onan 4000 won,t give power

[crazycanuck]

hello all,  my onan 4000 in my 1988 pa is not producing any power. I had the onan service replace the board last and it worked great until i parked it in feb.
now it starts fine but no juice to the mh. all breakers look fine.
power great on shore line. witch begs another question-- can or should i plug in and try the genny at the same time ,whitch power is the converter taking
crazycanuck

 

[ChiefM]

Do you have to plug in the power to the generator or does it have an auto switch? Running on shore and gen power to me is a bad idea, especially if you have an auto switch. There could be some breakers on the gen itself. I do not know your generator, just throwing ideas.

 

[thomasamski]

I had a similar problem with my Fleetwood. They replaced a transfer switch. That also resolved a problem with the electric water heater. It was under warranty so the approximate $800 cost with installation didn't cost me a dime.

 

[crazycanuck]

for chief- it has auto switch , breaker box in gen. area has one red and one green breaker ,have reset several times but not removed , breakers in converter control under fridge also seem ok, when checking genny I started it up to show a freind and had it running about 10 minutes and later rembered it was still pluged into my 30amp shore line.
is there any other breakers or fuses anywhere i can check ,every fuse or breaker i could fined has been checked
carl

 

[Water Dog]

If you have easy access to the transfer switch, you should be able to check voltage there with the generator running. There should be three sets of terminals (If this is a 30 amp rv) They are NC (Normally Closed) "NO" (Normally Open), and "C" (Common). With the generator running you should have power on both the "NO" terminals, and the C terminals irregardless of whether you are plugged into shore power. With shore power plugged in and the generator off, you should have 120 volts at the "NC" and the "C" terminals. If the generator is running and you have power at the "NO" terminals, but not at the "C" terminals, you have a defective transfer switch (or transfer switch board). Before replacing though, with all power shut down, make sure the connections are tight.

 

[john109]

I am new here but had a similar problem and on my RV I have to have my shore line plugged into it's storage receptical in the RV. It is a safety feature so you don't plug the shore line into external power while generator is running. It makes sense when you think about it I scratched my head for a better part of a day rung out boards on the generator and chased wires all over the RV and everything led back to the storage recepticle and as soon as I plugged it in the generator worked fine. Hope this fixes your problem.
John

 

[Water Dog]

I am new here but had a similar problem and on my RV I have to have my shore line plugged into it's storage receptical in the RV. It is a safety feature so you don't plug the shore line into external power while generator is running. It makes sense when you think about it I scratched my head for a better part of a day rung out boards on the generator and chased wires all over the RV and everything led back to the storage recepticle and as soon as I plugged it in the generator worked fine. Hope this fixes your problem.
John

John, you are right - on many rv's you do have to plug the shore power cord into the generator outlet, but on many you don't, because they have an automatic transfer switch that switches the power input from shore to generator when the generator fires up. That is the system the op stated that he had in response to ChiefM....Just FYI

 

[ChiefM]

Carl,
I would assume that you have a problem with the auto transfer switch. Mybe you can disconnect the shore power and tap the transfer switch, or clean the contacts is that is possable. You can follow water dogs advice and troubleshoot or take to a professional.

 

[Alfa38User]

There are usually 1 or 2 circuit breakers on the Genny itself. These should be turned off and then turned back on to be sure they are reset properly. As with most circuit breakers, just looking is, very often, not good enough.

All good trouble shooting suggestion shown above, especially those involving use of a voltmeter!!!
One of the principal reasons for this problem other than the c/b on the genny itself, is the auto transfer switch as several others have mentioned. The contact of these relays are often damaged (burned, stuck together etc) because the power has been switched over while a load was still applied. Many think to turn off the air conditioners before switching  but .... there are often other loads present we don't think of, like the fridge while on electric (500 watts or so,) the water heater, about the same.

Of course, with auto start generators these power switches can occur before we even think about it, when the 120V supply suddenly fails but....

The moral of the story is simple. Before switching power sources think about removing loads first. It will likely result in a longer lasting ATS. The suggestion above to tap the transfer switch may work temporarily and if it does, the message is clear, you will have to install a new switch unless you are adept at cleaning and burnishing  or replacing relay contacts (and presuming you can find replacements).

 

[Water Dog]

Just FYI...Some of the older auto transfer switches do not have circuit boards, but instead, have hard wired components, such as time delay and bridge rectifiers that are simply wired into the control circuit of the ats. Sometimes these parts can fail also, and be replaced individually. Most (if not all) transfer switches rectify the AC voltage back to DC voltage to power the coil in the ATS. This eliminates "chatter" that can come with an AC coil.

 

[crazycanuck]

here,s where im at now--shore power no problem.,disconnect shore power and fire up genny,genny runs great but no 115v to coach /now push manually in converter the relay to the genny side and bingo full power to the coach ,release my stick holding switch on genny side of switch and it goes back on shore side of switch genny power dies
is it a faulty relay switch or is there something else not letting it stay engaged

I have an e-mail in to progressive dynamics service dept. they have a discontiued relay in stock which i asked to put on hold pending their reply my e-mail

 

[Water Dog]

here,s where im at now--shore power no problem.,disconnect shore power and fire up genny,genny runs great but no 115v to coach /now push manually in converter the relay to the genny side and bingo full power to the coach ,release my stick holding switch on genny side of switch and it goes back on shore side of switch genny power dies
is it a faulty relay switch or is there something else not letting it stay engaged

I have an e-mail in to progressive dynamics service dept. they have a discontiued relay in stock which i asked to put on hold pending their reply my e-mail

Can you take a picture of the auto transfer switch and surrounding components and post them. It might help us see exactly what you have.

 

[crazycanuck]

enclosed two photos and fact sheet

 

[crazycanuck]

sorry photo missed to large of file

 

[Water Dog]

Those sheets tell you exactly how to troubleshoot your problem. You need to determine if you have 115 volts DC going to the coil on that transfer switch when the generator is running. Because there is a time delay on it, you won't see voltage there immediately but should definitely see voltae after a minute. If you determine that you do have voltage to the coil terminal, then you need to replace the transefer switch (these are a very comon item and are readily available). If you don't have dc voltage to the coil, then the problem is either the time delay or rectifier. Follow the steps on the trouble shooting guide to determine which one.

 

[George Lewis]

Auto Transfer Switch...when I fire up my Onan 4K, it runs 15-20 seconds and clicks and the 110v light on the microwave turns on.  I then have power in the unit.  One time in three, the "click" does not happen.  I shut off the gen and restart it in 30 seconds or so and the "click" happens and I have power.

I guess my Auto Transfer Swith is going out.  Where is it located and what does it look like?  Could I change it out myself, not being too handy...my rv dealer is swamped with work.  Thanks for any help. 

1999 Fleetwood Bounder, 34J, Ford V10, 4K Onan.

 

[Water Dog]

Auto Transfer Switch...when I fire up my Onan 4K, it runs 15-20 seconds and clicks and the 110v light on the microwave turns on.  I then have power in the unit.  One time in three, the "click" does not happen.  I shut off the gen and restart it in 30 seconds or so and the "click" happens and I have power.

I guess my Auto Transfer Swith is going out.  Where is it located and what does it look like?  Could I change it out myself, not being too handy...my rv dealer is swamped with work.  Thanks for any help. 

1999 Fleetwood Bounder, 34J, Ford V10, 4K Onan.

George, our 2000 Bounder 32H has the circuit breaker panel in the overhead cabinet that abuts the bathroom wall and is over the dinette. I've had the breaker panel pulled out once, and I think the transfer switch is behind it, but I'm not 100% sure. I've got the electrical schematics for ours and it shows both generator line and shore power line going to the back of that panel, but does not indicate the ATS.

 

[George Lewis]

I have that same panel in that same area...I will look....thanks

 

[Just Lou]

I have that same panel in that same area...I will look....thanks

As Dennis stated, your ATS is located on the backside of the main breaker panel. 

 

[thomasamski]

They had to go through the dresser drawers to get to the switch on my Southwind.