Community Forums

Ron G · 09-24-2006, 05:47 AM

My Onan 5KW generator runs fine until i shut it off. When i try to restart it, it starts but as soon as I take my hand off of start button it kills. If I leave my hand on start button it runs.
After sitting for about 2 hours it will start again. Any suggestion please

Ron G · 09-24-2006, 05:47 AM

My Onan 5KW generator runs fine until i shut it off. When i try to restart it, it starts but as soon as I take my hand off of start button it kills. If I leave my hand on start button it runs.
After sitting for about 2 hours it will start again. Any suggestion please

Retired and Happy · 09-24-2006, 06:03 AM

Mine is in the shop as I write this. Same symptoms, except mine died on its own. They say it's the rotor and maybe the stator. They also say they will need to rebuild it or find a rebuilt one because the new ones won't fit in the compartment. So far it's about $2400 to repair. I'll bet it goes higher than that.

I just had the starter replaced a week before for nearly $500.

Tom N · 09-24-2006, 08:17 AM

I had the same "take my finger off the start button and it dies" symtom with my old coach's Onan 7kw. Took it to Onan/Cummins for service and they had to replace the electronic module on the generator. The module was ~$200 and it just plugs in.

RV Wizard · 09-24-2006, 12:28 PM

This symptom can be the result of any number of conditions. I would recommend you check the oil level and also the type of oil if it was just changed. I say this because you say that after a couple hours at rest it restarts. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Fossilhog · 09-24-2006, 01:39 PM

I just had a similar problem like that. Here's what I did.....from the outside, pull the wire off the oil pressure sensor and try to start it, then see if it stays running. I my case, it did. I reconnected the wire and it stopped. I had changed the oil and filter not more than a month ago and all was correct, the oil was not diluted either. I tapped the sensor with a wrench, connected the wire and all is fine. Hope that helps. Let us know.