2006 RT Onan 2.8 cutting out

[FLSTFI]

Went to give the onan it's monthly exercise today.
It ran great for about 20 minutes with the AC on then surged a little and died. Had to wait 5-10 minutes before it would start again and then same thing. Tried again with only the fan as load and same thing.
It is close to 100 degrees today but that has never caused a problem before.
It has 168 hours on it with regular oil changes and exercising. Plenty of gas and oil. Clean air filter.
Any ideas before I end up at Cummins.

[My_Roadtrek]

Mine came right out, but it wasn't very dirty. Sounds like yours is ready to be cleaned, as are, I would imagine a lot of others, but it seems like it is one of those maintenance items that gets neglected.
Again, make sure you mark where the screw lines up, or it can be a real pain getting it back in.

[Handbasket]

I've done three over the years, and never found a reliable method. I just soaked them and futzed with them, cussing creatively, until they came out.

IIRC, it just pulls straight down, but twisting and lots of solvent over time will help. It's also _possible_ that just soaking the screen in solvent in place and blowing compressed air back into the muffler will clean it enough (never tried that). Another possibility, start the generator (after using only non-flammable solvent, please :)) and let it run for a few minutes, in the hope that differential thermal expansion will break it loose.

Jim, "I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send cash."

[FLSTFI]

Finally got a little time to try something.
Got the tailpipe off and the little screw that holds the spark arrester. Besides the solvent how does it come out? Straight down or can you try and twist it back and forth? Is it just the carbon build up that holds it so tight?
I tried to "lightly" grip it with a pair of pliers but it "deforms" pretty easily.

What and how did you get it to come out?

[funtogo]

If you haven't already done so,I would change the spark plug just for good measure.A friend did this with the same symptoms and it cured his trouble.

[Handbasket]

Liketoroam, glad to hear that it's working for you. It's so much more satisfying when you do it yourself, instead of signing a credit card slip, ain't it? 🙂 Congratulations on not having to do a full disconnect.

Mine has stood up to two three hour loaded runs so far, but we just haven't had the really hot 90+ weather here that my issues happened in earlier. So I'm just giving myself a conditional 'good to go'.... It's definitely quieter inside since I got it 1/2" away from the bathroom wall, added some more sound-deadening, and replaced the missing motor mount. Probably about the same outside, but I haven't checked it with the db meter yet.

Jim, "... a collection of parts flying loose formation on an oil leak...."

[BudJ]

Good to hear stories like this Liketoroam.

Thanks for posting.

Bud

[Liketoroam]

I have been following this thread and more about generator problems with the 2.8 Mine has been acting up for the last year. I changed the filter and yes it was a pain. No help, it still ran bad,with a load on it, it would really surge and then cut out. I was guessing that it was the fuel pump after it would run for 15 minutes then quit. Then this thread came up and I dropped the generator onto wood blocks and changed the pump. It is now running as I type and running smooth. Another thing that surprised me was all I had to disconnect was the fuel line, all other wires had plenty of slack so I did not disconnect anything else except the battery. The whole job took less than an hour. I want to say thank you all for the information.

[Handbasket]

Yep, I'd sure try the spark arrestor first... and spray _lots_ of solvent over a few hours up into the area before trying to pull it out. BTW, the 2800 weighs 113 lbs. if you do have to pull it.

Jim, "The only people who know all the answers are the unemployed politicians."

[My_Roadtrek]

kmb1966 wrote:
interesting spec sheet link....?

I fixed it. I guess you could see where my mind was at. :B

[kmb1966]

interesting spec sheet link....?

[My_Roadtrek]

FLSTFI wrote:
Thought I would give it a try this morning while it was still cool.
After 1:30 minutes running under load I came in to getting something to eat. When I went back out in about 20 minutes it was still running but started surging and then quit. Started it again and it ran for about 20 minutes then quit.
The spark arrester should be an easy one to check so I will do that first.

CJBill, your description with the fuel pump problem sounds like it could be the same problem. I will check the old service manual and see how much work is involved in getting to it.

Any more ideas keep them coming.
Thanks all for the help.

My memory is faded on doing the spark arrestor, but I remember that you need to mark the position of the screw, or it will be really hard getting it lined up, and the screw back in, when you reinstall it. Maybe Jim remembers better than me.
Oh, and if I remember correctly, changing fuel filter is no walk in the park either.

[1donald]

Shortly after we bought our 2007 RT 210 Popular in March 2007 we experienced the same problem. Had it to the Dealer & the third time they discovered that the the Oil Sensor was not working properly. Haven't had a problem since they replaced it.
Don & Jean
2007 Roadtrek 210 Popular

[Handbasket]

To get to the fuel pump, drop the generator (exhaust off, 3 AC wires, 1 12V DC, fuel hose, and 1 snap connector, 5 bolts). Remove the top of the green box (4 torx heads, lift off).

The pump resides in the left rear corner, taking the service access door as 'front'. About $60 at the Onan dealer. Be wary; somehow they sold me an identical pump, except the outlet was facing the opposite direction and the bracket was about 3/4" too low. Compare carefully before installing.

Have fun! I sure did (ha!) 😉

Jim, "When the chips are down, the buffalo's empty!"

[FLSTFI]

Thought I would give it a try this morning while it was still cool.
After 1:30 minutes running under load I came in to getting something to eat. When I went back out in about 20 minutes it was still running but started surging and then quit. Started it again and it ran for about 20 minutes then quit.
The spark arrester should be an easy one to check so I will do that first.

CJBill, your description with the fuel pump problem sounds like it could be the same problem. I will check the old service manual and see how much work is involved in getting to it.

Any more ideas keep them coming.
Thanks all for the help.

[CJBill]

We purchased a previously owned 05/06 Roadtrek 190 Popular a little over 4 years ago. Shortly after getting it We drove it to Florida and found that on a hot day after driving around that if we stopped in a parking lot and started the generator and then the air conditioner after a few minutes the generator would begin surging and then fail and would not restart. I took it back to the dealer where I bought it and he attempted to fix it by replacing the carburetor which did not help. This proved to be an intermittent problem which seemed to be related to hot weather but if I started it in our driveway on a hot day for exercise it would run the AC with out difficulty. On the other hand if we were on the road and stopped for gas and lunch at a Flying J we could not depend on running the generator and AC.

Then I attended the Roadtrek International Mid-Winter Rally in Orlando Florida, the Onan seminar was given by Mike Potter the owner of Noah's Ark of Cocoa Florida.On a later trip I took my Roadtrek to his shop.

First I was impressed when I called for an appointment and while describing my problem, Scott the service manager told me of some common symptoms which sounded very like mine. He said it was a well known problem that the Onan 2.8 could have problems which are caused by the electric fuel pump the Onan 2.8 has and which can overheat and stop until it cools.

When I went to the shop the technician started the generator and the AC and we took the van for a ride and luckily even though it was only 85 degrees out after about 10 minutes the generator failed and would not restart. On returning to the shop he found the generator would start if directly supplied fuel useing a spray can into the carburetor and so was convinced the fuel pump was the problem. On removing the old pump he noted the dark color of the pump and some spots that appeared black or charred and he commented that it looked as it had been overheated and showed me the new pump which was bright.

This may not be your problem but my Onan 2.8 has run fine every since the fuel pump was replaced.

Bill Dillinger
190 Popular 05/06
Rockville MD