Onan Diesel Geni wont start

[capricorn38]

hi all,
an up date to the mystery why my generator wouldn't star.

it was the glow plugs that were shot, but because a friend who was trying to help cracked the injector lines with out cranking it allowed air in the fuel system.

I changed the glow plugs, but due to the fuel system having air it still wouldn't star.

a friend who knows his diesels came to check, he cracked the injector nuts, cranked it over, it stared and he tightened them up and away it went.

thank you for everyone's help and support.

cheers

[skipperpete]

That’s great news James, glad you got it up and running. Well done. !

[george123]

I have a Onan geni on my 43 Tarswell sailboat which is new to me. The problem I am have is when I start it up it will run for 20 to 30 sec and shut down. I hit the switch again and it will start and run fine after that. This is a problem the previous owner said he had with the geni. He told me he just lived with it. Any thoughts on this. All filters have been changed, oil, and new fuel pump.
The second problem after running for 3 hours it just shuts down. I will leave it to cool down and restart and it will run again. Water is flowing temp is fine.

Help

[sailcrazy]

Check your fuel solonoid...especially the wires coming out of it and where they connect on the engine. If one of them has a break in the insulation, or the crimp-on fitting has loostened or has some corrosion on it, the vibration could cause it to release and shut off the fuel. And don't ask how I know.....been there, done that on our Onan 6.5kva! Also, it could be a fuel pump issue.....again an issue we've had. I ended up installing an electric fuel pump (from Napa) inline before the eng-mounted one....It's free flow without power. When our Onan starts to act up, I switch on the electric pump, and almost always- problem solved! I also use it when initially starting the genset--it starts instantly, instead of cranking for several seconds before starting.

[george123]

I have checked the fuel solenoid wiring and it is in good shape. I have installed a new fuel pump. There is one thing that I have discovered. Coming out of the boat fuel take there is an electric fuel. The output feeds the main engine and the fuel pump on the Geni. This pump turns on when the engine key is turned on (supplies 12v) and the engine is started. This pump is not turned on when the Geni is turned on. It is a free flow pump per the manufacture. Could this be causing a momentary fuel starvation?
What if I connect 12 v to this fuel pump when I start the Geni? Will this electrical configuration be a problem when both the boat engine and the generator are running suppling 12 v from both sources ( engine key and geni start switch?

[AB808]

Sounds like a safety shutting it down. Either sensors or the PC board. Do you have a flashing lcd after shut down? If not, then I’d start with the temp sender, replace or test it. Then move through each one, water and oil to find the one causing the shut down.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by george123

I have checked the fuel solenoid wiring and it is in good shape. I have installed a new fuel pump. There is one thing that I have discovered. Coming out of the boat fuel take there is an electric fuel. The output feeds the main engine and the fuel pump on the Geni. This pump turns on when the engine key is turned on (supplies 12v) and the engine is started. This pump is not turned on when the Geni is turned on. It is a free flow pump per the manufacture. Could this be causing a momentary fuel starvation?
What if I connect 12 v to this fuel pump when I start the Geni? Will this electrical configuration be a problem when both the boat engine and the generator are running suppling 12 v from both sources ( engine key and geni start switch?

On my kohler, the 'safety mode' is to cut power to the fuel pump, regardless of the issue. If I put an external 12V source to the fuel pump the generator will run no matter which sender is tripping and cutting fuel.

See if you have a flow chart troubleshooting guide that walks you through the various lights on the circuit board. My most recent issue was the result of a bad stator.

[AB808]

You need to have a copy of specific model generator manual to decipher the blinking status codes after it shuts down.

I have a dedicated electric fuel pump mounted next to the generator, mine is over 4’ above the tanks so it is necessary to have a good head pressure for the pump on the genie. This would be an easy inexpensive item to add if turns out this is the problem. You could test it using a portable gallon fuel jug and small length of fuel hose