Generac GN 480 No Power

[Vanwrestling]

1995 Generac GN 480
History- for a few years sometimes it would not put out electricity until after re-starting 2 to 4x. But then always ran fine and powered everything.
Was running great last week, today it started right up but shut off after 15 sec, restarted and it shut off again after 30 sec, 3rd time same thing. Each time it ran there was power at the microwave clock. The 4th time it stayed on for 3 minutes and there was power. Started the ac which worked perfectly for about 10 minutes when the generator stalled. I killed the ac switch and re-started the generator, it started right up and ran fine but NO POWER. Turned it off and on, still NO POWER. Gave up after 5 tries. Learned about the reverse drill quick fix, but no help. Checked and re-set all breakers, still no power. Help I was just about to sell the rig.

 

[ChasA]

Van, welcome to the forum. Your picture is of a Generac generator not Onan. You should edit your post title. Have you changed the brushes?

 

[Vanwrestling]

Van, welcome to the forum. Your picture is of a Generac generator not Onan. You should edit your post title. Have you changed the brushes?

Holy crap, what an idiot. I've always had onan. Thanks.

 

[Vanwrestling]

Van, welcome to the forum. Your picture is of a Generac generator not Onan. You should edit your post title. Have you changed the brushes?

Well now I've managed to create another post, cant figure out how to delete.
No I have not taken anything apart.
Thanks for your response.

 

[Kirk]

I have never owned or worked on a Generac, only Onan but the Onan generators have low oil sensors. Is it fair to assume that you have already checked to make sure that the oil is at proper level? Too high can cause problems for an Onan also.

 

[Vanwrestling]

I have never owned or worked on a Generac, only Onan but the Onan generators have low oil sensors. Is it fair to assume that you have already checked to make sure that the oil is at proper level? Too high can cause problems for an Onan also.

Yeah, had oil change not very long ago, so I didn't expect that low oil sensor to shut her down. However that does not effect the gen putting out electricity once running. Thanks for your input.

 

[Charlie 5320]

There are all kinds of info on the net about generac generators. Never had one do what you are saying. A generac is completely different than a onan. The carb is probably what's causing the stalling. And a stalling engine with a load is awful hard on regulators. After ya get it so it will run without stalling, and it's not producing power. Take the plastic cover off the front. Towards the top center will be the regulator, and to the top center of that will be a red led light. If it's flickering, shut it down and then restart it holding the start switch for a couple extra seconds to see if it will excite. If you have tried to excite it with a drill, it may be too late for the regulator.

 

[Vanwrestling]

There are all kinds of info on the net about generac generators. Never had one do what you are saying. A generac is completely different than a onan. The carb is probably what's causing the stalling. And a stalling engine with a load is awful hard on regulators. After ya get it so it will run without stalling, and it's not producing power. Take the plastic cover off the front. Towards the top center will be the regulator, and to the top center of that will be a red led light. If it's flickering, shut it down and then restart it holding the start switch for a couple extra seconds to see if it will excite. If you have tried to excite it with a drill, it may be too late for the regulator.

Thanks Charlie, finally had a chance to work on it, in the meantime other folks suggested the AVR was bad, especially after it stalled under full load and then would not put out power upon restart. I had nothing from the red light. So I bought a new AVR, just put it in, still no power no red light. I hate electrical problems. Any ideas would be appreciated. Pete

 

[OvalSports]

Bump, what was the final outcome on this?
I’m helping a friend, we’ll trying to anyway, with his 1997 GN 480. The engine ran rough and would not stop without choking it. A control board swap allowed us to stop it. Changing plugs and magnetos/coils/armatures, and fuel filter got it purring, but still no power generation. Hoping that changing the Voltage Regulator would work, we were unsuccessful, still no red light now power generation.
Also, the engine dies if the battery is disconnected.