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Onan Emerald plus 4000 help needed


acker1

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Genny is an '99 Onan Emerald plus 4000, model# 4bgefa26100p, Serial#: c990879371

Helping a friend with his 5th wheel. AC (single AC--no ductwork) works great on 30 amp shore power. When on 30 amp genny the fan works but not AC. It tries to kick on and then stops. Transfer switch stays connected. Checked with volt meter. Not sure what the next step is since we know it runs. Genny had been down for about a year, had it fixed and mechanic says it is fine and he had AC running off genny when he had it.

 

Thanks

DICK

2010 Phaeton QTH
2013 GMC Sierra 4X4
Vietnam Vet--1st Cav '65, Recon,2/7
Ia Drang Valley survivor
Elks<br http://www.4ezdaz.com
Same site--new URL

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You might try tracking down the lead wires from the gen. and check the connections all the way to the receptacle where the shore power plugs back into.

Does gen. have two breaker switches on it or one? 30 and 20 amp or just 30? also you might check that the rpm's are set right i had low rpm once and my gen would just shut off over and over until set the rpm's up to a higher level, now my voltage is in range and gen runs as long as i want it to, and load voltage is up also, i have my 5000 hooked up to both 30 and 20 amp circuits i can run both a/c's at once off the gen. if your load can't keep up, the ac won't kick on, check it out. look for the specs and set rpm's accordingly and check the voltage drop/load when the A/C is starting up good luck

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Monitor the voltage out of the generator as you start the a/c unit to see if it falls off significantly. Do you hear the generator slow when you try to get the compressor to run? Onan controls voltage during loading by sensing the frequency, which is a function of generator speed. The control circuits sense the frequency drop and open the throttle to correct that and so bring both frequency and voltage back to what they should be. Normally they will run about 62 Hz at idle and about 58 Hz at full load with voltage varying by around 5V from no load to full load.

 

When the compressor "tries to kick in" do you mean that you hear it attempt to start and the compressor then stops, or does the Onan stop running?

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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When you say "...................It tries to kick on and then stops" I take it the AC "compressor" isn't engaging but the genset continues to run right???? When that happens (you turn switch from fan only to cool) do you hear the Genset sound louder/harder and/or increase RPM (sort of grunts and groans and gets louder) ??? I suspect the voltage out of the genset is close to normal when running the relatively low current fan, but when the initial high current surge necessary to start the compressor is called for the genset obviously fails to deliver and isn't maintaining adequate voltage and/or frequency/RPM. You might try checking the throttle linkage and springs from the governor to the carb to insure all is in place and free and to open the carbs throttle to max. I usually exercise all that and maybe spray a light lube. The operators manual would contain instructions for adjusting the governor, linkage and RPM etc. If the genset cant maintain RPM and voltage under load and its not just an obvious spring or linkage or governor problem its hard for me to help much over the net. There's always a chance of a loose burned resistive wiring connection in the circuit from gensets output to the AC so you might look into junction boxes and wire nuts etc., but I fear its more serious and a genset problem.

 

John T

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Thanks to all and you guys gave me stuff to check tomorrow. I feel it is a gen problem even though the tech (not Onan) says it's running OK. I feel it's too slow.

 

KIRK--Remember BobEbs (He was the deaf guy) from the first RVAMERICA Rally in 2000 down in Tx. That's the guy I'm trying to help.

 

DICK

 

On edit: When AC tries to kick in, it kicks right back out and gen is still running.

 

Gen has one 30amp breaker.

 

He doesn't have an Operators Manual.

2010 Phaeton QTH
2013 GMC Sierra 4X4
Vietnam Vet--1st Cav '65, Recon,2/7
Ia Drang Valley survivor
Elks<br http://www.4ezdaz.com
Same site--new URL

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Today I found my Kill A Watt meter and it shows Gen running 80.1 HZ. The AC did run for me one time for about 10 minutes. When it was running meter showed 78/79 HZ. HZ being too high--could that cause the problem?

 

DICK

2010 Phaeton QTH
2013 GMC Sierra 4X4
Vietnam Vet--1st Cav '65, Recon,2/7
Ia Drang Valley survivor
Elks<br http://www.4ezdaz.com
Same site--new URL

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