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.

[FLSTFI]

My 2005 Onan Parts Catalog lists three different pumps for the Model 2.8 KV

KV spec A,B part # 149-2140
KV spec C-E part # 149-2588
KV spec F-K part # 149-2615

The Spec Letter is the last character in the Model Number
My Model Nnumber is 2.8KVFA26100K so it is a "KV spec K"
Part # 149-2615
It is made for Onan by Airtex with the Airtex part# E11014

If you have one of the other two you need to call Airtex to get their part number. Or email them. They answered me the next day.
This is who I talked with:

Shane Neuman
Tech Line Manager / NIR Coordinator
Ph::1-800-424-7839 Ext. 3
Fax::618-847-8730

On Amazon here
I see it went up from $45.05 since I got the "only one left" a couple of weeks ago.

You could call Cummins in San Leandro with your Gen Info to verify the Onan Part Number.
Like I said my parts book is an 05 so I don't know what happens after spec K.

You can Google the E11014 and find it in a few other places also.
Vic Hubbard in Hayward is an Airtex dealer and I think their price was about $47 but they did not stock it and would have to special order it. I just did not want to wait.

[loving_retireme]

FLS TFI Would you please tell us how to locate that fuel pump on Amazon, I couldn't find it?

[FLSTFI]

Thought I should update this and let you know I didn't get off so easy.
I thought everything was fine after the Seafoam treatment.
Did not use it much but always did the monthly 2 hour exercise.
Had a hiccup in October and March but after another dose of Seafoam
it ran okay so I did not worry about it.
We were thinking of taking a short roadtrip at the end of April and even though it ran good at it's monthly exercise in early April I thought I should run it again to keep it "primed".
It would not run for more than 10-15 minutes before it started surging and then die. It was 80 degrees that day. I looked at my generator log and saw that the only times it had a problem was if the temp was over 60 degrees. All the times it ran good it was under 60.
So I figured I should finally get serious about it.
I found my old pressure gauge and a 1/4" tee and hooked it to the outlet side of the fuel filter. (Because of the short hose I could not get to the bottom clamp.)
When the gen would first start, it would read 2 pounds and then slowly drop to zero ! Not good for a fuel pump that should read between 2 1/2 to 4 pounds even thru the filter.
Called Cummins West who is only about 5 miles from me. $92 plus tax for the pump and $155 an hour figuring at least 3 hours.
Came in the house and ordered a pump on Amazon for $45 with free shipping and had it in 2 days.
Installed it the next day along with a new longer fuel line and new filter. Ran it for 3 hours. Put the pressure gauge on it. 4 pounds at start up down to 2-2 1/2 after getting hot.
Was able to lower it with a floor jack onto blocks (Thank You Liketoroam) without disconnecting anything but the fuel line but it still took me 5 hours. Even with it down and open, the pump is buried back in the corner and a PITA to get to.

So we took it for a trial run
Took 80 to Tahoe, 50 (the Loneliest Road)across Nevada, 15 down thru Utah to Barstow and 5 and 580 up to home.
With a few stops along the way.

Nice having that gen and AC when spending the night at Boron Rest Stop.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.
Hope I don't have to add an addendum to this, it is already too long.

[FLSTFI]

Finally gave up trying to get the filter out.
It will only come up high enough to where I can just feel the bottom clamp with my finger. I pushed and pulled and twisted thinking maybe the hose was hung up on something. Was afraid it might pull right out of the hose clamp and the next step would be for sure to drop the gen.
(I could tell the fuel pump wasn't dead and the filter wasn't clogged when I bumped the start button accidentally)
Not so funny thing about it, when Cummins changed the magneto under warranty they also put in a new fuel filter and plug and the mechanic said he put in a longer fuel line to make it easier to change the filter next time !
I did put 2 cans of Seafoam in the gas tank when I changed the oil and filter in the Van and the oil in the Gen on Sunday. So I connected the filter back to the carb and fired it up.
Ran it for 2 hours cycling between AC and Heatpump.
Ran and sounded smooth.
Maybe the Seafoam was all it needed (or maybe because it was a much cooler day).
I'll call it good for now. But if it acts up again I have a fuel filter and fuel line and I'll get a fuel pump.

And I don't know if it has been mentioned before but the Onan fuel filter 149-2137 is a Wix 33031. $4.29 at O'Reilly.
And the fuel pump 149-2615 is an Airtex E11014. Saw it for $44 at Amazon.

Jim
Too bad the right-angle needlenose pliers aren't the secret. I have a pair of those left from my Dad, also a former TV repairman.

[g1g]

I had that symptom once, then It only started while vehicle engine was running, then not at all. I just changed the control board in it but I haven't run it long enough to see if it cuts out. So I can't say if that is that problem. Originally I thought heat related too. Maybe it still is. However if you look under the tech forum here another poster has the same problem and there is a reply that in their case the gas cap sealed too tight and was creating a vacuum to the point the fuel pump didn't have enough suction.
BTW I had already changed my fuel pump years ago. I just installed a generic pump mounted outside the unit on my vehicle's frame along with an inline filter. Now it is easy to check or change the pump or filter should I need to.

[Handbasket]

Congrats! You've just encountered one of the worst pieces of gratuitously p-poor design ever. Between the poor access to the service door on an underfloor mount and the location of that clamp just below the lower edge of the opening, it's real whirling b---h to get to. No, you're not missing anything easy.

I've got two generations of tool I inherited, and my own collection as well. The only thing that worked was a small pair of right-angle needlenose pliers that Dad (former TV repairman) had. Even with those, I was using the bend in the jaws, not the tip gripping area, to hold the three prongs of the clamp open.

On the Roadtrek, I replaced the Onan spring clamps with screw-drive hose clamps that have a 1/4" hex. Onan should have used these to begin with. When I had the Tiger's Onan out to replace the the fuel pump, I replaced the whole pump-to-filter line with one about 1.5" longer, as well as replacing the clamp. Now I can easily pull it up enough to see the clamp.

A general comment.... I've replaced about three of these filters. I always blow thru the old one in reverse onto a clean paper towel to see what comes out. I've _never_ seen anything but clean gas. I think since the suction line ends 1/4 of the way up in the tank, it's unlikely that it will pick up any trash or water, which usually settle to the bottom of the tank.

Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

[FLSTFI]

Finally had a little time so I thought I would run some seafoam thru the gen and change the fuel filter.
I pulled the outlet hose of the filter off the carb thinking I could just pull the filter up and disconnect the inlet side and put a new filter in.
BUT, the filter won't come up high enough to get to the bottom clamp.

Anyone else have this problem ?
Am I missing something easy ?

[Liketoroam]

Removing my generator was as simple as disconnecting fuel line removing 4 bolts and lowering onto 4 inch blocks with a floor jack. Reading other post mine was really easy compared to others. Everything else on the van is a pain to work on, so it was nice to get an easy one for a change. I was camping for the last 4 days, sorry for the delay.

[FLSTFI]

Jim
I have not tried that.
I was thinking that since it started right up after it had died that there must have been fuel there. Did not have to crank it like when it has been sitting for awhile. I guess I will have to try that.

[Handbasket]

FLSTFI, have you tried running it 'til it stalls, then pulling the fuel line off the bottom of the filter to see what drains out? If it's dry or nearly so, that'd likely point to a failing pump.

Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

[dmomberg]

Just a tale from my Honda 3500 home generator: when it was a year old, it started surging under partial load (and more), and the surge got worse the longer it ran. Tried cleaning fuel filter, and adding carb cleaner to gas tank. Finally took it to Honda dealer; when it came back, it ran beautifully. He said there was grit in one of the needle valves.

[FLSTFI]

Since I had some yardwork to do I went ahead and started the gen with AC. Ran 45 minutes then started surging and finally quit.
Let it sit 15 minutes and started it again. Fired right up. Didn't have to crank like it was out of fuel.
Turned on the AC as low as it would go so it wouldn't cycle.
1 1/2 hours later and it is still running smooth.
Didn't want to go out again so I shut it off.
It might be heat related because the temp dropped about 10 degrees since I started.
Maybe the next hot day I'll try it again.
And then again maybe I'll just wait and see what happens next time.
I will still run some seafoam thru it and see if it helps.
And change the plug and filter.
I am sure you can see dropping the gen is a last resort.
Since it wobbled so long before it finally quit I am wondering if maybe it could be the governor ???

[My_Roadtrek]

Oh well, atleast you don't have to worry about that.
Good luck on further investigations.

[FLSTFI]

I looked around my garage for a socket or something that was about the same size as the ID of the spark arrester.
Found an OLD 3/8 drive phillips head socket that must be WW2 era that I had with a bunch of my Dad's old stuff.
The socket is tapered and the same diameter as the ID. Tapped it into the spark arrester. Grabbed the spark arrester with some Channel Locks and with a lot of twisting got the thing out.
The spark arrester looked brand new. I don't think there was one hole in the tiny mesh screen that was blocked.
Put it back together. Enough for today.

Thanks for the help and directions and ideas so far.

Liketoroam - Can you give a short step by step of setting the Gen on blocks under the van and then getting the bottom off ?
Thank You