Rv Onan Generators My Generator turns over but won't start. What should I do?
I got the Onan Microlite 4000 series generator with an RV, and it has not been started for some time. I've replaced the spark plug and tested that it has a spark. Also I inspected the carburetor (it was clean) and drained it of old gas. I used fresh fuel and drained the lines of tho old fuel. The fuel pump is working well. I also gave it an oil change and filled it properly. Anything else I can do?
Before you attempt to run this, get some wd40 or PB blaster (my fav) spray it down the spark plug hole and turn it over to lube and break up any rust formations that may have occurred . Replace the plug, spray the ether starting fluid down the carb and it should start. I leave my lawn mower outside all year long and the in spring the ether starting fluid works beautifully. It stumbles for a minute or two then smooths out.
If it has compression, spark and fuel it should turn over. I surmise there may be improper atomization from the carb due to varnish forming in the old gas. Try some starting fluid down the carb throat. If it turns over the carb needs cleaning out. IF it doesnt its possible you may have spark but insufficinet compression. It could be the rings have stuck in the piston grooves and caused poor compression.
onan generator End my starter turns real slow our noting at all im i going to have to pull the onan generator out of the rv?
the generator worked fine its an older onan its 27 years old its a 6.5 nh-3cr/16000j heres the probalem it will not turn over when i press the switch on the generator our the remote the battrie is charged the cables are all in good shape and all the ends are cleaned the fuses are all fine its got fire to the coil the fuel pump works fine i pulled the plugs there fine i got it to turn over once when i pulled the plugs but real slow there was a drag on it then it never did turn over after that im i going to have to pull this generator out of the rv to fix it i beleave the starter is built in this unit because i cant see it on the out side can some one please help me with my question thank you mike in va .
check your ground wire that goes to the starter
Home Standby Generator RS20A for whole house power backup by Cummins Onan
The company was incorporated in 1907 when funds were secured to begin construction of the Dayton Hollow Dam southwest of Fergus Falls. Once the dam came online in April 1909, the company transmitted power at 22kV over a 25-mile (40 km) line to serve the customers of the Northern Light Electric Company at Wahpeton, North Dakota.
Shortly thereafter, contracts were secured to provide power at wholesale to the cities of Breckenridge and Fergus Falls, MN (the latter after their own municipal utility's dam failed). After connecting Foxhome, MN to the system in 1912, the company connected or purchased electric distribution systems in 10 Minnesota towns (the most prominent being Elbow Lake and Morris, MN) and a second town in North Dakota (Fairmount) the following year. The first South Dakota community served by the company was White Rock in 1915. The company slowly grew to more than 100 towns served by the time the company reached Jamestown, ND in 1924. The company grew at an incredible rate over the next 5 years - reaching the Missouri River at Washburn in 1926 and approaching the Canadian border by 1928. By the end of the 1920s, the company's service area had tripled to serve more than 310 towns. During the Great Depression, the company was apparently not as badly affected as some of its neighbors but was still forced to focus more on survival than growth. By 1939, the worst was past and they were ready to move forward once more.
Between 1940 and 1944, Otter Tail added territory by merger or acquisition of 6 smaller power companies within or adjacent to its territory (these were all either companies that barely survived the Depression or were required due to passage of PUHCA in 1935). These purchases increased its territory to its present size of 50,000 square miles (130,000 km2) - about the same size as the state of Wisconsin. The one exception in this territory is the Red River Valley between Grand Forks and Fargo, ND - which was then and still is served by Northern States Power Company (now Xcel Energy).
After the final major acquisition in 1944, the company had reached its 'maximum system' of 496 towns served at both retail and wholesale. As the company matured over the next several decades, the number of towns served within the region would shrink (mainly due to towns served at wholesale changing suppliers and some smaller retail towns dying out). A few towns were added between 1944 and 1968 - the largest being the purchase of Fergus Falls' municipal utility in 1953 and the last addition being the transfer of several towns in Polk County, Minnesota from Northern States Power Company when their 33kV transmission line serving these towns approached its load limit.
A merger with Montana-Dakota Utilities was briefly explored in the late 1960s but was soon dropped due to all the regulatory hurdles involved. By the 1990s, flat revenues from the utility operations led the company to establish a subsidiary (Varistar) to acquire and oversee non-utility businesses. In 2001, the company changed its name to Otter Tail Corporation with the utility becoming a division within the company. In late 2008, the company completed a reorganization to move the utility operations into a separate subsidiary within Otter Tail Corporation.
Wind Power
Otter Tail Power Company owns 138 MW of wind generation, and purchases 45 MW emission-free, renewable wind generation for a total of 183 MW of wind power. By 2010 wind generation on the system is expected to be equivalent to 18 percent of retail sales. Owned wind resources and power purchase agreements for Otter Tail Power Company include: Luverne Wind Farm, Ashtabula Wind Energy Center, Langdon Wind Energy Center, and North Dakota Wind II.
Hydropower
Otter Tail Power Company generates 1% of its electricity from hydropower. In Minnesota there are 6 hydro plants: the Dayton Hollow, Hoot Lake, Pisgah Dam, Wright Dam, and Taplin Gorge, all of which are located near Fergus Falls on the Otter Tail River and the Bemidji located on the Mississippi River.
See also
List of United States electric companies
External links
Ottertail Power's website
Otter Tail Corporation website
References
^ "Otter Tail Power Company history". Otter Tail Power Company. http://www.otpco.com/AboutCompany/CompanyHistory.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
