JK Woodrow
Not a Newbie
Posts:34
Registered Users
Springfield, Ohio
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| 08/17/2007 7:53 PM |
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My 345's generator bagan to run poorly recently. It would burp, belch and shudder. I found that the original rubber gas line had cracks in it allowing it to suck air.
Six feet of gas line, a clear fuel filter, a set of spark plugs and four clamps later, she purrs again.
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Airstream345
Site Host
Classic Master
Posts:1266
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 08/17/2007 9:35 PM |
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| That's good to know. I'm chasing an intermittant shut down on mine. Coop sent me the operator manual and I hope to post it on the site soon. I installed a clear fule filter a couple of years ago when I was troublshooting other issue with the Onan. It's great to "see" if fuel is moving. Added one to my Beetle's 1600 as well - same reason. |
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Steven Webster
1986 Airstream Classic 345
Host, ThisOldRV.com |
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COOPERHAWK
Moderator
Expert
Posts:838
Administrators
East Central Minnesota
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| 08/18/2007 9:11 AM |
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| Since we have the diesel our Genset runs on Propane. I had two problems that we chased for a while. The first was a loose screw on the back of the carburator that allowed air in and made it run rough. As it warmed up it expanded and got worse. A tech finally found it with a dental mirror and tightened it. The second confounded us until we checked the points and found that they had slipped waaay out of adjustment. Reset them and it works great again. |
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1985 Airstream 345 Turbo-Diesel
VFW,Legion, NRA
FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor (Retired)
http://www.cooperhawk.net
mailto:jimcooper@cooperhawk.net
"People are okay in ones and twos. After that number they tend to choose up sides and wear arm bands and berets." |
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COOPERHAWK
Moderator
Expert
Posts:838
Administrators
East Central Minnesota
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| 08/21/2007 5:07 PM |
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| Got your Genset running right yet Steve? An Onan tech told me that the usual cause of surging is the governor spring losing its strength. They recommend replacing the spring periodically and then tuning the engine. |
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1985 Airstream 345 Turbo-Diesel
VFW,Legion, NRA
FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor (Retired)
http://www.cooperhawk.net
mailto:jimcooper@cooperhawk.net
"People are okay in ones and twos. After that number they tend to choose up sides and wear arm bands and berets." |
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Airstream345
Site Host
Classic Master
Posts:1266
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 08/22/2007 7:39 AM |
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| I haven't had any time to work on it much. The idea of the return spring makes a ton of sense. I plan to visit the Onan store soon and pick up a new spring. The tuning procedure looks pretty basic so I'll tackle this all at once. |
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Steven Webster
1986 Airstream Classic 345
Host, ThisOldRV.com |
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COOPERHAWK
Moderator
Expert
Posts:838
Administrators
East Central Minnesota
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| 08/22/2007 10:46 AM |
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| While at the Onan store pick up a tune up kit. Includes plugs, points and such. You'll probably need a dental mirror to set the points along with allan wrenches. |
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1985 Airstream 345 Turbo-Diesel
VFW,Legion, NRA
FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor (Retired)
http://www.cooperhawk.net
mailto:jimcooper@cooperhawk.net
"People are okay in ones and twos. After that number they tend to choose up sides and wear arm bands and berets." |
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JK Woodrow
Not a Newbie
Posts:34
Registered Users
Springfield, Ohio
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| 08/22/2007 9:00 PM |
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Look closely the rubber gas line. Yours is probably as old as mine was which was my problem. 
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Airstream345
Site Host
Classic Master
Posts:1266
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 08/23/2007 11:27 AM |
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JK,
Good suggestion. While I haven't had the time to get into the generator since Coop sent me the manuals, I did fire it up the other day from the compartment switch and just "watched" how it ran and died. It seems like fuel starvation or plug fouling. But since it restarts every time and the plugs look good...I'm now thinking fuel.
I'll run a test line into a gerry jug and see if I can improve the situtation with clean, new fuel lines. |
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Steven Webster
1986 Airstream Classic 345
Host, ThisOldRV.com |
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JK Woodrow
Not a Newbie
Posts:34
Registered Users
Springfield, Ohio
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| 08/24/2007 9:51 AM |
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The line segment in my generator compartment didn't look bad but when I checked the exposed portion under the coach it was pretty punky. It is a simple matter to change it out. Took less than 5 minutes. I bought 8' of line and had 2 to 3' left over. It really smoothed out my unit. Good luck! |
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Airstream345
Site Host
Classic Master
Posts:1266
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 10/19/2007 9:57 PM |
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I'm not terribly bright sometimes. I took the day off to work on the 345. One of the things I wanted to address was the generator cutting out. I had replaced the fuel lines earlier but it didn't make any difference. It seemed like I could start it and it would run for about ten maybe twenty seconds the shut off. Not sputter or die or "load up"...just turn off.
I tested the fuel pump adn checked a few connections for voltage. Everything seemed fine. Just for fun I checked the oil level (since I was headed to Camping World anyway today I thought I might need to pick up some Onan oil). Gues what...it was at the low mark.
So, the low oil cutoff switch was working. It is designed to allow the engine to start, but then shut off the ignition in a low oil situation. Sure enough, one quart later....it ran for three hours straight. |
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Steven Webster
1986 Airstream Classic 345
Host, ThisOldRV.com |
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