Onan 5000 Fuel Problem?

[Jet mech]

I have a 95 Fleetwood Bounder with a Onan 5000. About a year ago, I had a break down while on the way to Arizona and had to change the RV Fuel pump. Ever since, I cannot get fuel to the generator. The RV has over 1/2 Tank of gas, Oil level on Generator is full. The Generator will crank but fails to start. Generator will run if remote fuel tank is installed. Where is the fuel pump? Can it be tested with a 12 volt battery? Tried putting a vacuum on the fuel line to try and get fuel to the generator with no luck. Tried to Prime the fuel line with a syringe. No luck. Next I will take an air compressor out and try and blow out the line. Any Suggestions?

[Jet mech]

I have a 95 Fleetwood Bounder with a Onan 5000. About a year ago, I had a break down while on the way to Arizona and had to change the RV Fuel pump. Ever since, I cannot get fuel to the generator. The RV has over 1/2 Tank of gas, Oil level on Generator is full. The Generator will crank but fails to start. Generator will run if remote fuel tank is installed. Where is the fuel pump? Can it be tested with a 12 volt battery? Tried putting a vacuum on the fuel line to try and get fuel to the generator with no luck. Tried to Prime the fuel line with a syringe. No luck. Next I will take an air compressor out and try and blow out the line. Any Suggestions?

[Rick Long]

This is a common problem. There is a very good possibility that your fuel line from the tank to the generator is rotting away from the inside from the effects of ethanol in the gas. You'll need to drop the gas tank to replace the line.. Of course empty the tank first.

[BobFL]

Jet Mech---Take a look at this site. You'll find you are not alone.

http://www.bounder.org/

[projazz]

I have a 96 Fleetwood Bounder with an Onan Marquis 5000 Generator. I have had various problems with the generator. All problems are now solved and the generator is running great. The last problem began last year while on a trip. The generator was hard starting, would run for a short time and quit. After restarting the same problem would occur. We called a mobile mechanic for help at campsite. He diagnosed carburetor problem. He removed carburetor, cleaned it and it ran for 1 hour before quitting. I finally got the problem solved by my local auto mechanic. He is the type of guy who won't quit until he solves a problem. He too, first removed the carburetor and cleaned jets and fuel bowl. This didn't work but we both noticed that the stream of fuel from fuel line was very weak. He then disconnected the fuel hose from the fuel pump and the stream from the fuel tank was still weak. He inspected the fuel line and found it leaking near the tank area. This became a major job. In order to replace fuel line the rear hydraulic levelers have to be removed and the tank must be lowered. There is not enough room to get to the tank fitting unless this is done. Well, the line was replaced and we attempted to start the generator and still had the same problem. At that point the mechanic crawled under the vehicle and traced the line from the tank forward. When he got to driver’s side rear dual wheels he found that a retaining bracket had put a kink in the fuel line choking off almost all gas flow from tank to generator. This had occurred over a long period of time due to shifting of the frame. He carefully bent back the line and the fuel now runs the way it should. The generator is working perfectly.

I hope this info will help someone else that is about to give up on their generator. I recently called Fleetwood and talked to very helpful individual by the name of Keith. He said that he would pass the info on and also make this knowledge available to customers with similar problems.

[RV Wizard]

projazz, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. Thank you for describing the problem and fix for your generator. The fuel line from the tank to generator problems are more common than should be for sure. Glad to hear that you have solved the problem on yours. Good luck and keep us posted.

[f4pilot]

My Onan 5000 generator will start and quit after 30-40 seconds. Local RV shops all said the generator HAD to be replaced, at a cost of $260 plus labor. Turns out the Onan 5000 carb is called "non-rebuildable" which seems like really inferior design to me. Called my local RV repair guy who removed the brass fitting( with an electrical lead) on the bottom of the carb and discovered the plunger was sticking due to the low quality gas we have here in California. Evidently this plunger both allows gas into the fuel bowl and shuts off the gas to the fuel bowl when the Onan is shut down. He cleaned the plunger assembly with brake cleaner fluid (he says it dissolves EVERYTHING bad), put it back on the carb and my Onan runs GREAT now.