Solenoid clicks

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Positive ground ..wow that means the dc power is reversed.
Your Ground now is the red wire and the black wire if you have the red/black wiring, instead of red being positive "+" . I just find it weird the starter would have positive ground. See if you can reverse the wires when you tested. Usually electric motors work even if polarity is reversed, it will just spin the other way.
Maybe that starter needs to see positive ground.
 
There is only a single red wire, about 4 or 6 gauge going to the large post on the starter. This wire comes from the starter side of the solenoid and carries 12 volt dc power. I can't switch that wire on the starter to anywhere else, since it does not have a separate ground wire.
 
cgmartin said:
There is only a single red wire, about 4 or 6 gauge going to the large post on the starter. This wire comes from the starter side of the solenoid and carries 12 volt dc power. I can't switch that wire on the starter to anywhere else, since it does not have a separate ground wire.
;D
 
My apology. I went back out to the garage and read the label again. It says: 12V dc  neg gnd.  I again placed my 12 volt source (13.7) to the large post, and to different points on the body of the starter, but nothing moved.
 
Charlie 5320, thanks, but there is no way that starter would fit my Onan generator. It is a 4KYFA26100K. The body and the gear is different. I took a photo of mine, which is attached. Most starters have those two screws sticking out the back plate, but nothing is attached to them, only to the large post (+).  Thx.
 

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cgmartin said:
Charlie 5320, thanks, but there is no way that starter would fit my Onan generator. It is a 4KYFA26100K. The body and the gear is different. I took a photo of mine, which is attached. Most starters have those two screws sticking out the back plate, but nothing is attached to them, only to the large post (+).  Thx.
Sorry, I got my wires crossed. Thought it was a generac. Still look on ebay, they are a lot cheaper.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Starter-RV-Generator-Onan-Emerald-191-2416-191-1630-191-2132-SM60194-SM60917-/172318686990?hash=item281efe7f0e:g:FmkAAOSwuTxWCZi8&vxp=mtr
 
Yes I've found quite a few, but before I start replacing parts, I want to get it out of my system and bench test my existing starter. No sense in replacing what appears to be a good starter, which a reliable test is sure to reveal, one way or the other.
 
Ok. Things are looking better. I just hate to give up on these things, so I went back out to my garage and used my battery booster cables and the battery in my car. The red cable to the positive bolt on the starter, and the negative cable to the mounting body of the starter. The shaft spun and the plastic gear moved outward, indicating that it was working correctly. For some reason, I did get some sparks when I made contact with the negative battery post.  The only thing still on my mind is why this seemingly good working starter would jam up against the flywheel, causing one or both to freeze up. Will this happen again? I don't know, and I hope not, because removing the generator my myself was quite a task and I will probably have to check myself into the emergency room tonight.  Thanks to all.  Once I actually bench test the generator and get it running, I will post my updates.
 
Lube the shaft where the gear slides being you already have it out. I'd try it several times before installing it. Put it back on the generator and hook it up before installing the generator back in the coach. If you hook it up to a gas can it'll run just like it does in the coach. I have a generac set up for an emergency at my house. The  low voltage condition could have caused this, but the starter drive should have returned back to the correct location. Might want to use a dry graphite to lube the drive.
 
With regard to  the sparks you noted when bench testing your starter:  Just for grins, I pulled the spark plug wire and took some starting current data on my Onan today to satisfy my curiosity.  Mine is a Micorquiet, 4k....spec K and gets starting current from the coach batteries.  The meter I used is a small, inexpensive digital Craftsman unit ...... definitely not laboratory grade, but ..... works for me.

Open ckt voltage (measured at the solenoid) ............................. 12.5 v
Voltage while cranking ............................................................ 11.5 v
Steady state current draw ....................................................... 57.5 amps


With the Ford V-10 running (and charging the house batts) :

Open ckt voltage (measured at the solenoid) ............................. 14.1 v
Voltage while cranking ............................................................ 12.9 v
Steady state current draw ....................................................... 54.0 amps

The only place I have ever seen inrush current for a starter motor displayed was a "waveform" picture which showed the inrush current to be about 4 times the steady state cranking current ..... for an automotive starter.  If that is a good approximation for a 4KW Onan starter motor, you would be looking at over 200 amps for a few milliseconds (if your test leads were big enough).  A pretty hefty spark would probably be expected.

Best of luck.  I believe you are going to "beat this problem into submission".  Good for you, man!    :)


 
Here is my latest report: I installed the starter and made sure I could turn the flywheel by hand in either direction. I then hooked up my generator to a gas can and my car's 12 volt battery. It started after a couple of tries and ran without surging. I am convinced that the problem was caused by low voltage from low house batteries. This occurred because the teeth on the Bendix gear jammed up against the teeth on the flywheel, and the spring on the shaft is too weak to force the Bendix back into place against the starter. The moral of the story: don't start the generator if you anticipate the house batteries are low.  Now, this may only happen once every 1,000 starts, but that single time will put your generator out of business.  I am now well acquainted with how the generator operates. All I need to do now is place the generator back into the motorhome and I am back in business. Yahoo!!
 
I forgot to add this: I had somehow missed that my generator was missing a hose. I went on YouTube and saw just one or two generators that had this hose, but just about all were missing it. This is only on the 4KY Spec K generator, but may apply to others.  It is also listed on the parts list. I ordered a new one from Onan.  One end of the hose fits in a hole on the flywheel shroud, above and behind the carburetor. It is called a pre-heater house, part no. 503-1351. Its purpose appears to be to route the heat from the flywheel and direct it over the engine and down to the back side of the generator, right behind the starter. Without this hose, all the heat is directed over the engine.
 
I remember years ago when I was poorer then a church mouse, and the solenoid on my old 49 Chevy was bad. I used to jump it using a pair of pliers using each handle end on a terminal.
I did this until I finally could afford a used one from a junkyard.

jack L
 
JackL said:
I remember years ago when I was poorer then a church mouse, and the solenoid on my old 49 Chevy was bad. I used to jump it using a pair of pliers using each handle end on a terminal.
I did this until I finally could afford a used one from a junkyard.

jack L

;D  ;D  ;D  Luv it, Jack.  lol;  a LOT of us have been there. 
 
Hello all, I am back seeking advice. I was getting ready to install my generator, and looked at the photos I had taken of the receptacle box before I removed the wires and I am puzzled.  It is my understanding that the back of the receptacle has three wires. One is the 120  volt hot wire. The second wire is the neutral wire, and the third wire is the ground wire.  My generator has three wires, a green, a white and a black. All of my photos only show two wires on the back of the receptacle, but no third wire. One of the photos, which I have attached (#1) shows a white wire. Photo #2 shows the black wire.  Photo #3 shows the green wire, which is twisted together with another green wire. Those green wires do not go to the receptacle box.  So my question is: Why is there no third wire going to the receptacle?  As I said, all photos show the wires before I touched them, so they are in their original condition. I need some help with this.  Thx.
 

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Look closely at your pic. The ground wire is connected to the green wires. I would replace that recep with a new one with a ground terminal.
 
Yes, it appears that the small brownish wire that is intertwined with the large green wire and a red cap that I think you are referring to appears to be a copper ground wire, but when I went out to the motorhome at the storage yard to confirm it, I found that it was not, it is just a small gauge brown wire. However, surprise, surprise, what the photos do not show is that indeed, there is a copper wire on the top of the outlet, so I was wrong and jumped the gun too soon. As you can see from the photos, the place where the white wire is attached appears to be cracked, so I will be replacing that part. So, after all this drama on my part, my suspicions were correct that this outlet has a ground wire, which is normally oriented on the top, as you face the outlet, a white wire on the right, which is the neutral, and a black wire on the left, which is the hot wire. Again, sorry for my confusion!!
 
Well folks, I am now a happy camper. I finally installed the generator back in my motorhome. Since my floor jack was too wobbly, I went out and bought a motorcycle jack for $80.00, which was very stable lifting the generator. While it was out, I replaced everything that could be replaced, including the fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plug, air filter, solenoid, muffler shield, 30 amp plug and receptacle, heat insulators on the generator cover, and installed braided fuel lines.  The jack will now come in handy for cleaning my Harley Heritage. I also ran a mixture of Sea Foam and gas, and the generator is now running great.  So now, with this adventure behind me, my thesis on generators is now complete. Thank you all!!
 

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