TriumphGuy
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Re: A/C trips breaker - in cool weather
2oldman wrote: enblethen wrote: Check the neutral for melting or dark coloration on the insulation. x2 on this. High amp appliances can burn up connections which present with intermittent problems. At least in my coach they do. Breakers don't always work they way they should. My air was running poorly and I discovered the hot wire in my 30a plug was burned to a crisp, but touching just enough to run it, sort of. :S AGH you guys have a great point. This is why I come here because I know someone will point out what I've missed. All this monkeying around and I didn't check fundamentals. I have screws loose (ha ha) all around the RV I'm used to tightening, I should have thought about that with the breaker panel. When we get home I'll check it all out. Will see what I can figure out with the ammeter as well, usually have it in the MH but left it at home...446Views0likes0CommentsA/C trips breaker - in cool weather
Ok, I am stumped. Our A/C started tripping the breaker 2 years ago intermittently and not often enough for me to start down the road of troubleshooting. Since then I have replaced the motor (because it wasn't completely smooth turning the fan vs our rear A/C unit and it was making some bearing noise). I also replaced the capacitor while I was working on the unit, thinking it had something to do with the breaker tripping. It still would trip the breaker intermittently, so just before last summer I replaced the breaker itself, thinking it might have gotten worn out. We do run the front unit ALOT, after all. Well now here I am out for one of our first trips of the season and it tripped again this morning. Here's the thing though - I think I can can say now after looking back at all the other circumstances, that it trips in "cool" weather. Or maybe mild weather, but nothing like a 100+ degree day. For example, this morning (we're up in the mountains of NC) - we left the MH around 9am when it was in the low 70s outside and still below the set point of 75deg in the MH. When we came back, the rear A/C was on and the front thermostat indicated 77deg (above the set point) - and the front A/C wasn't running. Of course I go back to the panel to look and the breaker had tripped. In contrast, a few weeks earlier we were camped by the lake just after Memorial Day (in our typical hot and humid southern weather) and no problems at all, even as the temps got in the 90s. This has been the pattern in the past 2 years, would run fine in hot weather, but when we have mild mornings it will throw the breaker. It's not a big deal at all to go back and flip a switch and go on with life, but now we've been leaving our (old) dog in the MH instead of taking him on hikes, and I'd rather not worry about it getting to hot here for him (we have the rear A/C going, but still)... Anyways, after that long intro, would could be causing that? All of my searches turn up threads about A/C tripping the breaker in really hot weather, which is not the problem here. Thanks!1.6KViews0likes7CommentsRe: $3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
bounder39zman wrote: OK..fault code 47 is an ignition fault code. the control board is not "seeing" one or the other ignition coils. could be as simple as a unplugged wire, or a bad coil. I have had shop towels or paper towels get sucked up into the air intake, and dislodge wire off coil. So looks like you probably have bad coil, disconnected wire to coil, or possibly bad control board.. And , from experience, dont lay shop towels or paper towels near air intake.... So the good news is I have a better understanding of this thing for next time I have to pull it out again. The bad news is I'm going to have to pull it out again... Got it out last night, then this morning replaced the coils, set the magneto gap, checked the spark plugs & belt and then put everything back in. Started up fine. Ran smooth for 40 minutes, shut down. Would not start up. Waited about 15 minutes, started but not easily - took a few seconds as could tell it was trying to "catch." Then shut down with the same code 47. I understand I should change the control board next - do you have an idea why this would be the problem?890Views0likes0CommentsRe: $3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
bounder39zman wrote: couple of things: the 4BGE Maillemaker refers to is a great generator, I have owned several, and still have one mounted on a cart for a "portable" genset. But it has nothing in common with your RVQG (7HGJAB I assume). Your set has 2 magneto/coils, one for each cylinder,a triggered by magnets on flywheel. to access them you have to remove genset from coach, lift engine-gen assembly off of base tray, turn on back to expose bottom of set. Then remove flywheel-belt cover to access magneto/coils. There is no ignition module, per se... the magnetos are controlled by main control module. $50 is ok price for coils, the main control board is $400+, depending on spec of genset. The hydraulic lift table is a very useful item, and you need some lifting equipment or couple strong friends to pick up the engine/gen assembly up from the base tray. I would like to know the fault code the gen is giving you when it shuts off. I have surveyed a number of Cummins/Onan dealers in SE US, they typically have labor rate of $150-160 hr R&R of set from Tiffin should require 2-3 hrs at most, replacing coils, and drive belt while "in there" and bench test run about 3-4 hrs in a well equipped shop that has experience working on these sets Wow I wish I could have found a shop to only charge me that many hours for labor. Thanks for that tip of needing to lift the engine / gen assembly; looking at the service manual it's not immediately apparent. I looked like I could tip the unit on it's back and remove the fan shroud to get access to the coils. The code it gives me is 47, consistently. It's the only one I get. I picked up an HF hydraulic table and plan to take the genset out this afternoon...890Views0likes0CommentsRe: $3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
maillemaker wrote: ........ You will get a ton of expert advice on Onan generator work here: https://www.smokstak.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1 They will direct you to the service shop manuals for your generator that gives much more diagnostic and repair information than the owner's manual. ...... Steve Steve- you are awesome. Thank you so much for pointing me in that direction, and for your other advice as well. I have a friend who knows a guy who has a shop with a forklift, and they're going to help me get this thing out. Conceptually I think I know what has to happen, and I'll get on over to the Smokstak forum and start asking more. DW and I were talking about it last night and we could drop the $3k on this but in principle it just doesn't seem right for us. If it were $1500 I'd probably have said go but this is crazy. THANK YOU! - Mark890Views0likes0CommentsRe: $3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
Jayco-noslide wrote: I share in your shock. Shouldn't 12 hours not cost more than $2000 tops. How much for the parts? Apparently $1000 in parts which I'm trying to understand. I've found that the ignition module is about $150 and coils are about $50 each. Honestly I was so shocked I didn't ask any questions, all I could do was have the sense to say "I need to think about it" so I could get off the phone...218Views0likes0CommentsRe: $3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
midnightsadie wrote: no way would I put three k into a gen set. just for fun look up the price of a new one. and theres gotta be a repair service cheaper than that. Exactly. $5k for a new one, $3k for a refurb unit ... Having trouble finding another shop to work on it though.217Views0likes0Comments$3150 to service Onan 7k and replace ignition coils!
Hi all, I'm in sticker shock. I took our MH to a Cummins/Onan shop because the genset would not stay running ... kept throwing a code related to ignition. They have to pull the genset and replace the coils and ignition module ... and are recommending other service "while they are in there." I had thought I might have been in for about $1500 but not $3k. Quote is 12 hours of shop labor plus ... Anyone pulled a genset before? I've taken a cursory look at the shop manual everything other than pulling it out seems rather clear to replace the coils and module...4.3KViews0likes23Comments
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