I have an Onan 5500 on my road warrior. It doesn't start well and won't stay running. When it's cranking white smoke comes out. I pulled the carb and cleaned it, gas tank was less than 1/3 full previous owner said he treated the gas with sta-bil. I filled the 30 gallon gas tank and added a can of sea foam. I can get it to run after messing with it for a while. I also replaced the spark plugs, they were pretty black. Thank you in advance for any help. My RV place ordered me a new carb, they seem to think that'll fix the problem.
Onan 5500 not running good
- Thread starter JOwen72
- Start date
porthole
Retired
Second time this was mentioned on the forum. A google search does not bring up any recalls.
Do you have more information on this?
To the original poster, now that you at least have it running and added sea foam (don't know if it really works, but many think it does) start loading the genny.
AC units, heaters etc. Try and get up to a 80% load if possible and run it for 30 minutes, then a cool down period of 5 minutes with no load.
Genset's have to run under a load to keep the systems in check. No different then never taking your vehicle above a set idle speed.
Same thing happened to me. Gen ran until primed fuel ran out. I called my dealer (in Kentucky) who hooked me up with Cummings / Onan dealer(also in Kentucky). He looked up my fuel pump number and advised me there was a recall on the pump. I contacted a Cummings Checkpoint dealer in Indiana. Made an appointment. Fixed the generator. No charge. Great people! Great service! Fixed my problem. Take it for what it's worth.
scottyb
Well-known member
Is this a recall or are they just replacing the faulty fuel pumps as they occur? I can't seem to find a recall for it. I have a 2013 also, but it has not yet failed. I would like to replace it preemptively, before I am in 100 degree temperatures and I need to run it for 72 hours straight.
danemayer
Well-known member
Maybe this is just someone's misunderstanding. The Onan website recall page shows a single generator recall and that's for specific portable generators on wheels. Doesn't seem to apply to RV generators.
porthole
Retired
That's my point Dan. A recall for the 5500 has been mentioned several times on several threads with no documentation to support it.
"If" there is a recall, that information is best to have in hand when you contact a dealer.
For me, the dealer is 35 miles away and is a truck shop. So I would prefer having some knowledge before stopping in with my little RV genset.
How about this. There's a part number on the fuel pump. Call a Cummings Checkpoint dealer with the number from your fuel pump and they will tell you if it's under the recall. Also with the front off the generator. When the unit stops running it will flash a code on the starter switch. Initially after it stops a red light on the switch will flash. Count the number of flashes ( example 3). Then push the switch to the stop position and it will flash another series of red lights ( example 6). The service code is 36. It will tell Checkpoint exactly what the problem is.
