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Old 07-09-2012, 06:22 AM   #43
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Mine shut down yesterday after about 4 hours on the way back from Steinhatchee, Florida to Savannah via I-10 and I-95. Pretty flat terrain except a few long hills in Florida, but I was pulling the Toad. Out side temp was @ 96 per the smartphone, but the indicator in the coach message center said 102. Very heavy traffic on I-95 and we had just stopped for a short lunch break at the Georgia welcome center off I-95 (with Generator running). Within about 20 minutes after we got back on the road, it shut off. When I got home, I checked the code, and it showed code 41. Has anyone else seen code 41? It started back up this morning after everything cooled down. I will be calling Thor today as they have still have not responded to the email I sent the "Customer Care Center" nine days ago. So much for Thor's "Customer Care". Hopefully, they will do better when I talk to them.
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Old 07-09-2012, 07:06 AM   #44
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I have realized another problem, while this really has nothing to do with the overheating issue, it is along the same vein though.

We camped for 3 days in the GC with no hook-ups. We could only run our generator for 2 hours in morning and 2 hours in evening, outside air temps were never over 80 so heat was not an issue. We could not run our entire coach off the generator. We could either run the AC or the Microwave, but not both, anytime we tried to run both, generator bogged way down and quit. Even tired switching the refer to gas to see if that would help the load, but it did not.

Beginning to think that this generator is simply not up to the task period. Anyone else had this issue?
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Old 07-09-2012, 08:03 AM   #45
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I have completed my generator door modifications. Hope to test this thing out soon. Here are the pics and steps.

Put a ton of tape over the paint to prevent the jig saw from scratching.



Cutting was straight forward. Drill holes in the corners for the turns. cut.



The door is basically made of foam. Two thin sheets of rigid plastic sandwich the foam.



Used some plastic trim to hide the foam.




Everything is cut and fits pretty good. Painted them black.



Door installed. looks kinda frankenstein with the bolts and washers. I also put down a bead of latex sealant between the door frame and the MH.



Doesn't look too bad.



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Old 07-09-2012, 08:06 AM   #46
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anytime we tried to run both, generator bogged way down and quit.

Beginning to think that this generator is simply not up to the task period. Anyone else had this issue?

I have had this issue with the generator in my boat earlier this year. Turned out to be a badly tuned carb and nasty plugs. Once I leaned out the mixture and changed the plugs on the Kohler generator in the boat, it has worked great all season.
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Old 07-09-2012, 09:20 AM   #47
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Called Thor today, talked to Bill in Tech Support. He insisted that I take the coach into the local dealer (Camping World - Pooler) so they can diagnose it. When I said..."So you guys aren't seeing a lot of these on the ACE" , he said "I'm not saying that but you have to take it in." So I called the local CW and they don't work on the Generator since it is under warranty.....have to take it to the local Cummings dealer. I did mention to the lady at CW that several people seem to be having this problem with the ACE and I think it may be a installation design issue that is causing the unit to overheat. She said she would have her techs make some calls to Thor and see if they can find out anything.
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Old 07-09-2012, 10:41 AM   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DegoRed View Post
I have realized another problem, while this really has nothing to do with the overheating issue, it is along the same vein though.

We camped for 3 days in the GC with no hook-ups. We could only run our generator for 2 hours in morning and 2 hours in evening, outside air temps were never over 80 so heat was not an issue. We could not run our entire coach off the generator. We could either run the AC or the Microwave, but not both, anytime we tried to run both, generator bogged way down and quit. Even tired switching the refer to gas to see if that would help the load, but it did not.

Beginning to think that this generator is simply not up to the task period. Anyone else had this issue?
According to the electrical specs on page 3 of the attached for the ACE 29.1, the sum of the AC, Microwave, Converter, and Frig are about 37.5 amps. The Onan is only good for 33.3 so it is probably too much for it. I have been able to run all three for short periods of time and have not yet seen the Generator cut off while I was doing it. Is the area you were camping much different in altitude from where you normally are and did you have to adjust the setting for it on the Generator? Also, did you check the fault code on the Generator?
Attached Files
File Type: pdf ACE ElectricalDOC080811 (3).pdf (179.7 KB, 111 views)
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Old 07-09-2012, 11:04 AM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sanfordturbo View Post
I have completed my generator door modifications. Hope to test this thing out soon. Here are the pics and steps.

Put a ton of tape over the paint to prevent the jig saw from scratching.

Cutting was straight forward. Drill holes in the corners for the turns. cut.

The door is basically made of foam. Two thin sheets of rigid plastic sandwich the foam.

Used some plastic trim to hide the foam.

Everything is cut and fits pretty good. Painted them black.

Door installed. looks kinda frankenstein with the bolts and washers. I also put down a bead of latex sealant between the door frame and the MH.



Doesn't look too bad.



It looks like you did a really good job on it. You definitely meet the minimum requirements of 40 sq inches of free air inlet size in the Onan installation guide. Let us know how this works out. I was thinking about doing a similar mod, maybe just in the forward third of the door where the air inlet is. That way I wouldn't have to cut out the stripe. I could probably get at least 60 or 70 sq inches out of it.What do you think?
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Old 07-09-2012, 03:03 PM   #50
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I was thinking about doing a similar mod, maybe just in the forward third of the door where the air inlet is. That way I wouldn't have to cut out the stripe. I could probably get at least 60 or 70 sq inches out of it.What do you think?

Thanks!

I also thought about doing the first third, but since there was a "heat blister" on the right side of the door away from the generator vent thingy, I decided to cut out the stripe and the "heat blister" in the door. The right side of the door bulged out from heat, but how it got there and where it was coming from is a mystery to me.
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Old 07-11-2012, 08:43 AM   #51
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Nice job one that door Sanford. Did you call and get them to send you the heat shield?

Tower, yes I did do the altitude adjustment on the carb, but truthfully, I am not convinced that does much. I adjusted that deal up, down, in the middle, etc. and never noticed any difference in performance. Am sure its there for a reason and does something, I could just never tell.

To me if the Genset is only rated for 33.3 amps and we are pulling 37 amps that's the problem.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:02 AM   #52
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Yes, and the frig is only 2.5. Are you getting a code?
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Old 07-11-2012, 05:08 PM   #53
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[QUOTE=DegoRed;1239591]Nice job one that door Sanford. Did you call and get them to send you the heat shield?
QUOTE]

Has anyone actually received the heat shield? If so, did you get a chance to install it?
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:38 PM   #54
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[QUOTE=gridge;1240049]
Quote:
Originally Posted by DegoRed View Post
Nice job one that door Sanford. Did you call and get them to send you the heat shield?
QUOTE]

Has anyone actually received the heat shield? If so, did you get a chance to install it?
I'm still waiting on mine, its been about a week and i havn't received it.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:11 PM   #55
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High elevations (even with the jetting change) and high temps cut down on the amount of power a gen can put out too. We found that out the "hard" way in a high desert setting and 95° temps.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:26 PM   #56
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High elevations (even with the jetting change) and high temps cut down on the amount of power a gen can put out too. We found that out the "hard" way in a high desert setting and 95° temps.
Good point. I work for a company that runs data centers and we have large generators for power backup -- at 6500' elevation with even just a 70 degree day we can only get 80% of the sea level output(2 megawatt from what would normally be a 2.5 MW generator at sea level).

Push your altitude to 8000' and the temps to 95 and you are likely close to 60% output.

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