Onan 4K won't turn over

mjbx5 · 09-02-2008, 10:49 AM

My generator in 2004 Minnie Winnie won't turn over. Ran fine for 3 days of dry camp, then refused to start. Batteries are full, solenoid clicks, there is a small brief whine, but starter does not turn engine over. Problem persists after returning home and juicing everything up with shore power. Fault code is 32, but my ground and oil are OK. Any bright ideas? Genny has less than 50 total hours and is well maintained.

mjbx5 · 09-02-2008, 10:49 AM

My generator in 2004 Minnie Winnie won't turn over. Ran fine for 3 days of dry camp, then refused to start. Batteries are full, solenoid clicks, there is a small brief whine, but starter does not turn engine over. Problem persists after returning home and juicing everything up with shore power. Fault code is 32, but my ground and oil are OK. Any bright ideas? Genny has less than 50 total hours and is well maintained.

autofish · 09-02-2008, 11:41 AM

If grounds and bat is ok and you hear a whine it is the starter spining but the bendix or starter gear is not ingaging. This can happen if the starter gets oily and greesey it can also happen do to rust. So take starter off and clean bendix shaft. hope this helps.

FrankO · 09-02-2008, 12:27 PM

Try tapping the starter with a hammer before attempting to start. If that does not help then try tapping with starter engaged. If it is the Bendix spring that should temporarily free it up.
Frank O.

mjbx5 · 09-02-2008, 04:00 PM

Thanks for the good ideas but how do I access the starter? Short of a fork lift I don't see how to get the genny out.

FrankO · 09-02-2008, 04:10 PM

Sorry, don't know your MH/Genny setup. If you can see the starter motor housing then you could probably get some iron on it to tap. I am not sure if I can see mine as I have had no issues yet. I know I can easily access the filters and lines but beyond that not sure.
Frank O.

mjbx5 · 09-22-2008, 01:03 PM

Quick update. Checked voltage at all points and cleaned all ground connects. Problem remained: solenoid clicked, starter whined, but would not turn motor over. I stuck a hand in left side of genny past air filter and got a grip on the motor fan. After several tries it moved very slightly. Genny promptly started and ran fine. Put it under load and it ran fine. The d*&m thing was stuck.

rvcarpenter · 09-22-2008, 01:20 PM

Yikes, hope you still have your fingers. Do you know what it was stuck on?

MrTransistor · 09-22-2008, 02:51 PM

Extremely rare but I have heard of a Bendix not engaging the ring gear properly. As you say, turning the engine even slightly allows the Bendix to extend and engage. May not happen again, ever. Then again, it could happen the next time you use it.

The next time you have the covers off for service, remove the starter if you can and see if there is any lubricant grease on the shaft of the starter under the Bendix gear. If not, a little axle grease may help. You might even have to disassemble the starter to get grease on the Bendix worm.

If it doesn't happen again, then chalk it up to gremlins.

RVThere · 09-22-2008, 04:28 PM

I had the same fault code 32 on my Onan Genset back in May when I had my Suncruiser. Turned out a mouse had eaten some of the wires. They had to drop the genset and $1000 later it was fixed.