Why won't my generator turn over?

[lugnutt]

my generator will not turn over it has full battery and half tank of petrol .the round silver thing which i think is the solindoid makes a humming noise and gets warm but no atempt to turn it over..any idears ?

 

[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: Hit it with a Hammer? Or try turning the starter motor with a spanner. I had a starter Motor burn out on our old Coachmen Classic. :Sad:

 

[lugnutt]

hi john... i would take a hammer to the starter motor if only i could find it:Blush:

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Try shorting the solenoid out by jumping across the terminals to see if the starter motor then turns over. (put a screwdriver blade across but dont touch anything else apart from terminals)

Could be dirty contacts inside it or it is stuck (hammer)

Regards

 

[johnsandywhite]

hi john... i would take a hammer to the starter motor if only i could find it:Blush:

:Cool: Try looking right at the back and towards the bottom. That's if the covers do not completely obscure the view.

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[lugnutt]

thanks guys..will try when it stops raining:thumb:

 

[madbluemad]

Check the oil in the genny. Mine is a Generac and without Oil it will not run.

Even says so in the manual.

Is your vehicle engine running when you try to turn the genny over?, if not try it.

There is a rest button on the genny, if its popped, push it back in to reset.

Jim

 

[johnsandywhite]

Check the oil in the genny. Mine is a Generac and without Oil it will not run.

No. But it WOULD turn over.

 

[lugnutt]

no its not the oil level...it was running fine then i deciderd to put new plugs oil and filter, turnd it over but would not fire up kept trying and nothing since

 

[lugnutt]

Jim if you have a manual can you look to see were the starter is for me...ta:thumb:

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[American Dream]

no its not the oil level...it was running fine then i deciderd to put new plugs oil and filter, turnd it over but would not fire up kept trying and nothing since

You have got sparks at the plugs I presume and the leads were marked and replaced in the same order?:thumb:I assume the plugs that went in were the same length.Am I right in thinking the engine still turned over after they were replaced?

They are right there is an oil level sensor that cuts the genny if the level drops too low.

Personally, I would start by removing the plugs after marking the leads, and see it if turns over then.

Steve.

 

[lugnutt]

steve oil level is ok with new oil,yes it turned over after new plugs but never fired,twin cilinder engine one plug lead eatch side so can not get them wrong.its is persisting down at moment will try tomorow going to clean all leads take plugs out and try it to see if it turns over if not its the hammer jobie 2lb lump be ok?

 

[American Dream]

Crikey Dave...... Don't hit it that hard....

Hope you get it sorted.Keep us posted.:thumb:

Steve.

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Right!

IF the starter motor turns the engine over.............

IF you have a spark on a plug...............

Pour a spoonfull or so of petrol on the airfilter or squirt some easy start into the air intake. (Dont have the choke on)

It should then start (never fails)

 

[Larrynwin]

I replaced onan starter motor on my last rv, not cheap, fix it.

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[johnsandywhite]

I'm getting confused. Originally:-

It would NOT turn over?
Now it would seem it DOES turn over.

As John says. A separate fuel supply to the carb. If it starts?

Then there is either NOT enough fuel in the tank (believe me, several others had this problem)

OR

The fuel line is split. Try blowing on the pipe to see if it bubbles in the tank?

If it does? Try sucking fuel from the tank. Be careful. It doesn't taste very nice.

If fuel at the pipe?

Then get back to us and we will offer many more ideas to sort it out.


One other thing. Does fuel spurt out of the pipe when it is disconnected and you try to start.

 

[lugnutt]

john..it is not turning over at the moment. it did turn over after new plugs fiterd but never fired up that was about a month ago sorry if i confused you

 

[pappajohn]

where does the genny starter motor get power from?

if the supply battery is getting flat the high amps needed by the starter will remove power to the ignition coils causing a lack of sparks.

 

[lugnutt]

hi..it gets power from the house batteries they are fully charged:thumb:

 

[Thepips]

It sounds as though there are two problems to address.
1. The gennie was turning over but wouldn't start. Now it won't turn over at all.
2. Gennie not starting.
First of all we need to figure out why the gennie isn't turning over. You said you kept trying to start it. Did it gradually slow down while cranking or was it a sudden failure to turn over? If it's the latter you could have burnt out the master fuse if it has one. You could have burnt out the starter motor or possibly the relay. I don't think it's relay as you can hear it clicking. Putting a multimeter across the large terminals to measure the voltage while someone operates the switch would eliminate those. No voltage possibly the fuse, possibly the relay. Full voltage would prove the relay is ok and point to the starter motor. Low voltage would indicate a battery problem.

Hope it helps

Regards
Doug

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[lugnutt]

hi Doug ..yes it was turning over and then sudden failure thanks for the info with a meter will try in morn. i just wish there was some way to turn it manualy to elimanate jamed starter or siezed up engine. madbluemad has a manual so maybe he can help i tryed to d/load one but could not find my modle

 

[Tony Santara]

Dave
Check all the wires to the solenoid and the starter motor make sure they are not loose or corroded ... if the solenoid is getting warm it's getting power... a jammed starter often makes a clicking sound

 

[lugnutt]

hi Tony the problem is i can not see the starter motor has been surgesterd its at the back near bottom.need it for france in two weeks,if all else fails i have a portable one it is a 950 if i plug it into my yellow box would this power the microwave?

 

[American Dream]

hi Tony the problem is i can not see the starter motor has been surgesterd its at the back near bottom.need it for france in two weeks,if all else fails i have a portable one it is a 950 if i plug it into my yellow box would this power the microwave?

You would need to look at the microwave power consumption Dave.

Remember this is RUNNING rating and startup is a lot higher.

My guess therefore would be no.

Don't give up yet.

Hopefully if it was running ok before the oil/plug change, it will again.

Just needs some structured diagnostics to get you there.:thumb:

 

[johnsandywhite]

i have a portable one it is a 950 if i plug it into my yellow box would this power the microwave?

When we were touring/Wildcamping. We had a 900W genny that we used instead of the onboard 6.5KW. We used to run Sat/TV, charge the batteries via the Truecharge 40 and also boil a 600W kettle at the same time. Very rarely tripped. However. I very much doubt it would be able to run a Microwave. Unless it was a low powered and soft start one.

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[American Dream]

I also run a 950 portable and it does not run a 700 watt microwave.It runs a portable tv, freeview box and kettle though.:thumb:

 

[lugnutt]

update....cleaned all contacts still no joy whent to dave evans motorhomes booked in for monday morning:thumb:

 

[Road Runner]

Rip the genny out giving you more space and buy a 2.6 kw kipor or larger and it will do all you require with half the fuel

Hardly ever fire up my 6 kw on board jobbie

 

[superk]

hi..it gets power from the house batteries they are fully charged:thumb:

Are you sure about this - most RV gennys run from the engine battery on the basis that if you run down your leisure batteries you've still got power to start the genny and charge everything up. Try what someone suggested - run the engine then try to start the genny.

Are you trying to start from a switch in the cab or on the genny? I had a genny that occasionally wouldn't start from the cab but would always start from the switch on the genny itself.


Keith

 

[lugnutt]

it has two switches one on genny one inside liveing area

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