Onan 10K Won't Stay Running

[Doc Mark]

Got a jump on the monthly maint. stuff today and fired up the genset for its exercise. Shore power turned off, genset under load. And lo & behold the genny quits after about a minute.

Hmmm - this is not good. Fire it off again, let it idle for a minute or 2, turn on load, and it dies again.

Anybody have any ideas about where I should start looking for the problem?

Mark

[Perry White]

When it quits, look at the dash gen start button and see how many times it blinks. It's a code that tells you what could be wrong. Better hope it didn't throw the belts on the back. You should have a manual on board. If not go to Cummins Onan site and download one.


Here's for a 12.5KW but I believe they are the same. I have the parts manual too but it is 4.4MB and can't upload it to the forum.

[GaryKD]

Hi Doc Mark,
This happens to me every once and a while. By the third start, the generator runs as advertised. It happens rarely, but does happen. At this time it is not a large enough irritant for me to investigate any further.

It sounds like you are doing everything correctly. Consider putting a small load on the generator and then gradually working up to the normal load.

[Doc Mark]

I went outside & removed the service panel after I posted and found the oil filter nearly completely unscrewed, with a nice pool of oil on the ground.

Ordered a new filter and when it arrives I will see if it was low oil pressure that kept switching it off. Didn't see any fault codes but didn't know to look for them so may have missed it.

Mark

[Doc Mark]

OK - filter came in - Kubota filter - and I installed it and proceeded to fill the oil. 4 Quarts later (not filling the filter) and it registered on the dipstick. Sigh . .

Just because gen set was serviced in April, doesn't mean . . . . . Well, you get the idea. Preventive Maint. includes checking the oil level, dummy!

Mark