EC30 Onan

We have a 2015 Winnebago vista.
-ec30 Onan control Panel
Onan generator Model 5.5HGJAB-1038K

I am going to try my best to explain my problem. Please ask me questions, if I am unclear

We know we have auto start.
Is there a way to tell if I have shore power loss sensory.

When I am using shore power and turn on auto gen (as it indicates then press enter) - the generator comes on. I want it to come on only when shore power is lost.

If I could figure out how to put it in auto gen without the generator powering on we could test for shore power loss that way by disconnecting power. But I can?t test that way since the generator powers on.

We have three little dogs - yesterday in the campground, we lost shore power because of a bad breaker on electric pole outside. Thankfully, we were in the camper.

We have called Onan, Winnebago customer service, Winnebago dealers, generator repair people, chief our owners manual and still nobody can give us an answer.

Hopefully, the people on this forum can help. We found this forum to be helpful.

Hi Larry, welcome to The RV Forum!

The EC 30 command module has the software to detect the loss of shore power, but not the outboard components to implement it.  As shipped from Onan, it only turns the generator on and off as needed to charge the house batteries.

Fortunately, the missing parts are easy for a knowledgeable person to add if Winnebago didn't include them.

The Energy Command 30 Operator and Installation manual says 12-16 Volts AC or 12 volts DC must be supplied to Pins 13 and 14 on the control panel to sense if shore power is present.  When this voltage is present the generator will not start in Auto Mode until shore power fails and the voltage goes away. The voltage can come from a 12-16 Volt AC transformer or a 12 Volt DC plug in power supply fed from the shore power input side of the shore power/generator transfer switch.

See page 14 of the EC30 manual for the description of what you need and Page 23 for the location of Wires 13 and 14 in the Field Wiring Harness.

With this information your generator repair person should be able to verify whether Winnebago connected the Shore Power Sense and how to implement it if they didn't.  Remember, you need to use a transformer or DC power supply, do not directly connect shore power to the sense wires.

You'll also have to verify the HVAC Run Request (Wire 10) is connected if you want the generator to start when the thermostat calls for A/C cooling.  This is also on manual pages 14 and 23.

Here's a link to the manual in case you don't have it:

https://power.cummins.com/sites/default/files/900-0541B.pdf

Hope this helps!

My coach has the EC30 factory installed.  Maybe the newer models are different, but mine is super simple: press the "auto gen" button then press the "enter" button.  Done. One note though: there is an interlock that will not allow it to work if it (the RV) has not been run for over 30 days. There are several parameters that you can set. You really should read the manual.