Generac Gardian Quietpact 65G

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Purple Frog

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2009
Posts
23
Location
Havana Florida
Here we go... a bit of a story...

In times we don't use the Gulfstream 38  GM gas burner  I always start the RV and genset every 3 weeks.  Not a big deal, it is parked and plugged in to my shop.

For months... years (?) the Generac 65G has been a PIA to get started.
Rebuilt carb.
New plugs.
Good fuel pressure.
Valves adjusted.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.

OBTW i have been a mechanic for 50 some years.

Sometimes a little squirt of starter fluid will do the trick.  But, usually it does a lot of popping and sputtering.
Now, when it does start it runs for hours beautifully.  I change the oil every 100 hours (synthetic).
It starts fairly well if it has run some time in the last 4 hours.
It has about 1100 hours on the meter.

Today it just wouldn't start.  It was heat index like 105 here.  I'm sweating and a bit pissed.
I pop off the carb just to look and see it there is water, crude or whatever.
In the process, a complete dumba$$ (me) bumped the starter switch.
OK... instant flames.  Pretty frekin' exciting!  Hose very close, fire out in 30 seconds or less.
A few wires burned. That's all.  The carb was in the shop on the bench at the time.

So.... I downloaded the manual.  And I'm thinking the starting problem is timing.  Maybe the key in the flywheel is sheared and the timing is off.
Seriously, it is just a Briggs Stratton V2 motor.
To check the flywheel the unit needs to be removed.
What the heck.  I pull the whole unit. Afterall I have wires to repair and the shop has A/C.
If i'm going to work on this chunk, being in the shop is a whole lot better.
The complete unit is now cleaned up and sitting on a bench in the shop.
I'm going to repair the wires, and check flywheel, plugs, etc. while its out.

That is all the background to the story.

Yes... I admit hitting the starter switch was totally dumb.  My first fire as a mechanic in 50 years.

What I am wondering:
1.  How easy is it to substitute another brand gen set into my RV?
2.  It appears Generac doesn't build RV units any more, what are my options?
3.  Are there good repair facilities in Florida, Georgia that will play with a Generac?
4.  Is there a trusted source for Generac parts?

Thanks in advance!
 
Saying that it would fire up when priming would seem that it wasn't being choked enough. Valve adjustment could be good but it wouldn't hurt to do a leak down test. Most sheared keys I have ever seen were from blade impact on vertical shaft lawn equipment but it's possible if not originally torqued properly. I have seen a horizontal shaft engine continuously break flywheels from an incorrect crankshaft taper. Weird things happen. Popping is often lean or it would make you think timing or valve leakage. Hard to believe the valve timing is off. There should be some form of compression relief, often it's  centrifugal off a flyweight on the cam. It can be seen in a very slight opening of the exhaust valve on the compression stroke. When the engine speeds up the flyweight drops the little cam tab that opens the valve. I adjusted a lot of them on older Kohler cast iron engines.

Generac wasn't our favorite to work on. Seems like Honda or yammie would have a heck of a market in motorhome replacements. Do you have a link to the manual?
 
They show a primer switch which as it says should only be needed after sitting for some time. That's understandable but not relevant if you go out the next day and it starts hard. If you can run it while on the bench you might gravity feed it to insure adequate fuel supply after sitting. At the same time you do have good performance at load  so fuel quantity shouldn't be an issue. How did it pick up the crud that you mentioned. Any crud/dirt would usually be associated with blockage and a lean condition yet as you say, it runs fine after starting. Energize the choke solenoid and check for complete plate closure. I'm also wondering how the choke is released. The circuit board is timing it or counting rpm or oil pressure? Key thing being that you said it works with priming
 
There was no crud in the fuel system or carb.
I had pulled the carb to check it, and the carb was on the bench in the shop when I inadvertently set the rest of the genset on fire.  ::) :eek: ;D
Great fuel flow out of the electric fuel pump.
Float in the carb working correct.
When starting it at the unit I can manually over ride or apply the choke butterfly.
Neither seems to make a difference.
I'm thinking i have problem with spark, or that weird cam gizmo that lets the exhaust valves open early at low rpms.

Working down the troubleshooting tree in the manual...
Since I have it out....
I'm going to check the flywheel.
Check magneto output.
Double check the valve settings.
Put new plugs in.
I will probably do a leak down test.

Right now, first thing, I have to rebuild a wiring harness.  :-[

Then i plan to get it running on the shop floor, before i reinstall.
 
Where we stand today.

I have repaired all the toasted wiring harness.
I had to half way disassemble the enclosure in order to get the shroud off the top of the engine.  :(
I had to get the shroud off in order to replace the oil breather tube that had burned.

OBTW in the rear of the case is a large passageway to feed air to the generator.  At the factory is was lined in places with 2" thick foam rubber (I'm guessing for sound deadening purposes).  That foam was completely deteriorated and falling apart.  One piece was sitting on top of the generator.

But, back to the breather tube.  One problem I am having is that after hours on the interweb I can not find any source for parts to this engine.
This GTX-760 has the single barrel carb.  The only parts I can find are for the two barrel carb version.

So... I'm back on the forum asking does anyone know of a parts source for Generac QP-65G?  I need engine parts not generator parts.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Is this it?
http://getrvparts.com/onan-cummins-123-1917-rv-generator-breather-tube/
 
Going around my ankle to get to my elbow....
In a convoluted series of searches i came up with a parts supplier:

https://www.m-and-d.com/M&D Mower and Appliance in Oakwood Village Ohio

They had an extensive parts list of all Generac parts.  And listed the ones I need.

I placed an order online.  We'll see how it goes.

To find a supplier I ended up searching using the actual Generac part number, not the genset part number, nor genset model name.  That worked.
 
QZ;    Great effort!    :))

But my genset is a Generac, not Onan-Cummins.
Turns out Generac seems to have made their own engines, or at least designed them proprietary. (even if B-S might have built them ?)
Their parts are unique.  Not always inter-changable with other V twin engines.    :-\

Turns out a lot of Genarac 760 and 990 V twins were installed on a certain brand zero-turn lawn mower(Dixie Chopper), but with a two barrel carb.  And that engine is not inter-changable with the old genset engine.  Thus a lot of confusion when searching for Generac engine parts.

 
Lol. Oops. I put in that model but had Onan on my mind
 
I believe this is the carb your generator takes.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Generac-090881A-Guardian-CMV6-B20-220RV-Generator-Carburetor/231186782790?hash=item35d3ce5a46%3Ag%3AZzkAAOSwH9dZizou&_pgn=3&_sacat=0&_nkw=generac+rv++generator++&_from=R40&rt=nc&LH_TitleDesc=0%7C0

You might want to clean up the magnets on the flywheel and set the coil packs. I've never had any problems starting any of my generac generators. If they set more than a few days however they do need to be primed, as the fuel does evaporate from the carb. Same thing for onans. I have a generac 6600 setup for an emergency generator and all I do is push the prime switch till the carb get full and hit the start button. Fires right up every time. You might check the choke setting, to make sure it is closing.
 
I know all you sportsfans have been sitting on the edge of your driver's seats waiting for some news...  ;D

First off... brief storyline... Charlie 5320 was so correct.  :):))

I have been back-ordered on the parts I need, but i decided to not let that stop me.
I decided I needed to go ahead and bench test it.
That would tell me if it was choke, carb, spark or what...
So... I cut out my own gaskets out of gasket paper and assembled the intake, etc.
Then tied it to a battery and fuel supply.
It acted just like it did in the motorhome... cranks, no start.
I pulled the plugs and they were wet.
Clamped plugs to intake manifold and cranked.  Very weak to no spark.
Put in another set of ne plugs.  Same thing.  Very weak to no spark.
So I pulled off the magnetos and sanded their surfaces, and sanded the magnet on the flywheel.
Then set the magnetos to .015" gap.
Inserted plugs.
Hit the starter button and the engine fired immediately and purred smooth.    8) :eek:

So Charlie 5320 hit the jackpot with his recommendation.  :)

Now, here is the thing I'm thinking.  The only way to tune magnetos is to pull the unit out of the RV and disassemble a lot of stuff to get to them.  Holy moly.

That said, does anyone in RVForumland have recommendations for preventing the problem in the first place?????

 

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Purple Frog said:
I know all you sportsfans have been sitting on the edge of your driver's seats waiting for some news...  ;D

First off... brief storyline... Charlie 5320 was so correct.  :):))

I have been back-ordered on the parts I need, but i decided to not let that stop me.
I decided I needed to go ahead and bench test it.
That would tell me if it was choke, carb, spark or what...
So... I cut out my own gaskets out of gasket paper and assembled the intake, etc.
Then tied it to a battery and fuel supply.
It acted just like it did in the motorhome... cranks, no start.
I pulled the plugs and they were wet.
Clamped plugs to intake manifold and cranked.  Very weak to no spark.
Put in another set of ne plugs.  Same thing.  Very weak to no spark.
So I pulled off the magnetos and sanded their surfaces, and sanded the magnet on the flywheel.
Then set the magnetos to .015" gap.
Inserted plugs.
Hit the starter button and the engine fired immediately and purred smooth.    8) :eek:

So Charlie 5320 hit the jackpot with his recommendation.  :)

Now, here is the thing I'm thinking.  The only way to tune magnetos is to pull the unit out of the RV and disassemble a lot of stuff to get to them.  Holy moly.

That said, does anyone in RVForumland have recommendations for preventing the problem in the first place?????

Not something that needs does a lot. I've worked on one onan that it needed to be done, and one 4000 onan that lost a magnet out of the flywheel. We put it back in with some JB weld and staked it, still working to this day.
 
Purple Frog said:
I know all you sportsfans have been sitting on the edge of your driver's seats waiting for some news...  ;D

First off... brief storyline...
Charlie 5320 was so correct.  :):))

I have been back-ordered on the parts I need, but i decided to not let that stop me.
I decided I needed to go ahead and bench test it.
That would tell me if it was choke, carb, spark or what...
So... I cut out my own gaskets out of gasket paper and assembled the intake, etc.
Then tied it to a battery and fuel supply.
It acted just like it did in the motorhome... cranks, no start.
I pulled the plugs and they were wet.
Clamped plugs to intake manifold and cranked.  Very weak to no spark.
Put in another set of ne plugs.  Same thing.  Very weak to no spark.
So I pulled off the magnetos and sanded their surfaces, and sanded the magnet on the flywheel.
Then set the magnetos to .015" gap.
Inserted plugs.
Hit the starter button and the engine fired immediately and purred smooth.    8) :eek:

So Charlie 5320 hit the jackpot with his recommendation.  :)

Now, here is the thing I'm thinking.  The only way to tune magnetos is to pull the unit out of the RV and disassemble a lot of stuff to get to them.  Holy moly.

That said, does anyone in RVForumland have recommendations for preventing the problem in the first place? ??? ?


Thank you so much for reporting back and letting us know what the solution was. Sadly, many never do that, so we lose that knowledge here in the Forum.
 
Yes,  I did this write-up so that somebody out there with a problem will find this with a simple Google search.
When I was searching I found so few references to the Generac gen-sets that I wanted to put something out there that might help.
Now from this thread they can find manuals and somebody that sells parts; two big hurdles.

I was so close to pulling the trigger on a $5,500 Onan to replace the Generac.  Instead I spent less than $50 for all the repairs.

These forums can be so valuable if folks come back on after the solution and detail it for others.
On another forum I discovered one member that had all the right answers for a machine that the manufacturer had closed down, but he would never post the answers on a public forum.  Instead he would PM the requestor and ask that the answer not be published.  Turns out he was running a little business of selling the answers.  :mad:
 

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