Running generator while driving in the rain
Just had my Onan QS8000 first service. The tech was very good at the Cummins Bridgeway branch. He advised against driving with the gen running in a heavy rain. That it could get water injested into th...
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Interesting post, as I had a generator issue a couple of days ago. Like Dennis, I try to avoid driving in the rain. But we hit one of those gulf coast showers on I-10 between Biloxi and Pascagoula, MS. We were running the genny to provide air conditioning. My fuel supply was getting a bit low. We stopped in a rest area for a few minutes to wait out the rain, then continued on I-10. We hit another downpour, and as I started up the slope on one of those tall bridges, my genny quit.
I tried to start it when we stopped for fuel; no luck. We continued to our destination. Next morning I checked everything on the genny -- circuit breakers, oil & coolant level, etc. -- everything was good. I held down the prime for a few seconds, then tried starting. It sputtered once, but died. I repeated this procedure several times, each time getting the genny to run for a few seconds. It finally started and ran rough for a few seconds, then smoothed out and has been fine since.
My belief is that, due to my low fuel condiiton, the genny ran out of fuel and sucked the filter and fuel lines dry as I was on the upslope of the bridge. With a full fuel tank on the coach, and repeated priming, the genny started. I believe it didn't have anything to do with the rain -- but I will still avoid rain whenever possible. I also try to avoid driving at night. So far, I've been successful in avoiding driving at night in the rain.
I tried to start it when we stopped for fuel; no luck. We continued to our destination. Next morning I checked everything on the genny -- circuit breakers, oil & coolant level, etc. -- everything was good. I held down the prime for a few seconds, then tried starting. It sputtered once, but died. I repeated this procedure several times, each time getting the genny to run for a few seconds. It finally started and ran rough for a few seconds, then smoothed out and has been fine since.
My belief is that, due to my low fuel condiiton, the genny ran out of fuel and sucked the filter and fuel lines dry as I was on the upslope of the bridge. With a full fuel tank on the coach, and repeated priming, the genny started. I believe it didn't have anything to do with the rain -- but I will still avoid rain whenever possible. I also try to avoid driving at night. So far, I've been successful in avoiding driving at night in the rain.
