parkerwarrior
plano tx
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Joined: 03/19/2005
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help! We are leaving for Red River NM tomorrow wich will have us spending one night in the blistering texas pan handle, and our generator has started surging. Fresh gas, air filter good, ran three weeks ago, has surged a bit in the past but has always healed itself when under load. Has about 350 hours on it, ten years old, fresh oil, so I would appreciate some ideas, and other experiences. Wife will demand upscale hotel room if generator fails SOS!
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wolfe10
Texas
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Joined: 10/08/2000
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350 hours in 10 years suggests carburetor varnish buildup is a distinct possibility.
Have you used Stabil or other stabilizer in the gas? How frequently do you run the generator under 50% load for "exercise"?
Brett Wolfe
1993 Foretravel 36' U-240
Cat 3116, Allison 3060
Caterpillar RV Engine Owner's Club: www.catrvclub.org
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JFG
TN
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Joined: 07/01/2007
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From Owners manual... "Unless a preservative (stabilizer) is added, the gasoline in the fuel system will deteriorate causing fuel system corrosion, gum
formation and varnish-like deposits which can lead to hard starting and rough operation."
You may need to go to an auto parts store and buy a can of the spray carburetor cleaner and spray it in the carb while the gen-set is running.
Also check the carb float bowl for water or debris... clean and replace.
Good luck... got to keep the Dw happy
* This post was
edited 08/07/08 09:29am by JFG *
Fred
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M GO BLUE
Southgate, MI
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Joined: 01/29/2001
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Wouldn't a can of SeaFoam help him out???
ERIC & BEV
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually CC/LB Duramax/Allison
2008 Jayco Designer 35RLTS fith wheel
Built-In Onan 5500W generator
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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skitter
moreno valley
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Joined: 04/13/2005
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My Marquis 5000 was only three years old when it started surging
when first started, and eventually clear it's self up after running awhile. My mechanic said it was the carburetor and called the warranty people, who said that they dont pay for fouled carburetors. I had run my generator on a regular basis and I felt that my carb was varnish free I replaced it, and upon inspection of the old carb it was found clean as a whistle. The problem was the solenoied that was attached to the carb. The mechanic said that you could not replace that part and the whole carb had to be replaced. Cost $200.00. I kept the old carb just in case and have had no other surging problems
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Motor City Swagman
Detroit, Michigan/Florida
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Joined: 07/03/2001
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In addition to the other suggestions might check to make sure the carb choke setting is in the summer position and also make sure the elevation adjustment setting on the bottom of the carb is set at the elevation in your area.
Motor City Swagman 2000 Bounder 36S
Ford V-10, Banks Power Pack w/ TC,
BrakeBuddy,Davis Tru Trac,Safe T Plus,Aventa II & Xplorer Sport Trac
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Buck62
Charleston, South Carolina
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Joined: 04/28/2005
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Been there, done that. On my last coach, the generator started surging all of a sudden and I took it too Onan for diagnois and the carburator seal was found leaking between the lower and upper halfs. There is no rebuild kit or replacement parts made for rebuiding the carb, only new ones. The carb was replaced, around $200.00 and surging stopped.
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Jim & Joan
Milton, WI
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Joined: 01/24/2007
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Motor City Swagman wrote:In addition to the other suggestions might check to make sure the carb choke setting is in the summer position and also make sure the elevation adjustment setting on the bottom of the carb is set at the elevation in your area.
I found it was the elevation setting on mine when I experienced surging.......
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amxerhull
Lewiston, Idaho
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Joined: 04/07/2008
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I richened the mixture screw and my surge went away. It didn't take much, maybe 1/20th of a turn.
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summerwinds48
Florida
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Joined: 01/15/2007
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Same problem with my 1994 Onan 5.0 Emerald generator a month ago. Changed the oil, spark plugs, wires, oil filter, air filter, gas filter, then cranked her up.
The engine still surged and not enough power to crank the a/c compressor. Then I sprayed the inside of the carburator with Onan's product, and used an auto parts can of carburator solvent to clean the outside parts. Two cans of the Onan product are required to run thru the engine while running.
Also cleaned the bowl, and the needles. Wahooo! it worked perfectly then I set the generator to 60 cycles using the microwave clock and checked the output voltage. A month later runs very quiet so now I'm ready for the hurricane season!
Onan wanted $300 for a new carb, so I bought the rebuild kit for $60 just to keep it on hand when the time comes.
DM
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