Onan starts and dies
Onan 2800 Microlite. 2.8KVFA11574J, F010254711. New to me 2002 Roadtrek with generator of unknown history. Very low hours with what appears to be newer carb and manifold and choke element/spri...
Forum Discussion
jjrbus wrote:
Oh well, fires up and starts to die, spray some carb cleaner in and runs, starts to die, more carb cleaner and runs, starts to die, more carb cleaner and runs. I guess you guys are right. Dirty oil LOL.
Definitely not the ignition or any safety shut down issue..
Engine is starving for fuel, fuel lines, fuel pump and fuel filter have been verified to work and supply fuel to the carb..
Been trying to find a diagram and parts break down for that carb with no luck.. I did notice some Onans have a altitude adjustment on the side of the fuel bowl, not sure how that design works.. Can't see if there is a screw on the bottom of the fuel bowl but I suspect there should be one.. If there is I would try removing the fuel bowl and dump it out. It may have water in the bowl instead of gas. Old stale Ethanol laced gas sitting in the fuel bowl attracts moisture from the air..
Generally you should be able to drop the fuel bowl and still reuse the bowl gasket. Done that many times on small engines.
As a last resort before scrapping the carb, I noticed a video on youtube that a guy had a Onan that was surging. He disconnected the fuel line for the gen from the vehicle tank and used a small 1 gallon fuel jug and used Seafoam at twice the normal dosing instructions.. He primed the carb several times and started it for a few minutes to get the fuel from the jug into the carb then let it sit for 30 minutes. Then repeated that cycle for several more times with a 30 minute wait between.. He was able to get it clean enough that it smoothed out.
I don't really buy into the fixes in a can but for a couple of bucks and some time might be worth a shot before dumping $300 into a carb..
Generally, if it is gummed up or plugged, a rebuild kit is not really needed and often they include parts that do not wear out or need replacing.. All you really need is gaskets in case you damage one when removing or taking apart but in many cases you can buy generic gasket material and make your own. Just use the old one as a pattern..
