MAXDOUT Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 ok, i have a onan gold generator. been sitting with fuel in it for the summer. i added sta-bil gas treatment to it, but it still wont start. i topped off the fuel with new fuel, but it still doesnt want to fire up. i dont want to burn out my starter by cranking it over and over. any suggestions??? besides spraying starting fluid in the carb??? i cant even get to the carb, it is all inclosed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDuner Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Take a picture of it and upload it. I had the same thing happen. I was able to keep it running by manually choking it. I had to pull the elevation screw (idle mixture screw) and clean the float bowl real good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 ^ yep what he said. Tyler, you should be able to access the carb on a Onan pretty easily. another tip- mine didn't start once and it was because the choke linkage cam screw backed out. (side of teh carb) So when it was supposed to be choked, the choke plate was wide open not allowing it to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXDOUT Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 here it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Did you say you already DID try spraying carb cleaner into the carb or no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXDOUT Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Did you say you already DID try spraying carb cleaner into the carb or no? no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Try that first then. You are gonna take off the air filter cover. It's real simple, just unclip the 2 or 3 clips, pull the air filter out and hold the throttle plate or choke open and shoot some in there while cranking. You should have a start switch outside on the generator so you don't have to do it from inside. Just don't go overboard and flood it out. Here is where the throat of the carb will be when you take the air filter and cover off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunefreak Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Another thing that worked for me once was to hold down the choke manually while cranking and let go if it starts. It is a metal arm with a spring on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXDOUT Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Try that first then. You are gonna take off the air filter cover. It's real simple, just unclip the 2 or 3 clips, pull the air filter out and hold the throttle plate or choke open and shoot some in there while cranking. You should have a start switch outside on the generator so you don't have to do it from inside. Just don't go overboard and flood it out. Here is where the throat of the carb will be when you take the air filter and cover off. i will try that. Another thing that worked for me once was to hold down the choke manually while cranking and let go if it starts. It is a metal arm with a spring on it. i did hold that down, and it did nothing. i finally got it to fire, but it runs for a second and dies. so i think i will do the carb cleaner. thanks pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cheese Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 could be that the carb needs a good cleaning out too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnut Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 (edited) Also......put a shutoff valve in the fuel line....then shut it off when your not using the geni. Then drain the gas out of the bowl. There is a philips head screw that is easy to get to. The carbs on onans get destroyed real easy from gas...You will $hit yourself when u see how much they cost!!!! Edited August 15, 2007 by wingnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXDOUT Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 thanks guys. i happen to know someone at onan. but hopefully i wont need to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanddunesaddict Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Also......put a shutoff valve in the fuel line....then shut it off when your not using the geni. Then drain the gas out of the bowl. There is a philips head screw that is easy to get to. The carbs on onans get destroyed real easy from gas...You will $hit yourself when u see how much they cost!!!! Im so glad mine is propane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDuner Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 The altitude adjuster is the air fuel mixture. It is gummed up. You need to break the plastic and it will unscrew all the way. Then clean the orfice and it should run like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadracer Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Also......put a shutoff valve in the fuel line....then shut it off when your not using the geni. Then drain the gas out of the bowl. There is a philips head screw that is easy to get to. The carbs on onans get destroyed real easy from gas...You will $hit yourself when u see how much they cost!!!! how long does it have to sit for this to happen?mines been sitting for about 2 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnut Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 how long does it have to sit for this to happen?mines been sitting for about 2 months Gas, depending on the octane, starts gumming up at about 30 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kens Colors Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Something else to check is the oil level.....I am not sure about onans but most gennies have a low oil shut off. I tried to fire mine up the other day and wouldn't start wouldn't staart I checked oil it was a little to low added oil started up right away!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bp-guy Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I run my generator once a month for a few minutes. I have had to replace a carb and it wasn't cheap. ($185.00) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadracer Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Gas, depending on the octane, starts gumming up at about 30 days. Damn better check mine this weekend!!! thanks craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindernglamis Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Okay I had the same problem, with onans they have to be ran every couple of weeks to make sure that they continue to work. My understanding is that the gas gets hard and varnishes in the jet and other orifices, and you can not clean them out well enough to work. I tried pushing a very thin piece of wire through all the holes which got my gen started and running for a few seconds, but never much longer. I ended up having to replace the carb, was like 3 or 4 hundred dollars. Onan carbs are not rebuildable and the rv shop won't do this because it would effect their emissions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHOPJAW Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 So how did it turn out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahsumtoy Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 I had to take my toyhauler in for some warranty work and the maintenance guy told me something to do to my generator. I have an Onan Gold 5.5 and he told me every 2 months of sitting to dissconnect either the red or white wire, fire up the generator and let it run out of gas, thus cleaning out the fuel pump and carb. I've been doing that it I've never had a problem. He said a fuel pump on those things costs around $400 big ones so I should do what he said. My two wires are on the very left side of the gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXDOUT Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 yep, like alot of you said....new carb. So, my new generator schedule is as follows. Every third week during off months I start it and run it for 30 mins. with the a/c on. Thankfully I have R/V parking so I can do it from home. The nice thing is I was able to talk camping world into covering under warrenty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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