Generator questions

Generators need regular exercise under load...once a week is my schedule. Five years of battery service is fair. Is your battery charger “smart” or “dumb?” What does your Vista manual say about which battery starts the generator?

Might be a wee bit of corrosion in the cylinder bores. If so, you might need to up your winter generator exercise to every two weeks. You might also want to look into using a little fogging oil when you shut it down for storage.

dunno about which battery is used to start the penny.

ditto, life span in years. Depends on usage, depth of usual discharge, how robust the battery build is, and other factors.

Let's walk this through. Pistons have two rings, a compression ring and an oil ring. The oil in the piston has passed by both rings, and the piston sits there, dry. Until new lubricant is pumped into the affected area, the piston is essentially grinding metal against metal. This is the main cause of slow, then regular sounds of the starting "cycle". It will make you think "is my battery weak"? The larger the motor, the more pronounced.

The generator starts off the house batteries. We also have a 2015 Winne Vista we'd bought new and had to replace the house batteries last season. The 12 volt "deep cycles" it comes with are not the optimal thing to use. I suspect your two house batteries are at end of life now. Go to Costco or Sams Club and get two 6 volt golf cart batteries or four if you are OK with spending a little more..but then you'll also need to pick up 3 more cables to complete the install. The 6 volts get wired in series rather than parallel. You will need one of these plates for each battery and some 3/16 threaded rod from Home Depot/Lowes. The 6 volts will sit against the outer lip of the battery tray, the hold down plate will run across the back top edge of the battery and the threaded rod will run at a 45 degree angle toward the outside of the RV (you have to drill holes in the tray for them). Even with just two 6 volts you will see a huge improvement in 12 volt power time for TVs, etc. If you have one of the larger 2015s with the 2K inverter, they will also let you do some limited microwaving at a rest stop without having to crank up the genny.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Gas-Golf-Cart-Battery-Hold-Down-Plate-G1-to-G22-1978-UP-New-Parts/121680830113?epid=14024867329&hash=item1c54be1ea1:g:0UwAAOSwNSxVSTiz:sc:USPSPriority!89436!US!-1

If you switch to 6 volts, you almost need to get a battery watering kit like below. The Vista has the batteries in such a tight place it's pretty much impossible to check the water in them so these are needed (also need to get the pump kit for it).
https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Rite-RV2000-Pro-Fill-Battery-Kit/dp/B001FCAXT0/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1D8WFQHBS5WPH&dchild=1&keywords=battery+watering+system+for+golf+carts&qid=1588761783&sprefix=Battery+watering+system%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-6

When was the last time you changed your oil and filter if it has one? Does it only do this when it’s cold or does it do it when it’s warm outside?

The simple way to determine which bank of batteries feeds the generator is to simply turn off the switches. One for the chassis and one for the house. Whichever one is off and the genset won't start, you've figured it out. Most, if not all, start from the house batteries so you can still start the coach if need be. This, at least for newer coaches, say 90s and up.....Dennis