Cummins 10k Generator issues and repair saga

[Longweekends]

Originally Posted by Longweekends

My gen as described in the title stopped working while on a recent trip to Florida. It has 3660 hours on it and ran fine the entire trip from Virginia to Orlando. On the next day when preparing to travel to Sarasota, it started and then immediately shutdown after about 15-20 seconds. I started it again and the pattern repeated itself. Full tank of fuel so no issues there. Drove the 2 hour trip without the gen running which made for a hot ride in the middle of the day. Determined not to let such a small thing detract from my 2 week vacation. Determined that code 13 was the issue. Mobile RV repair came and checked code , changed fuel filter, air filter checked belts, oil level and after about 3 hours gave up saying it had to be on the electric side and that was too much to do at the park.
Back in Va and now coach is at Cummins dealer and here is where it gets interesting. Initial diagnosis by tech is computer board is bad. Sounds good to me but then service lead says we better check brush assembly because that could also be a problem. Tech checks the brushes and finds some sign of wear and says that needs replacing also. 2 days later the brush assembly is installed and I’m informed that the starter failed now and this is something that sometimes happens.

Does this sound fishy to others or is this feasible? I’ll provide actual dealer name after this saga ends. Thanks for all feedback

Here is the results of my situation. Thanks to everyone who gave feedback. I ended up needing to replace the brush assembly and the starter. Originally it was thought that the computer board would also need replacing. They didn’t charge labor for replacing the starter because I gave the service manager and his manager an earful about the coincidence of the failure. Still very hard to believe but what can I do. They showed me the failed assembly and starter and explained how they diagnosed that the starter solenoid had gone bad. I have the part since there was no core charge. My mechanic may want it for spare parts.
So long story short, I was back on the road with a working generator after 4 days which I guess isn’t bad. Generator doesn’t appear to be as quiet as it was but I didn’t have time or energy to complain. Total bill was $3226.78. A very expensive ordeal but that’s RVing.

[EZRider800]

Originally Posted by Longweekends

Here is the results of my situation. Thanks to everyone who gave feedback. I ended up needing to replace the brush assembly and the starter. Originally it was thought that the computer board would also need replacing. They didn’t charge labor for replacing the starter because I gave the service manager and his manager an earful about the coincidence of the failure. Still very hard to believe but what can I do. They showed me the failed assembly and starter and explained how they diagnosed that the starter solenoid had gone bad. I have the part since there was no core charge. My mechanic may want it for spare parts.
So long story short, I was back on the road with a working generator after 4 days which I guess isn’t bad. Generator doesn’t appear to be as quiet as it was but I didn’t have time or energy to complain. Total bill was $3226.78. A very expensive ordeal but that’s RVing.

You didn't have to pay for labor on the starter and it turns out you didn't need a computer board but your bill was $3226????!!!!!

What cost so much???

[Longweekends]

Originally Posted by EZRider800

You didn't have to pay for labor on the starter and it turns out you didn't need a computer board but your bill was $3226????!!!!!

What cost so much???

Labor and parts for brush assembly. I don’t have the bill in front of me but I think labor was $135 per hour. The brush assembly was about 1k itself.

[BigLar368]

If you think about things how many big trucks other than RV's are privately owned and brought to a dealer for repair? Most repairs they make are to company owned vehicles. The driver of the truck, who is probably just any employee, brings in the truck and says what's wrong with it. Cummins comes back and says what the problem is. Driver says fix it and does not ask questions cause it's not his money. Guy who runs company does not have time to haggle with service manager about possible unnecessary repairs. He just knows that the truck in not in service making money. This is probably the base of most Cummins repair facility customers. That's probably why Cummins does not like to repair RV's.

[Mr.Mark]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

That's very few hours on a diesel generator. Some have gone 25,000 hrs with just normal maintenance.

I agree with Mr. D, that is not very many hours for a diesel generator.

I think anything major happening would be closer to the 25,000 hr. mark as said above.

A couple of years ago I was at a 'know your Prevost' seminar parked next to guy that had a 25 yr. old coach and had 8,000 hrs on his generator. He said all that has been done is exercise and regular maintenance.

I exercise mine at least monthly under load. I know things can happen but 3,600 hours for a brush seems early.

Safe travels,
Mark

[philnail]

I have the 12.5 k generator. Every 2 months mine fails to run. Every time I take off the side cover remove 3 #10 bolts that holds the water bottle. Then I pull the wire harness plug from the brain then put it back on

That fixes it for 2 months. I have 2000 hours in my generator