Run 2 a/c?
- Thread starter kbbagshaw
- Start date
Daverailrd
Member
I have a 2015 Cyclone 4100 with 3 AC's. I can run any combination of two with the same generator. First make sure the breakers on the generator are both on. If one is tripped it will cause the problem you have. They are behind the generator cover. Check that all the breakers are on in the main breaker panel. Always shut all major electrical loads down and then disconnect from shore power. Start the generator and let it run for at least a minute to stabilize. Then turn each AC on separately. Never switch from shore to gen with the loads on as its hard on the transfer switch and the generator. Hope this solves your problem. Enjoy your new 3100!
danemayer
Well-known member
Second that: check the 2 breakers on the front of the generator and check the breakers in your main panel.
If the breakers look like they're ON, and it still doesn't work, flip them OFF and back ON. Sometimes a tripped breaker can look like it's ON.
If the breakers are good, start checking other outlets and appliances in the RV to see if anything else is not working. You could have a problem in the generator junction box or in the generator side of the transfer switch.
If the breakers look like they're ON, and it still doesn't work, flip them OFF and back ON. Sometimes a tripped breaker can look like it's ON.
If the breakers are good, start checking other outlets and appliances in the RV to see if anything else is not working. You could have a problem in the generator junction box or in the generator side of the transfer switch.
danemayer
Well-known member
The factory installed generator option doesn't start or stop automatically. However, it does have a start/stop switch inside the coach that works well. If you need auto start, for example to keep air conditioning going for pets when you're out for the day, take a look at this optional device.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
You can make this happen if you want. But you have to install a control unit which is nothing more than 20 digital off/on switches on a circuit board that are controllable through a digital interface. My Xantrex AGS has a multitude of capabilities such as starting the generator if shore power is lost, start and stop times for quiet time, starting for A/C thermostat, and recharging batts when the inverter has consumed a certain amount of power. There are 16 other switches so the sky is the limit on the number of useful things that can activate your generator. All this is programmable through the digital interface. Mine is an accessory to my Xantrex, and I installed it myself, its pretty straight forward, but the routing for the thermostat is proving difficult for me at this time. I may have to just make an ugly routing, it is proving to be very difficult to conceal the wire behind the thermostat on the Big Country. BTW you mount the AGS near the ONAN start stop switch and it uses the existing wires to operate your generator. If you do not intend to install an inverter then you will want look elsewhere such as ONAN or an aftermarket AGS. But if you are going to purchase an inverter the digital panels work well together and you can get your AGS from them and cut down on the number of digital controls. What I mean by this is, I have the actual AGS unit mounted in the cabinet behind the rigs control panel but the the digital interface is mounted on the outside of the cabinet as you walk in the door. That interface operates the AGS, inverter, and charger. I believe magnum has this same system.
Tried everything suggested and still won't let me run more than 1 a/c. Emailed Heartland and they state you can run 2 only if everything else is off. We tried getting 2 to run with everything off and still was unsuccessful.
scottyb
Well-known member
It sound as if you are only getting one leg of power. If you are comfortable with a voltage meter, I would check the voltage on both sides of your transfer switch. Check Red to white and black to white. If you have 110V on on both legs on both sides of the transfer switch, the panel is next. Have you noticed anything else not working while the generator is running?
danemayer
Well-known member
1. Does everything work ok when plugged into shore power?
2. Does every other electric outlet and device work? TV, stereo, microwave, refrigerator on 110V, electric side of water heater, fireplace if you have it, dryer if you have it?
3. When you say you can run only 1 A/C unit, does that mean you can run either one successfully, or is the problem that one of the two units will never run, even if you try it by itself?
4. On the generator, are the circuit breakers labeled 30/30 or 30/20?
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Yes that switch is called a transfer switch and they go bad. The 5500 generator will run a house, I don't know what he is talking about.
Is the air conditioner the only thing that is not working? If it is the only thing not working then is the a/c, look for the thermostat that controls that air conditioner to see if you have it set properly. If it is set properly then you have a air conditioner problem.
thanks for the help[/QUOTE]
Is the air conditioner the only thing that is not working? If it is the only thing not working then is the a/c, look for the thermostat that controls that air conditioner to see if you have it set properly. If it is set properly then you have a air conditioner problem.
thanks for the help[/QUOTE]
porthole
Retired
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Hey man you know what I mean, and yes you can get 240 off your generator. Its just not likely that you are going to fire up 4 tons of AC and run your whole house. But my sarcasm should be evident. The LP5500 is more than enough to run his rig and both air conditioning units. Who ever told him that he can't run both is mistaken, unless his rig is unique somehow.
porthole
Retired
You cannot get 240 out of a standard Onan RV 5500 that is typically installed in the Heartland brand of RV's.
You get 2 line outs that are tied together before the circuit breakers, as are 2 neutrals.
Page A-3 has the complete wiring diagram
http://www.cumminsonan.com/www/pdf/manuals/983-0501D.pdf
Page 6-6 of the Onan manual shows this, as well as the 240 volt capable versions
http://www.cumminsonan.com/www/pdf/manuals/983-0501D.pdf
That is exactly the reason I did not use my Onan to run our house during the 14 days of no power thanks the Sandy.
Although I didn't need AC, I did need 240 for my air handler, which i needed to have heat.
Last edited:
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
You are so right there is no wire that can be combined to provide 240v. While it is true that the 5500 spec list it a 120v generator, this is misleading.
2 120v legs that share a common neutral is by definition is a 240v single phase/split phase, household current.
Test your transfer switch or your J-box by taking a voltage reading across the two legs (red and black) if you are not getting between 215 and 240 there is something wrong with your generator or your wiring. You will get 110 to 120 between your neutral and either leg. Your rig is by definition a 240v appliance, in that it takes 2 legs of 120v, one neutral and a ground. If I'm not correct please tell me where Im wrong.
Im glad you did not try to run your house without a transfer switch. Had you been successful in correctly wiring your onan into your service entrance you would have charged the line and possibly electrocuted a lineman, However, if you would have run one 120v leg of your onan to one side of your service entrance and the other 120v leg to the other side of your service entrance you would have had 240 for your house. Probably not enough to run a 4 ton AC unit, but most any other appliance, including your air-handler.
Fact is stranger than fiction.
2 120v legs that share a common neutral is by definition is a 240v single phase/split phase, household current.
Test your transfer switch or your J-box by taking a voltage reading across the two legs (red and black) if you are not getting between 215 and 240 there is something wrong with your generator or your wiring. You will get 110 to 120 between your neutral and either leg. Your rig is by definition a 240v appliance, in that it takes 2 legs of 120v, one neutral and a ground. If I'm not correct please tell me where Im wrong.
Im glad you did not try to run your house without a transfer switch. Had you been successful in correctly wiring your onan into your service entrance you would have charged the line and possibly electrocuted a lineman, However, if you would have run one 120v leg of your onan to one side of your service entrance and the other 120v leg to the other side of your service entrance you would have had 240 for your house. Probably not enough to run a 4 ton AC unit, but most any other appliance, including your air-handler.
Fact is stranger than fiction.
porthole
Retired
Any chance you do not have a typical Onan 5.5 HG JAB generator, as installed in Heartland RV's and instead have a Onan 5.5 HG JAE?
Onan 5.5 HG JAA / JAB / JAC are:
5500 watts
60 hertz
120 volts
45.8 amps
3600 rpm
Onan 5.5 HG JAD / JAE / JAF are:
5500 watts
60 Hertz
120 / 240 Volts, 22.9 Amps or
120 Volts, 45.8 Amps or
120 / 240 Volts, 12 Amps
3600 rpm
Did someone here suggest that I or someone else on the forum tried to do this?
And you are correct.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Here is where the confusion lies. The onan 5500 has 2 120v leads and 2 neutrals and 2 grounds. So you could run 2 120v circuits. OR you can twist the grounds together for a single ground, then twist the neutral leads together for a single neutral, the 2 remaining 120v leads stay separate. In this configuration you then have 1 ground, 1 neutral and 2 120v leads. By definition this is 240v. You can follow this configuration through your rig to the transfer switch and onto the breaker panel input. I can't define this any more than what I have. And yes I have the JAB.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
The OP wanted to know about his generator and if it can run two generators. The answer is yes. And if it is not then they gotta tell you why. Its not because the generator won't do it. I may be because hey have it wired it that way. My Big Country is fully functional on the LP5500 just as if it was on shore power.
porthole
Retired
This is perfectly clear now.
So, if I open up my Onan genset and find where the 2 hot output wires T1 and T3 are coming off the stator, and cut that connection, marked in red
and
find where the two neutral wires, T2 and T4 are coming off the stator and cut that connection, marked in blue
and
maybe cut the bonding at the marked in black location and double the ground coming out of the generator
I could then have two hots, two neutrals and the ground
And, it looks like the genset only has to be disassembled to the stator - rotor level to get to the ground screw and break the connection there (page 6-2 of the above link).
I could then have two separate 120 circuits coming off the two 30 amp breakers instead of the two 120's that are actually combined prior to the breakers, from what appears to be nothing more then a shared feed, as built from the factory.
What I don't understand is why Onan only rates this genset at 45.8 amps (5500/120) when it should really be rated at 7200 watts (120*30*2), if I were to follow along correctly.
But I digress, if only I could have ordered my one off HGJAB 5500 in 240 like the rest of us.
Last edited:
Similar threads
