Onan Marquis Gold Series Generator - Piece of junk!

[GONMAD]

I'm having generator problems AGAIN. DO NOT under ANY circumstances but an ONAN Marquis gold series... These are without any doubt the biggest LEMONS I've ever seen. Onan reps are thoughtless Zombies trained to SCREW YOU. I'll never buy ANYTHING ONAN ever again. I'll go with the Generac Guardian next time. If anyone wants details on this type generator I'll do a workup on it.
All for now C YA! GONMAD   

[Madathlon]

Well that was thoughtful. First off, lets start with what your problem is and then we can see if we can help you.

Just because you had a bad experience does not mean that the gen bad, or that all Onan service techs are bad either.

[GONMAD]

  I apologize for my ignorant ravings saying things I shouldn't have BUT this was a problem from the start. This is the "Edsil" of Onans. Sorry to sound like it's a NEW problem. It's not, I've already replaced the Logic board after Camping World said they didn't sell Onan. I have the receipt for it from there. Look this unit up on the web & you'll see all the unhappy owners of this model Onan. The marquis Gold 5500 in the black case. I've spent more time on keeping this thing running than the $3700.00 was worth.

You get ZIP from Cummins unless you pay for diagnostics that should be covered in the warranty. They tell me if it;s not on their computers they don't know ANYTHING about it. That's Cummins of Ft. Myers Fl. Unless you're ready to shuck out the diagnostic fee they will not help you. I know not ALL techs are bad but I too am an Electronics tech as well & have at my disposal Diagnostic tools & have found many shortcomings in this design & have modified the cooling system for additional air flow around the electronics (that burned up in the excessive heat).

Now the stator bearings & the belt tensioner bearing have dried up & need replacing.  This unit has only 250 hours on it. This should NOT be happening with something this new. I have babied this thing since I bought it & right off the pallet the choke pulloff was defective ($35.00).
I had to add an external fuel pump with a regulator set at 1.5 lbs. No problem there.

The problem NOW is screeching inside the case & upon disassembly find all sealed bearings dry & rough spinning. The bearings are made in China & I'm replacing them with Timkens or BCA That SHOULD cure the noise. It also shuts itself off at any random time. (A common complaint with ALL these type) They won't honor any replacement on electronic parts & I hope it's not another logic board $375.00 & NO guarantees it even works. I've had this type trouble with auto computers as well.

Again I apologize for spouting off & I appreciate your concern Madathlon. I'm human & beg forgiveness . I guess it could always be worse, it could be raining.    Bless You All    C YA! GONMAD

[cosmic]

I too need to vent sometimes when im really frustrated W%
I love my Brave but I have had some of my most frustrating and enjoyable times in and under that thing.
its must be a disease.  :)rotflmao
that includes the genny too. lol

[Madathlon]

I do understand the frustration, I have worked for independent Gen shops and once for Cummings west. Fist CW is a joke. I will agree to this every day of the week. I have install lots of Onan Marquis gold series gen sets and have had a few issues. Heat being the biggest, OEM installers try to shove these things in to small of compartments and this leads to over heating. You need lots of air to keep them happy.

I personally run the commercial version of the Onan Marquis gold 7K unit in my 84 Winnie, Now this RV came with a BFA 4k Spec F and the compartment is huge and I have about 4 inches of free air space all around mine. I am also running it on Propane, this tend to make the genset super happy because the propane had a cooling effect and the gen runs a good 20 degrees cooler. You may want to look into doing a propane conversion to help your out also.

Besides heat, salt air kills the bearing superfast. It gets in and dries them out.

You best chance at a good repair is find a indepandent Gen shop that is Onan cert and you be so much happeier, these guy do nothing bet gen, Not a whole RV service where a guy may work on them with little schooling.

If you need any other help just asked away.

[GONMAD]

Hi again, I do not need a gen shop but thanks for the advice. Upon disassembly I found ALL the sealed alternator  bearings dry & ready to fail completely. This along with the idler pulley (These are known to fail) I imagine would cause an unstable signal to the logic board & cause a shutdown. I read that the AC output is a stabilized sine wave & the erratic armature wobble would send a corrupted return to the board. I'm thinking about ceramic bearings as they do not have the problems that regular steel bearings have & last practically forever. They ARE more expensive however. I think the dependability is worth the extra cost. Going to replace the belt as well as long as it's down this far. I'm going to provide pics on this so it won't sound or look intimidating . Thanks for all the support & I'll be back. As always C YA! GONMAD

[Oz]

Just a thought... if these components are items which have been proven to be the Achille's heel of this particular model, is there any possibilitly that alternative or improved replacement parts could be found?

[ibdilbert01]

The bearings are made in China & I'm replacing them with Timkens....

Be careful, Timken now has China factories too.   

[GONMAD]

That's OK But I'm going to try Ceramic bearings from VXB Ball Bearings Here's the link for VXB & Microblue Bearings: 
http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit7209

http://www.microbluebearings.com/
 
Thanks Guys n Gals, C YA! GONMAD