Power from Generator

J

john wright

New member
Nov 4, 1998
1,064
0
0
Is your power cord plugged into the generator outlet. If so you may
have a bad bridge rectifier,

J.R. Wright

>
> I have a 6kw Onan in my 77 Palm Beach. The generator starts and runs fine,
> but it does not put power into the coach. Have checked all the plug-in's and
> no power inside on any outlet or the roof a/c. Any simple ideas before I take
> it in?
> Thanks,
> Gene Hyche
 
Gene

A couple of ppossibilities - Make sure all of the big draw items are off (AC,
water heater etc). Pull out the gen and look at the center top. There is a
small box with a button (reset). Push the button. Start the gen, make sure that
it is plugged in (40 amp cord into big outlet in cord storage compartment). Go
in and turn on a 110 item (AC will work). If the AC comes on, you're in
business. If not........get back.

Wayne Newland F9300 75 Palm Beach Columbia, Md

> I have a 6kw Onan in my 77 Palm Beach. The generator starts and runs fine,
> but it does not put power into the coach. Have checked all the plug-in's and
> no power inside on any outlet or the roof a/c. Any simple ideas before I take
> it in?
> Thanks,
> Gene Hyche
 
Gene,
Actually the Bridge Rectifier is fairly easy to change out and not that
expensive. Unusually under $20 or less. It is a common failure with
oneness, you need to be sure to turn all you loads off before shutting
down the generator. Be sure and look at the sites listed for help.

J.R. Wright
GMC GreatLaker
77 Eleganza II
Michigan

>
> John & Wayne,
> Been there, Done that. Thanks for getting back to me. Hearing "Bridge
> Rectifier" was enough for me. I'm no electrician but I know now that I
> probably can't fix the generator. I did all the normal checks for hooking up
> and starting up 4 times, then double checking and still no power.
> Gene
 
Just listened to Duane (mr Onan) give a talk. He said saw an Onan with
30,000 hours on it still running well. He says if you do the maint, they
should last forever !!!!!!!

gene

>Lanier,
>Yes, checked out everything that 3-4 of you had told me about. I had pretty
>much done all of that and it did not help. Took it in to the guy that
>maintains it for me. (His background: Was GMC dealer and has worked on them
>for 25 yrs.- has one himself-and maitains most of them in this area and so I
>trust him) I have the problem written down and forget exactly how he put it,
>but I need to replace a part or parts not made any more, possibly. Bottom
>line is about $1,000 on a generator 22 years old. So I will probably replace
>with either an Emerald Onan or a Honda EV6011. The Honda because I am
retired
>from Honda and can probably save some $$$. Checked with my old Service
>contacts at Honda and they assurred me that the kinks are out of this unit
>now. I knew of several quirks that it had so I feel good about it now.
>
>Thats where I am now. Thinking. Thanks to you and the others who gave me
some
>input.
>
>Gene Hyche
>
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
 
Hi gene...

>Just listened to Duane (mr Onan) give a talk. He said saw an Onan with
>30,000 hours on it still running well.

Not to start anything but, I wonder what the cost of maintaining that Onan
for 30,000 hours was. That is the only issue I have with Onans. It seems
like someone priced their stuff way beyond cost and reasonable markup
on stuff that is hard to get alternatives for! This ticks customers off and
makes them go out of their way, to find alternatives, which lowers the
everyday income to Onan on stuff people have already found alternatives
for (Filters, brackets, bridge rectifiers). Does Duane have anything to
say about some of their stratospheric pricing? I guess it provides an
umbrella for him and his side business? Scott are you monitoring
all this? Guess you Scott, already learned all this the hard way?

Maybe all generator companies price this way? Maybe Kohler didn't
and that's why there are not around as much anymore?

Regards,
John 74 Glacier
 
Two individuals at Forest City last week have replaced their Onan with a
Generac. I looked at both and heard one running. It sure runs much
quieter.

Paul Bartz

From: John Dolan [mailto:jdolan]
Sent: Friday, October 08, 1999 2:22 PM

Hi gene...

>Just listened to Duane (mr Onan) give a talk. He said saw an Onan with
>30,000 hours on it still running well.

Not to start anything but, I wonder what the cost of maintaining that Onan
for 30,000 hours was. That is the only issue I have with Onans. It seems
like someone priced their stuff way beyond cost and reasonable markup
on stuff that is hard to get alternatives for! This ticks customers off and

makes them go out of their way, to find alternatives, which lowers the
everyday income to Onan on stuff people have already found alternatives
for (Filters, brackets, bridge rectifiers). Does Duane have anything to
say about some of their stratospheric pricing? I guess it provides an
umbrella for him and his side business? Scott are you monitoring
all this? Guess you Scott, already learned all this the hard way?
 
Hi All

Onan has a new 4000 watt generator (Microquiet 4000) out that is supposed to
be quieter than the Generac.
They even have sound comparisons on their web site. http://www.onanrv.com/
They are typically 6db lower noise than the Generac, which would make them
sound about 1/2 as load. The Marquis line is a bit noisier but they say it
is still quieter than the Generac.

This may be partly advertising but even if it is true does it warrant the
high cost of replacement parts? Has anyone compared the cost of parts for
the new Onans compared to the Hondas and Generacs? It is a little unfair to
compare parts prices when there is a 25 year difference in the age of the
equipment.

If you are considering changing you might want to consider the lighter
weights of the newer units as a positve factor (250-350 pounds lighter - as
I recall the 6K Onan weighs in at about 500 pounds).

Dave
 
Sure glad to see you write that, Gene...having purchased our Honda 4010 unseen and
unheard! Our coach is at Coop Works in Orlando and one of the items that was
changed out was the generator. Unfortunately, with a 23' coach we have limited
options for a gen replacement.

As far as our Onan ("Lazarus") is concerned, we had so many interactions, it evolved
into an entity in itself! Perhaps if we had gotten the unit new and had been in
control of its care and feeding, it might still be alive. But it was sickly from
the day we bought the coach (at 112K mi) and started going terminal within the year
of purchase. It was overhauled, requiring extensive work, including Rx on a
out-of-tolarance shaft. And in spite of all the TLC lavished on this unit, it
remained a problem for the next 12 yrs or so. There was always a worry: will it
start? will it soil its cabinet with oil? will it wake you, and everyone around you
in the camp, with it's incessant noise?
We never added up the costs to keep it running, which are probably considerable, but
facing a replacement of the circuit board was the last straw!

PS: here is a link for the Honda 4010/6010 specs. (I couldn't find it on the Honda
Corp page, though they advertise their other generators there.) Unfortunately it
still doesn't contain any Db specs that I can see.....like...what does "quiet" mean,
mmmm?
Will let you know when we get our coach back...^_^
.http://www.tele-lite.com/honda/rvgenerators.html

Anneke Henderson - Houston (great weather...80's)
http://gmc76.tripod.com/gensetpic.html

> Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 13:32:41 EDT
> From: Genehy
> Subject: Re: GMC: Power from Generator
>
> I agree with Duane. I have owned mine less than a year and I cleaned at least 10
> years worth of crudd off it. I don.t maintain my stuff like that but I am going to
> replace it rather than gamble that $1000 won't just be a downpayment on a couple
> more thousand with in another year. Onan is a fine generator, but because of the
> engine, the Honda is better. I base this on a career of knowing Honda engines.
> Gene Hyche
 
They did talk about cost of parts but we are listing alternate air filters,
refurb control boards, bridges, etc.

He did point out that the Onan oil filter has a bypass for cold weather.
If you use others you do not get this bypass. I bought one in NM and was
$7 so that was not too bad. I guess I do not hear any talk of people over
hauling their Onans. I think this might be another myth. If you follow
the Onan manual and run them once a month at rated load, the guy in NM said
you would not even have to remove the carbon.

I think we have covered the problems of the wires getting old, the voltage
regulator unhook, etc.....

Just remember, they are 20 years old like the coach, they need some tlc.
gene

>Hi gene...
>
>>Just listened to Duane (mr Onan) give a talk. He said saw an Onan with
>>30,000 hours on it still running well.
>
>Not to start anything but, I wonder what the cost of maintaining that Onan
>for 30,000 hours was. That is the only issue I have with Onans. It seems
>like someone priced their stuff way beyond cost and reasonable markup
>on stuff that is hard to get alternatives for! This ticks customers off and
>makes them go out of their way, to find alternatives, which lowers the
>everyday income to Onan on stuff people have already found alternatives
>for (Filters, brackets, bridge rectifiers). Does Duane have anything to
>say about some of their stratospheric pricing? I guess it provides an
>umbrella for him and his side business? Scott are you monitoring
>all this? Guess you Scott, already learned all this the hard way?
>
>Maybe all generator companies price this way? Maybe Kohler didn't
>and that's why there are not around as much anymore?
>
>Regards,
>John 74 Glacier
>
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
 
[Admin note - "Bounced", non-member submission. Jim, you need
to be sure that your "From" header matches the address you're
subscribed at. Patrick]

>
>> The last time I tried to cut gaskets, it cost me more for the twelve
>> stiches to keep that red stuff from coming out:). Now I hate gaskets!
>
>Scott,
> You have my sympathy. I feel the same way about pull-top cat food cans,
>and for almost as many stitches! 8-(
> In case you haven't heard of it, here is how I "cut" gaskets without using

> Now, using the ball end of a ball-pien hammer, tap firmly all the way
>around any openings you want to cut out. You want to pinch the gasket paper
>between the ball-pien and the edge of the opening. This works best with
>sharp-edged die-cast parts, poorly with rounded/worn/chamfered/stamped ones.

I have a 4 oz ballpien just for this use. As you stated the key is
sharp edges but it is possible with not so sharp ones too but just for
marking the gasket material and then use a pair of snips to cut it out.

Jim
'73 Canyon Lands
 
Did you ever find the problem ??

gene

>I have a 6kw Onan in my 77 Palm Beach. The generator starts and runs fine,
>but it does not put power into the coach. Have checked all the plug-in's and
>no power inside on any outlet or the roof a/c. Any simple ideas before I
take
>it in?
>Thanks,
>Gene Hyche
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
 
Gene,

Check for output at the circuit breaker located on the top of the
generator. If there is nothing there, I would recomend to take it to
someone if you are not proficient at jousting with generator innards.

Good luck,

Jim Bounds
- -------------------------

>
>Did you ever find the problem ??
>
>gene
>

>>I have a 6kw Onan in my 77 Palm Beach. The generator starts and runs fine,
>>but it does not put power into the coach. Have checked all the plug-in's
and
>>no power inside on any outlet or the roof a/c. Any simple ideas before I
>take
>>it in?
>>Thanks,
>>Gene Hyche
>>
>Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
>GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
>http://www.california.com/~eagle/
>
>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Applied GMC
Get your shine on at www.cruzingear.co

Share this page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back