Help. Gen not starting

[Camerons]

Generator stopped working. It worked last week. Now it won’t turn over. Red light comes on but won’t crank over. Any ways to diagnose ?

[wachuko]

House batteries charged? Generator runs power from house batteries, if those are discharged it will not have enough juice to start the generator...

[glcmranger]

Check your oil level...

[rmkrum]

The generator has an oil level sensor that may cut off the motor starting or running because of insufficient oil supply or off-angle parking. It likes to be fairly level.

Also, here is also a small vent tube from the carburetor that can get clogged up with insect nests. That causes subtle problems. Make sure it is clear if it starts, then quits immediately.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by wachuko

House batteries charged? Generator runs power from house batteries, if those are discharged it will not have enough juice to start the generator...

There is a simple fix if this happens to be the problem. On any post-2012 Interstate that has a "boost" switch on the dash (2012 and older don't have one), you can not only use the house batteries to jump-start the engine, but you can also use the chassis battery to jump-start the generator— provided you have two people, one to hold the boost switch and one to press the generator start switch.

As a matter of fact, I believe that the boost switch came into existence when I* complained to my Airstream Dealer (at their grand opening, with Justin Humphreys of Airstream in attendance) that when my house batteries got too low, I couldn't start the generator to charge the house batteries!

*Of course, I'm sure there were other owners with the same complaint, but my colossal ego won't allow me to admit that it might have been someone else's complaint that prompted Airstream to install the boost switches in post-2012 models.

[Camerons]

Hi all. I will check oil level when we get somewhere warm and clear the ice and salt off things. Batteries are fully charged so oil level makes the most sense.

[Titus]

Also check to make sure that all wires connected to the generator are clean and tight. If I recall a low oil level will cause an immediate shutdown, not prevent a start.
Per my generator manual there is a blinky code associated with the red light on the start switch. Are you seeing a blink sequence when you push to start?

[Camerons]

There is no lights of any kind on the switch that controls the gen. Any ideas on where to start checking. Is there a fuse ? 2016 grand tour if that helps.

[FlaBucki]

I had a non-start issue with my Gen on my 2014 AI a couple of years back. After checking the obvious things, I gave up and took it to a repair shop. Turned out my propane fuel gauge sender was bad, so even though my tank showed 3/4 full, I was out of propane.

[Titus]

I do not see that the generator start switch is fused through any of the 12v fuses beneath the lounge seat. Nor do I see a 12V fuse for the generator in the various wiring diagrams that I have. But I recall reading about a small fuse somewhere in the wiring harness within the generator itself. This fuse may be in the low current side of the generator starting relay.

Does your EMS control panel work on shore power? That panel (12v fuse #1 in mine) has power going to the generator hour meter. Maybe that same power feeds the starting switch (though that is not show on my wiring diagram).

[journeydog]

You have many good answers here. Also, make sure you're not trying to start the gen while it's under a load, such as an A/C. Usually a gen will only start when there is no load. If that is the case, get it running for a minute or so before you turn on anything that will load it down, such as, the A/C, etc..

[Titus]

On mine you do not need to worry about trying to start under load. The EMS does not switch to the generator until it has been running for over a minute.

[Lily&Me]

I have found that starting the engine before trying to start the generator gives it a good boost to get it going.


Maggie

[Camerons]

Hi all. Thanks for help. The problem was the main positive battery cable that connects the generator to the house battery was corroded off. Fortunately there was enough slack to cut off the end and heat shrink a new one on.

Couple of lessons learned. One is to check the connections. Clean them with a wire brush and spray them with battery protectant. The other one for me is to build a shield for the connections going to the generator as they are in the direct path of all the salt and sand that occurs in the winter. Or even when we go down a gravel road in the summer. I find it amazing that there is no shielding on either of the battery connections to the generator.

[wachuko]

Thank you for coming back with the reason for not starting.

Did you use any battery terminal protector this time around?



This reminds me that I need to buy some to use on the new batteries I recently installed (house batteries that came with the AI had some on the terminals). And to also check the generator connections and spray some there as well as a preventive measure if it was not done at Airstream.

[Titus]

Glad that the suggestion helped. I R&R my house batteries for winter storage. I will have to do a preemptive check of the other end of those cables next spring.

[amirm]

Originally Posted by Camerons

Hi all. Thanks for help. The problem was the main positive battery cable that connects the generator to the house battery was corroded off. Fortunately there was enough slack to cut off the end and heat shrink a new one on.

Couple of lessons learned. One is to check the connections. Clean them with a wire brush and spray them with battery protectant. The other one for me is to build a shield for the connections going to the generator as they are in the direct path of all the salt and sand that occurs in the winter. Or even when we go down a gravel road in the summer. I find it amazing that there is no shielding on either of the battery connections to the generator.

That is very good to know. When I rewired my van for Lithium, I put flexible liquid-tight conduit over all the cables that I could. Like you, I was amazed that none was protected as such.

Worse offence was the AC shore power line that went around the corner through a sharp metal hole they had cut! No grummet, no nothing.

[rmkrum]

Yet another good spot to damage the cable and let a lot of smoke out. The bigger the wire, the more smoke running through it!

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Camerons

Hi all. Thanks for help. The problem was the main positive battery cable that connects the generator to the house battery was corroded off. Fortunately there was enough slack to cut off the end and heat shrink a new one on.



Couple of lessons learned. One is to check the connections. Clean them with a wire brush and spray them with battery protectant. The other one for me is to build a shield for the connections going to the generator as they are in the direct path of all the salt and sand that occurs in the winter. Or even when we go down a gravel road in the summer. I find it amazing that there is no shielding on either of the battery connections to the generator.

Thanks for the feedback on final fix. Also a great tip to shield that generator connection. I cleaned mine up when I dropped my generator to install Dunlop airbags last year. I too was surprised by the vulnerability of that connection under the van.

[Camerons]

Hi all. Thanks for your help on this forum. I did wire brush all the battery and generator terminals, then applied battery terminal protector. I will likely either build a shield for the Generator terminals. Or spray them with some rubberized sealant. They are far too exposed not to have any protection.