Good evening, folks! I will be purchasing my first-ever motor home on Monday; It's a 2002 Fleetwood Tioga with an Onan Microlite 4000 generator. During preliminary discussions with the seller, he indicated an issue with the generator not starting. The price is too good to pass up, even if I need to replace the generator, but I thought this might be a good place to get some advice on whether it can be fixed or if it needs to be replaced. I will try to provide as much information as I can, but I'm completely new to this so please forgive me if it's not enough.During the walkthrough today, here's what happened:- The motorhome was connected to his house for power and everything inside was working fine (lights, TVs, etc).- We attempted to start the generator by flipping the switch to generator power and holding the start switch. There was a clicking noise as if trying to start a car with a dead battery.- We moved on from the generator and started the engine of the motorhome... and while the engine was running, he attempted to start the generator again. This time, it attempted to start, but would only run for about a second before quitting. - My friend (who is much better at these things) opened the generator door to look inside and told me that when he touched the carburetor on the generator, he got an electric tingle -- that there was a short to ground. The seller said that he hasn't run the generator for about 6 months, so I can understand a carburetor issue (gunked up, needs cleaning or replacing), but the electrical issue has got me confused.I will have the motor home on Monday and can provide more specifics then... I just wonder what the first plan of attack should be. Thanks in advance. I appreciate any help you can provide.

You're talking about a few different problems which are not really related to each other.The clicking is a dead battery, or a poor connection between the battery and the generator somewhere along the way; the generator starter isn't getting sufficient power to turn over the generator. Cleaning the connections or replacing the battery, as needed, should fix that. Since it was plugged in, it would be worth verifying that the converter is working properly to keep the battery charged. (Most commonly the generator is started from the house battery; once the main engine of the motorhome was started, the two batteries are connected together so the alternator can charge the house battery, and the engine battery thus helps to start the generator as well. That also suggests that the issue is more likely to be a battery problem or a bad connection right at or near the battery.)The generator not staying running could be several things. It might just be air in the fuel line between the tank and the generator, in which case starting it a few more times should fix it. It could also be the generator controller shutting down the generator due to some fault. If the light on the generator switch is flashing, count the flashes to get the fault code (two digits, shown by two sets of flashes, the whole thing repeating.) I'm not sure that all versions of this generator display fault codes, though.The tingle--I'm assuming you must have been plugged into shore power at the time--indicates an electrical fault somewhere in the RV causing what's known as a "hot skin." It's perhaps possible that this was just due to a broken or disconnected ground connection where it was plugged in, but often also indicates some actual problem such as a fridge or water heater element that is leaking electricity to ground due to broken-down insulation, or a wire that's chafed or pierced by a nail or screw, or something. That's definitely worth investigating; under the right (wrong?) conditions, it could be a serious shock hazard to someone who is touching the RV while standing on the ground.None of these three issues are particularly rare, nor would I consider them deal-breakers, but they are things to take care of before long--particularly the last item should be investigated as soon as practical.Welcome to the world of motorhome ownership, and motorhome maintenance, and motorhome repair!

Thank you so much for your quick reply and valuable information! You've given me a lot to go on -- Once I get it home, I will start trying your suggestions and see if I can get it up and working. :)

fill the gas tank at least 3/4 full of fresh GAS, the pickup tube for the generator is located approximately at the 1/4 full level, this is so running the generator will Not leave you stranded with an empty GAS tank, once gas gets below that level the generator will not run , it has no GAS, also check the oil level in the generator, they have Low oil sensor, that will shut down the generator

Do a web search using "RV hot skin" and you will get lots of hits and hints. Noshockzone.org is a very good resource.

Onan Microlite 4000 Generator Issue | Good Sam Community

DrewE
Explorer II
May 03, 2020
You're talking about a few different problems which are not really related to each other.

The clicking is a dead battery, or a poor connection between the battery and the generator somewhere along the way; the generator starter isn't getting sufficient power to turn over the generator. Cleaning the connections or replacing the battery, as needed, should fix that. Since it was plugged in, it would be worth verifying that the converter is working properly to keep the battery charged. (Most commonly the generator is started from the house battery; once the main engine of the motorhome was started, the two batteries are connected together so the alternator can charge the house battery, and the engine battery thus helps to start the generator as well. That also suggests that the issue is more likely to be a battery problem or a bad connection right at or near the battery.)

The generator not staying running could be several things. It might just be air in the fuel line between the tank and the generator, in which case starting it a few more times should fix it. It could also be the generator controller shutting down the generator due to some fault. If the light on the generator switch is flashing, count the flashes to get the fault code (two digits, shown by two sets of flashes, the whole thing repeating.) I'm not sure that all versions of this generator display fault codes, though.

The tingle--I'm assuming you must have been plugged into shore power at the time--indicates an electrical fault somewhere in the RV causing what's known as a "hot skin." It's perhaps possible that this was just due to a broken or disconnected ground connection where it was plugged in, but often also indicates some actual problem such as a fridge or water heater element that is leaking electricity to ground due to broken-down insulation, or a wire that's chafed or pierced by a nail or screw, or something. That's definitely worth investigating; under the right (wrong?) conditions, it could be a serious shock hazard to someone who is touching the RV while standing on the ground.

None of these three issues are particularly rare, nor would I consider them deal-breakers, but they are things to take care of before long--particularly the last item should be investigated as soon as practical.

Welcome to the world of motorhome ownership, and motorhome maintenance, and motorhome repair!

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