Onan Generator 5000K Gold

[SWharton]

We are boondocking for the first time(for more than one day) and don't understand what our generator is doing. We don't know if we have it set up wrong or if it is the generator itself. The generator runs fine on manual. We don't know the battery voltage when we stop manual.  When we have it set on Auto the generator cycles. No AC. It will start automatically, run for 10 minutes, stop, start up again maybe 5-10 minutes later, run for a while then stop. The most the battery charges is 12.6v which should be full but we think it is a false reading. The reason we think this is that when we came into the cg after driving the batteries lasted all night, now that we are on generator the batteries no long last all night.

Can anyone explain this behavior and how to correct it?

Also, how long does it take the generator to charge the batteries when on manual?

Thanks as usual................

 

[Bobi and Dick McKee]

On our past life on sail boats if the inverter was on and the generator was on auto the inverter would draw down the batteries and gen would start, bring up the voltage and shut down.  Turned off the inverter and the problem went away.

[SWharton]

Thanks for the input but we need to have the inverter on for our residential refrigerator.

We have been taking the defaults for auto and are now trying to figure out what the defaults are. We think they may be set to low.

We just found the screens. The defaults seem to be fine. The Stop voltage is 14.4, but we know it is stopping around 12.6.

We have called Onan and are waiting for a call back. For now we are running on manual.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Would you happen to own a DRV fifth wheel?

[SWharton]

No. Winnebago MH. Why???

 

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

DRV has wired a LOT of those generators wrong and they act just like you described yours. Double check with Onan on the wiring colors and where they go on the remote start.

[Kirk W]

Your Onan does not supply any 12V-dc power, only 120V-ac. You get your 12V for the battery and other loads from your converter/inverter. It then supplies whatever it can beyond the loads on the 12V system are using. It may be that the converter side isn't capable of supplying enough to fully charge the batteries.

Does your refrigerator only get power from the inverter, or can it shift to power from the generator or shore power when available? 

[SWharton]

I'll need to check out the refrigerator. I think it only runs through the inverter but not 100% sure. We have discovered everything is fine when we manually run the generator.  The problems start occurring when we have it set to AUTO. We have checked the settings and all appear OK. I have not heard back from Cummins yet which is unusual, past contacts with them have been very prompt in response. 

Our current solution is to run the generator on manual in the evening for a couple of hours and that sees us through the night.

 

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, SWharton said:

Our current solution is to run the generator on manual in the evening for a couple of hours and that sees us through the night.

Flexibility and creative solutions are the key to successful RV living!  Just in case you do not have a copy, this link is to an electronic copy of the Onan RV Generator Handbook.

[SWharton]

Thanks, I have several different Onan  manuals, all semi-useless for solving this problem.

[SWharton]

Inching our way to a solution. Turned of inverter last night and the voltage this AM is OK, not great but OK. Refrig temp is dicey. See how it goes today, may need to get an ice chest or 2 as a temporary fix.

[Kirk W]

Might the problem be that your inverter is supplying more than just the refrigerator? Could you put in a dedicated inverter to supply only the refrigerator and so not need the present inverter?

[SWharton]

Thanks Kirk. We are currently re-thinking boondocking with a residential refrigerator. We had originally thought with the motor home and a generator we would be able to easily boondock but that is proving not true. As much as we love the residential refrigerator wish we had the basic RV refrigerator back. We are even wondering why they put a generator in a MH.

We still aren't sure if all the problems are due to our starting with bad batteries or not. So many variables. For now we are going back to commercial campgrounds and giving up on boondocking with a lot of regrets.

[Chad Heiser]

Depending on the generator alone while boondocking for short periods might be fine, but it can get expensive keeping that generator fueled.  I much prefer a properly sized solar array and battery bank for boondocking.  With the right set up, you can go indefinitely off grid (in other words power will not be your limiting factor), or until you run out of water or fill your waste tanks.

I'm not sure why your generator is acting strangely on Auto, but bad batteries can fool the Auto Gen Start module.  I also don't know which AGS module you have.  If you let us know the specific AGS you have it will help us to help you see if it is set up properly.  If your AGS can work off of State of Charge rather than voltage, it will be much more accurate and should work better.  I only have experience with Magnum's AGS, which has several different settings to choose from (including customized settings).  SOC is always best though, because it is looking at a number of variables from the system rather than just voltage.  A bad battery can give bad voltage readings that will give your AGS and other meters fits when just working with voltage readings.

Don't give up on boondocking just yet.  I have a residential fridge and many other power guzzling appliances in my rig, but I can sit out in the boonies running everything I want (except air conditioners) without ever plugging in or running the generator.  I am self sufficient when it comes to power generation, but I have a large solar array and a large battery bank.  You can easily go a couple of days without needing to run a generator or plug in (even with your residential refrigerator) with a scaled down version of what I have installed in my unit.

Here is a link to a topic I started about my solar/electrical system.  You can also click the "personal mods" link in my signature to see some additional pictures of it.

[SWharton]

I am running behind on all the notes and reading. We were caught in a mandatory evacuation in the Outer Banks and are temporarily in a cg. Tomorrow we will find ourselves a better campground and hopefully I can catch up.

[Kirk W]

13 hours ago, SWharton said:

am running behind on all the notes and reading. We were caught in a mandatory evacuation in the Outer Banks and are temporarily in a cg.

Sorry to hear that, but the best thing to be when a hurricane is threatening is, gone!  Since we are not into the dry camping thing for more than an occasional night or two, I'm not your best source of advice on these things and so defer to others here. I do read about the solar systems and find them interesting, but am very unlikely to ever own one. Pam tells me that we didn't buy these expensive RVs to live the way that we did back when we were camping in a tent! 

[Jack Mayer]

1 hour ago, Kirk Wood said:

I do read about the solar systems and find them interesting, but am very unlikely to ever own one. Pam tells me that we didn't buy these expensive RVs to live the way that we did back when we were camping in a tent! 

That's the thing...Chad and I (and others) don't modify our lifestyle much at all to boondock. The only thing that really changes is that I don't run air conditioning. With our system we live just like on-grid. Literally - I don't change anything other than not using  my air conditioning or my heated floors and fireplace.

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, Jack Mayer said:

The only thing that really changes is that I don't run air conditioning.

And Pam must have her a/c!  As well as not conserving water or......................