Generator won't start

[JohnAndBecky]

I have a 2004 Minnie 24F and the generator just clicks when i try to start it. The panel inside the house indicates the battery is full. When i remove the cover there is a switch that has a light by it that flashes 3 times that says needs service. The clicking is coming from the solenoid and wondering if that is the problem. Any advise would be helpful.

[Morich]

First point I often go to is the battery supply as they are often not what we expect to find.
One way to improve the odds of starting the genset is to first start the RV engine as it does a couple good things.
When the engine is running, the alternator is putting out about 14 volts to recharge the start battery but at the same time there is a solenoid which connects that battery and the coach batteries together so that we get a bit of recharging while moving from one campsite to another. That makes either battery being used to start the genset much more likely to have enough power to do it.
One big things on RV is that panels read voltage and they can say there is good voltage there because we have a charger of some sort making the battery look fully charged but the battery may be bad!
Remember cars when the solenoid would click but not crank? That was often a weak battery, so that's a place to start. It may have enough power to click the solenoid but not enough to turn the generator over??
Suggest trying with the engine running to see if you get a different response. Next would be to find a manual and sort what the light tells you. Needs service, doesn't help much, does it?

[Mongobird]

Originally Posted by JohnAndBecky

I have a 2004 Minnie 24F and the generator just clicks when i try to start it. The panel inside the house indicates the battery is full. When i remove the cover there is a switch that has a light by it that flashes 3 times that says needs service. The clicking is coming from the solenoid and wondering if that is the problem. Any advise would be helpful.

What make and model of generator do you have?

Mine may be very different, but I have a 2004 Meridian with a ONAN 7500 diesel generator, and last week I had the same problem, with three flashes. I was running the generator while doing work in the unit, and the next time I went to start, it fired, sputtered and would not start.

It turns out that the controller for it told it not to start, and there is a way to run the next level of diagnostics, which gave me a 36 code. This was done with flashing of a light on the switch. A websearch gave a broad description of a 36 error code, and I came to the conclusion that my tank, which was at 3/8, was probably low enough to starve out the generator. So I filled the tank, and reprimed several times, each time things got progressively more like starting. Then it started, and accepted a load and we are happy ever after.

So my story aside, you need to understand a little more about the generator you have, and how it might interact with your unit. My unit is new to me, and did not come with all the manuals, but I was able to find them on the internet, at least enough of them to save a trip to the service place.

I hope this helps, and if you can post the make and model of your generator, at least as much as you can readily find out.

[Oldchinahand]

Agree with Morich and Mongo. Helps to have genset make model. Emcourage you, to go online and download manual.

You say you have a blinking light on the genset. That is likely talking to you, but you need a manual to decipher.

Example: On my diesel Onan 8000, 1 blink is hi temp, 2 blinks is low oil and 3 blinks is "other". If three, you press the "stop" button and get another series of blinks. You will get 1, 2, 3 or four blinks, then a pause then 1 - 9 blinks. That gives you a two digit number i.e., 2 pause 9 equates to 29. Now go to the troubleshooting chapter in your manual and find trouble code 29. There's your problem!

Satisfyingly challenging process in a comfy park with FHU.

Helps you invent new curse words if you are tucked up near Buffalo Crossing in an unseasonable snow storm.

Fair Winds and Following Seas