And Another Onan Issue

[avvidclif]

Last Friday we left for a weekend of dry camping. Full of water etc, etc. From Friday to Sunday abt 2 PM the generator ran a total of abt 35-40 hrs, never even hiccuped. On Sat our daughter called and informed us because of the tornadoes around where we live (Canton Tx.) we had no power. Several substations were damaged and one destroyed as well as distribution lines down. When we got home Sun afternoon I ran an extension cord into the house to power the fridge and freezer and a couple of lights. Abt 4 hours later the genny quit. It showed an error code of 14 (frequency too high). I reset it and it ran abt another 4 hours and quit again, this time no codes or anything, started right up. Abt 4 hours and quit again, this time error 14 again, reset and started up and went abt another 2-3 hrs and quit. No codes nothing. When power was scheduled to be turned on this afternoon we disconnected the house and let the RV run by itself, nothing else connected. It ran abt 2 hurs and quit, no code nothing. Started up again and went out to eat and watch grandson play baseball. When we returned (abt 3hrs) the genny was purring right along. While we were unloading the truck it quit. Again error 14.

Summation: It ran flawlessly for abt 36-40 hrs and when we got home within 24 hours it quit 5 times. 3 with an error code (same each time) and 2 with no code set??? Every time it quit the oil was checked (there is a code for low oil but it never was set) and in general it was checked over. It's not like it runs a few minutes and quits, it's several hours between failures. The fuel tank was filled just before we got home and is now on 1/2-3/4 tank.

Anyone have any thoughts???? I'm baffled. Gotta love RV's, it's always something.

 

[fritzwell]

Clif,
First I'm not up to speed on the Onan generators / governors, but sounds like a governor problem. From your description it could be that when the gen unloads the governor isn't catching the increase of speed and is shutting down on over speed or over freq. Most likely an electronic governor and you should contact Onan.

Hope this sheds a little light on what's going on.

Fritz

 

[avvidclif]

After having some time today to do a little research it seems the error code 14 is very common. The majority attributed it to bad gas, sitting too long etc. That wasn't the case in my situation BUT: Prior to the trip I put some Seafoam in the tank (filled up first of month) and it ran fine (35-40 hrs) until we left to go home. On the way home I stopped and filled the TV (diesel) and then topped off the RV gas tank (abt 12 gal) as I knew I would need it when I got home (no power at the house). I have a sneaky feeling I got some bad gas. I'm going to add more Seafoam and run it some more and see what happens. Hopefully that will be all it is. That would also explain it shutting down by itself with no codes......

 

[crussian]

Clif, First I'm not up to speed on the Onan generators / governors, but sounds like a governor problem. From your description it could be that when the gen unloads the governor isn't catching the increase of speed and is shutting down on over speed or over freq. Most likely an electronic governor and you should contact Onan. Hope this sheds a little light on what's going on. Fritz

Ops Manual says "OverFrequency - Code No. 14. Engine governor unable to maintain rated frequency.
Corrective Action: See an authorized Onan dealer.
C&J