Generator shutting down

I recently (5 months ago) purchased a new Cyclone 4000 Elite. It has the Onan onboard generator. From the beginning, this generator will run anywhere from 20 minutes to no more than 2 hours before shutting down. When I first open the bay door the unit was really hot. The local dealer is not an authorized Onan service center, so they don't help much. They have told me that it is getting too hot and shutting down. However, if I open the bay door and even have a fan blowing on it - same effect. It will shut down!

Has anyone else out there ever had this type of problem? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Texas Racer,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Hopefully we will get some help for you soon from other members.]

Jim M

TexasRacer said:

I recently (5 months ago) purchased a new Cyclone 4000 Elite. It has the Onan onboard generator. From the beginning, this generator will run anywhere from 20 minutes to no more than 2 hours before shutting down. When I first open the bay door the unit was really hot. The local dealer is not an authorized Onan service center, so they don't help much. They have told me that it is getting too hot and shutting down. However, if I open the bay door and even have a fan blowing on it - same effect. It will shut down!

Has anyone else out there ever had this type of problem? Any help would be appreciated.

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TexaRacer

I haven't had this on my Cyclone but I did have it on another brand I use after a Hurricane Check the Oil mine would shut down and I could restart it immediately and it would run for varying times then shut down. Since you are it TX you might want to talk with Onan and run a different type of oil. I figured out it was shutting down on low oil pressure because gas had leak pass the cylinder into the crankcase when it was shut down and thinned the oil. So even though the level was good the pressure was dropping. To trouble shoot I disconnected the pressure sensor and ran it through a full tank with no problem. I don’t know if I would do that on the Onan it would cost a lot more to replace it.

These generators are meant to run with the doors closed. Opening them will cause them to run even hotter because air is not circulated properly over the cooling fins. It could be a temperature thing or it could be an oil sensor showing a low level. They can be very sensitive at times. Make sure the oil level is at the full mark.

Are you getting any fault codes? The generator can get pretty hot when it's running but if you think it's overheating try using a infrared thermometer or pull the dip stick soon as it shuts down and use a thermometer to get your oil temp. If it's shutting down because of heat the temps you get should be pretty consistant at shut down. Also check that nothing is obstructing your cooling fins. The other area you might look at is fuel delivery, electric fuel pumps can be intermittent. Also a leak in the hose on the suction side of the pump can cause problems or the inner linning of the hose collapsing. I investigated an airplane crash once that was caused by damage to the inner linning during assembly of the fuel line. You can T a vacuum gauge in between the tank and the inlet side of the pump. Any restriction to the flow of fuel to the pump will cause an increase in vacuum on the gauge at the time it occurs.

I am not near the trailer and the manual for the generator but I think it should throw fault codes when there is something wrong. Have you gone through the trouble shooting section of the manual and researched the codes?

Unless you have an error code that indicates overheating, I would start with fuel supply.

danemayer said:

Unless you have an error code that indicates overheating, I would start with fuel supply.

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I looked at the Onan owners and installation manual and it looks like there is not a fault code for overheating. This leads me to believe that temperature is not monitored and may not cause a shut down.


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Yeah fuel issue but what about the oil? You have probably checked the level but low oil should cause a shut off also.

I continually check the oil level and it looks correct. The genset only has about 50 hours on it and I have had the Cyclone dealer service it once. While the oil level appears correct, I can't vouch for the type of oil that is in it. I only "dry" camp, so the generator is very important to me.

I have had the Rig into the dealer about 8-10 times about this issue. They have replaced the fuel line and they have replaced the vent tank. They had a mobile Onan service tech look at this and this is the person that measured the temp (with the bay door open and closed) and recommended a bay door with vent slots. However, I used the Rig over the weekend and had the same issues again.

I am scheduled to take the Rig to another Onan service facility later this month. It's just been a continual hassle and frustration dealing with this on a new (and quite expensive) Rig.

I understand your frustration and I would feel the same way. I have ran mine for 72 hours straight with the door closed (less fueling and checking oil), in 100 degree Texas heat, w/o problems.

1st, if you haven't already done so, I would call Heartland customer service and get them in the loop. I have very little faith in a dealer's communication with them. It sounds like you should drop it off at the Onan service facility and tell them to either fix it or replace it, since it is under warranty and is not performing to spec. Heartland may be able to insert some level of leverage on them if they know the whole story.