1978 georgie boy, No power from alternator or generator

[cdlegasse]

I'm having the same issues that another user posted here some years back but his solution left me with a lot of questions still so I figure i'll reshare the issue.

Situation:  1978 Georgie Boy Cruise Air
                   Dodge 440-3

When I am plugged in, everything works fine.  When I start up the Onan 4.0 BFA, the generator hums along nicely.  But, I have NO power inside the coach at all.  When I start the motor, the motor starts fine.  But, I have no power inside the coach at all.

So, the only time I get power in the RV is when I am plugged into the wall.  The genny runs fine, but does not power the coach.  The alternator runs fine, but does not power the coach.

How do I get the genny to power things inside the coach, and how do I get things to run off the alternator?

[Rickf1985]

Is there a receptacle in the cord compartment for the shore power cord? You may have to plug the shore power cord into the generator to get the power from the generator to the coach. As far as the automotive alternator goes it sounds to me like you may not have any coach batteries in there and you are just running off of the converter. The automotive alternator is not going to do anything there. You may have a switch to switch over to the chassis battery and then the coach will work off of the same battery as the engine and alternator but under normal circumstances the alternator will not run the equipment in the coach. It will charge the coach batteries through any number of different scenarios. You could have a manual switch like I mentioned, an automatic switch, a battery isolater circuit. What condition are the batteries in the coach? The "house" batteries.

[cdlegasse]

honestly this is my first rv, and i'm not sure where the coach batteries are located. i'm still digging through all of the manuals lol

[cdlegasse]

If it helps anyone, i'm having a hard time finding the right info, but this is the manual for my model:

http://coachmenrv.com/downloads/default.aspx?page=/ownersmanuals/13998490.pdf

[Rickf1985]

Just glancing through your manual the generator breakers have to be in the on position for it to power the systems. I will defer to some of the guys with older coaches on this on as mine is different and I do not want to steer you wrong. I am sure Dave will jump in here shortly and give advice, this is his favorite area.

[cdlegasse]

Thanks a bunch Rick. I found the breaker in the bathroom closet, flipped city electric off, generator electric on, and i'm still not getting power to my lights and appliances with a running generator. Is it possible that i'll have to let the genny run to fuel up my coach batteries, wherever the hell they are. Hahaha

This will be my live in, and i'll probably start staying in it before I even have a place to put it. There's a mild bit of urgency on me fixing this Lol.

[Rickf1985]

Start reading up on that manual!!!! To jump right into an older RV like that coming into winter is risky.

[cdlegasse]

Oh I am. I also made sure that all systems within were functional. I'll likely be in a lot with all the hookups I need fairly soon, well before winter, it's just the next few days that i'll be needing the generator functional.

Edit:
I figured it out, apparently there's a switch near the generator that was in the off position, but paced just where I couldn't see it easily. Flipped that, started her up and all the lights came on! that is a very noisy machine btw. I'll have to run it sparingly until I can find a home for it.

[Rickf1985]

So this is NOT the original generator? The original generator would have been in a compartment and been fairly quiet.

[BrianB]

So this is NOT the original generator? The original generator would have been in a compartment and been fairly quiet.

I don't think you can infer that just yet. My car used to be quiet too. Now with a bad exhaust it is very loud.

[Rickf1985]

True, but he did say he had to find a home for it so I am assuming it is not mounted. Doesn't matter, it is now working. Just made it tough to make an accurate call on the problem.