10 year old Onan Microlite gen with ZERO hours! How should I get it going?

[Poptopper]

I purchased this 11,000 mile 2006 EB50 six months ago, and have already put 4,000 miles on her.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...lue-15650.html

The owner was disabled when he bought it, and it had a handicap lift in it. I've now put removable Windstar minivan seats in place of the lift setup. He became unable to drive at all soon after purchase. His children borrowed it a few times per year, but nobody ever used the generator...it shows ZERO hours!

I know to put Marvel Mystery oil in the spark plug hole of an engine that's been sitting for years to help free up piston rings, but I'm not sure what I should do before attempting to start a generator that has been sitting "brand new" for 10 years!

Everything I can find on the internet is about reviving a properly stored generator, but I can't find anything for my situation. Change oil? Disassemble and clean carburetor? Anything to do on the electric portion?

What would you do?

[Pntyrmvr]

Put a little fresh gas in it and crank it over. You'll find out soon enough.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Pntyrmvr

Put a little fresh gas in it and crank it over. You'll find out soon enough.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

I agree. Don't overthink it. I would just try to start it up. If anything it will just have a gummed up carburetor. You were wise to lubricate the cylinder.

Good luck and nice find!

[Ford_6L_E350]

To start an Onan, you hold down the Prime button for some period of time - the longer it was sitting, the longer you hold it down. Mine sat for just a couple of months and I had to use 30 seconds of Priming and plenty of starting fluid to get it going.

It's been sitting a lloooonnnnggggg time. I'd replace the oil (to remove condensation) take the plugs out and crank it over to get oil pressure up and lubricate everything. Then, with fresh oil and fuel, crank it over while spraying starting fluid towards the air intake.

Good luck,

Mike

[Poptopper]

Ok so I followed your advice and she fired right up after priming! Runs perfect! I did drain the fuel lines and change the oil and build oil pressure first.

Only problem is, nothing will operate off the generator...microwave, starcool, or outlets. All three of those work fine when plugged in to my 110v land line...just double checked. Tried flipping all breakers off then back on again, no dice. Could there be a switch or breaker somewhere I'm missing?

[Gooseberry]

Breaker on the generator? And it should have some way of disconnecting the generator from the house power when plugged into shore power so you don't back feed the unit and let the smoke out.


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[Poptopper]

Originally Posted by Gooseberry

Breaker on the generator? And it should have some way of disconnecting the generator from the house power when plugged into shore power so you don't back feed the unit and let the smoke out.

I checked the breaker on the generator...turned it off then back on. Also checked the fuse above it.

I have a Lyght LPT30 automatic shore line/gen switch. There is a handy diagram inside the lid, so I was able to find the connecting points of the shore power input and the gen power input. Shore input reads 110, generator input reads zero. Still zero at gen inputs when shore power disconnected and gen running. I found a junction box for the thick gen output cables under the van near the gen...measured there and still zero voltage.

My switch panel inside the van lights up with no error codes and starts the gen easily. Will it do that even if the gen isn't producing any power?

What to test for next? Bad breaker?

[Gooseberry]

Can you check the line side of the breaker on the generator and see if power is coming out of the armature? If so cycle the breaker of and on a few times to clean the contacts


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[JackTuppVan]

Onan RV Generator Troubleshooting Guide This guide may help you sort out your problem.https://www.flightsystems.com/pdf/on...oing-guide.pdf

[Poptopper]

That's my next step, but it will involve removing the green cover and other parts to get at the wires going into the breaker.