Gen Fuel Line

[wildtoad]

The gen is not getting fuel (it was) from the tank. I have not fully diagnosed why, but thought I'd ask if there is any reason not to simply tie into the main fuel line from the tank to the engine other than of course opening up the possibility of the gen draining the tank? Should I still be able to run both the engine and gen at the same time? I have checked the fuel level and it is at least 3/4 full. I did blow through the fuel line and it's not plugged (have not gone the other way yet). The fuel line is metal except for a small piece of rubber that connects to the fuel pump. Thanks for any advice.

Tom

[bdpreece]

As long as you are absolutly certain you have over 1/4 th of a tank of fuel and you have verified that the line is not plugged then next you need to make sure the fuel pump is working. You did not specify the make or model of generator you have so this is about as generic as it gets. I would suspect that the fuel pump is electronic so you could check for voltage if no voltage there is a control board that is probably bad.

[wildtoad]

Thanks for the post and just as soon as I posted my question/issue I started investigating. First the Onan manual clearly states not to do what I was asking about splicing into the main tank so I went back to plan A which was to find the problem.

It's a Onan 4.0 BGE

I took the line from the input side of the pump, made sure that it was not blocked and that gas would/could get to the pump. Unhooked the output side of the pump and pressed the start switch, an no flow. So, took off the pump and found another 12v source and tried the pump. It seemed to work but not has smoothly as I expected. Kind of a clicking sound. So I hooked it all back up making sure I had a good ground and then just for kicks I forced gas through the pump but drawing gas from the output side of the pump. Hooked everything back up pressed the start button and voila the darn thing started and ran for about 10 minutes so I left it running to come in here to claim victory.

Well no sooner had I started to type away when I noticed it was quite silent ;-(.

I suspect that since the gen is lower than the top of the tank that it will run until there is no more gas in the line then die.

So my guess is the pump.

Thoughts ?

[bdpreece]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildtoad SNIP So my guess is the pump. Thoughts ?

Or the control board! Get it running like you did before then put a meter on the leads to the pump and see if it keeps the 12 volts with no jumper wires. Or just run a jumper wire and leave it on and see if it will keep running.

[Rick Long]

You didn't list what year and model RV you have...
If it's 10 years old or older.. you may have a crack in the short rubber line going into the tank... very common problem to either have a split and it won't suck gas or plugged from deteriorating rubber hose that was not designed for the current Ethanol mix in our fuel.

[wildtoad]

It is a 1988 Winnebago Superchief and I can suck on the line going into the pump and get plenty of gas.

[dvmweb]

We had 2003 Coachmen Leprechaun 30 foot with an Onan 4Kw generator. Similar problem, would run for awhile and then shut down, ran out of gas. The problem was there was small leak in the fuel line to the genny fuel pump that got steadily worse. For instance first the genny would stop running while underway, then eventually it would not run at all. It was from abrasion on the edge of the gas tank. Replaced the line and problem solved.

With new motorhome with a Generac 5.5 KW generator, the carburetor was all gummed up and had to be fixed, needle valve, filters, etc. Runs great now.

[wildtoad]

So lets close this out .... Ordered a new fuel pump on eBay. Just a generic low volume fuel pump for about $27. Also went to Wal-mart and picked up a cheapo (albeit Fram) fuel filter as there wasn't one. Made sure there was fuel from the tank through the filter through the pump to the carb and pressed start. Still running some 20 minutes later. Life is good again .... Thanks for all the responses ....