has all new parts on it. I took it home and on the way I stopped at a rest stop and tried cranking it to charge my phone and laptop and it did but ran very slow and then shut off. After that it would turn but not start and then when I got to my destination when I tried to crank it it didn't even turn over. What could this be?? I have a feeling it's something simple but have no idea where to start. I literally have ZERO experience with generators. Batteries are charged and the fuse on the gen looks fine. Any ideas?If it does not crank or turn over when you press the start button. I would first check all the battery connections and make sure the are clean and tight. What is your resting voltage on the battery?Battery's are reading fully charged, my gas tank is full I was aware of that feature,And like when I push the start button on the generator it self nothing happens, no turn over, no clicking, nothing. Before that it would continually turn over but not run, but was running fine not even a week ago. No idea what the problem is. Check your battery with a voltmeter I would not trust the battery lights on the monitor. Post what your voltage reading is here. If you don't want to check each connection for corrosion or tightness back your car up to the genset and jumper the car battery directly to the starter and ground. If it starts the problem is either your battery or the connections from the battery to the genset.

Onan microlite 4000 not doing anything | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

AJR
Explorer
Dec 04, 2015
Thank you for the update.
JAXFL
Explorer
Dec 03, 2015
Mine ended up being the rv generator control board... wherever that is in the system. Now it runs great.
Bordercollie
Explorer
Dec 03, 2015
The ground wire from the generator to the chassis may be corroded and not making a good connection. All connections in the generator and battery circuits must be clean and tight. All connections from your converter/charger and house battery circuits must be clean and tight. It often helps to have the chassis engine running when you try to start the generator. Using the emergency start switch on the dash connects the engine starting battery and house battery in parallel which provides more cranking power to the generator. Your generator's stopping sounds like a fuel filter and/or carburetor problem. If your RV is not new, the generator's carburetor and generator fuel filter may need replacement by a qualified Onan generator service. Generator service work is not cheap. It pays to run the generator for an hour running the air conditioner once a month to keep it ready for use when needed. Knowing how and maintaining your house battery connections and electrolyte levels is a basic part of RV ownership.
Get a cheap digital multimeter at Harbor Freight, etc., to check battery voltage and a rubber bulb battery filler to maintain battery electrolyte levels with distilled water. A battery terminal cleaner is good to have also.
House batteries should read 13+ volts dc when engine chassis engine or RV generator is NOT running. With chassis engine running, house batteries should read around 14 volts dc. House batteries charge very slowly when driving or when running the generator or when connected to shore power. Most RV chassis starting batteries do not charge when RV is connected to shore power unless equipped with a Trik-L-Start or similar device. Sorry if you knew this stuff already!
JAXFL
Explorer
Dec 02, 2015
j-d wrote:
Hey JAXFL - Did you get the A/C fan working? PM me if you didn't.

PM sent
j-d
Explorer II
Dec 02, 2015
Hey JAXFL - Did you get the A/C fan working? PM me if you didn't.
JAXFL
Explorer
Dec 02, 2015
Just had mine fixed as it keeps blowing fuses.... and he spent 2+ hours working on it and put in a couple of new parts.... $420.

But it now runs again.

He is mobile and came to the house to work on it. If you are around Jacksonville Florida, PM me and I'll send you his number.
Fla904
Explorer
Dec 02, 2015
Snowman9000 wrote:
You trust us more than your regular mechanic?
:)

Lol of course not, but I value all of your opinions and I know that my mechanic is not a RV mechanic or generator whiz. I was hoping maybe someone had the same problem and could point me to the fix. I guess I will have to take it to a RV specialist which sucks because the only people who do RV work around here is camping world and a local RV mechanic who has TERRIBLE ratings. They both wanted 5-700 for fluid changes when my normal mechanic only charged me 300 bucks. Can only imagine what generator works going to cost, probably close if not over a grand. I'll be looking to Craigslist before I take it to them tho.
bukhrn
Nomad
Dec 02, 2015
Fla904 wrote:
JAXFL wrote:
Look for a fuse.... it is always a fuse.

Took it to a regular mechanic today for oil change, coolant flush and change, and transmission fluid change. I mentioned to him the generator was not working and they said they would look at it. I called before they closed and he said they found a fuse box which they reset and the generator cranked over but ran slow and wouldn't go all the way then would shut off. They also said my transmission fluid looks brand new, should I change it anyway? He said not to mess with it.

Good advice, if it looks clean & doesn't smell burnt, no need to replace it. Glad he didn't just change it & charge you for something that wasn't needed.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Dec 02, 2015
You trust us more than your regular mechanic?
:)
Fla904
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
JAXFL wrote:
Look for a fuse.... it is always a fuse.

Took it to a regular mechanic today for oil change, coolant flush and change, and transmission fluid change. I mentioned to him the generator was not working and they said they would look at it. I called before they closed and he said they found a fuse box which they reset and the generator cranked over but ran slow and wouldn't go all the way then would shut off. They also said my transmission fluid looks brand new, should I change it anyway? He said not to mess with it...