Onan 3200 diesel generator

[Kris10b]

2015 View Cummins Onan RVQD 3200 diesel generator quit working last winter while trying to start. Start panel inside RV went dark. 1st tech said we needed a new start panel. 2nd tech changed a fuse & the start panel light is on but generator not working. We have been told we need a new starter and b/c of the age of the unit they no longer make them & they were unable to locate one. (5 hrs of work, costly bill & still no working generator)
Anyone know how to find an outdated starter? Thoughts on a rebuilt starter? (if even possible) Other ideas?

[Morich]

Yes, There would be several points that I might mention. One is that your RV is NOT old by most RV folks standards. The 2015 is actually just getting started!
So the first guy was just there for the money and he didn't do much to check. The second guy changed a fuse but we will need to know more about what the generator does before we say he didn't try very hard?

Second idea is that the supply chain has been massively messed up since Covid and it may still be a problem to find certain parts but that is really part of the game if one is a repair business and the answer may change daily!

So what to do? I move to doing my own checking!
Step one might be to find out what is actually wrong with the generator as a bad monito board is not the real reasons for most generators to not start. Many actually have a switch built on them for starting!
But then, you've not told us too much about what the generator does or doesn't do??
Doesn't crank? Cranks but doesn't start or runs but doesn't put out power?

Beyond that I might do my own search for info on what this specific generator needs to run. For that info, you will need to dig a little deeper to get info off the generator to get down to the exactly right one.
This site might be a place to start looking for info as it tells what info and where to find it on the generator label!
https://www.cummins.com/generators/r...erator-manuals

Then you can look online for the manuals and parts.
If it is a start problem, it's possible it needs a a starter but if a hammer head is looking at it, the problem may just be a dirty cable!

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Kris10b

2015 View Cummins Onan RVQD 3200 diesel generator quit working last winter while trying to start. Start panel inside RV went dark. 1st tech said we needed a new start panel. 2nd tech changed a fuse & the start panel light is on but generator not working. We have been told we need a new starter and b/c of the age of the unit they no longer make them & they were unable to locate one. (5 hrs of work, costly bill & still no working generator)
Anyone know how to find an outdated starter? Thoughts on a rebuilt starter? (if even possible) Other ideas?

Someone is blowing smoke... That generator is only 8-9 years old and parts are still available for it. You may have to go after-market for some of them. A quick search shows a LOT of issues with the control panel. I am not sure what the answer is to that. I ran a search for the starter and came up with about 10 listings ranging from $49.95-$400.

Aaron

[Morich]

Blowing smoke seems to be the modern way to deal with customers!
Next time you get around an automotive shop that has the industry mags laying out in the waiting room, look at the articles that tell the shop how to blow smoke!
They call it profit enhancement!

Example of blowing smoke instead of acting like they are responsible?
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dek...BR4NMYKVOALW4/


We used to call it lying but now it's a universal obsession! If the lie is big enough, you just keep telling it until folks believe it!

[Bobn1957]

Originally Posted by Kris10b

2015 View Cummins Onan RVQD 3200 diesel generator quit working last winter while trying to start. Start panel inside RV went dark. 1st tech said we needed a new start panel. 2nd tech changed a fuse & the start panel light is on but generator not working. We have been told we need a new starter and b/c of the age of the unit they no longer make them & they were unable to locate one. (5 hrs of work, costly bill & still no working generator)
Anyone know how to find an outdated starter? Thoughts on a rebuilt starter? (if even possible) Other ideas?

An easy way to test the starter is by jumping the solenoid with a screwdriver if the starter turns the generator something else is the problem!

[Morich]

Bob makes a good suggestion!
Are you familiar with the solenoid he mentions?
If not the idea is that there will be a battery cable going to it on the generator, so follow the big cable going into the generator housing.
There you are likely to find a big lug with that cable attached and a second big lug with wire to the starter. Along with those big lugs, there is likely to be one or more smaller lugs with smaller wires.

Those smaller wires are what carry the signal from the generator switches to the solenoid. When you close any of the start switches, it sends 12volts to the small lugs. that makes the solenoid operate and close the two big contacts, letting 12volts go on direct to the starter motor.

Sop what Bob's suggestion does is cut out all the questions about getting the signal from the monitor panel or switches and you connect something metal from the battery cable( big lug) to the big lug going into the starter motor!
That puts 12volts direct on the motor windings and it turns or the starter is bad!
If it turns, then the motor itself is good but the solenoid built on the side may be bad.

But the wiring to get that signal down to the generator is often a problem that changing the starter will not fix!

Like this maybe? The starter is sticking in the generator at the black line but one big lug should have 12volts from a big cable all the time. Shorting that lug to the other big lug sends power direct to the starter motor to turn it!

[bigb]

Like the others said I doubt you need a starter but if you did I would just remove it and take it to a starter rebuilding shop rather than buying a possibly inferior after market one or worse yet paying for a gold plated OEM one.