Trojan Boat Forum

I have an Onan 6.5 genny probably an 1987 model, because that is the year of my boat. I finally got it genny good, but now I am having an issue with the governor. My understanding is that when you put on a load, there is something (the governor??) that is supposed to make the genny run faster, so that it stays at 110 volt output, and if you reduce the load, it slow the genny down to stay at 110 volt. right now I got it around 160 volts, which I think is too high, and then when I put a big load on it, specifically the compressor for the a/c, it goes down t like to 100 volts, and that is not enough to run the compressor. I thought there should be something that allows me to set it, and basically forget it. the way it is now, I don't want to use the genny for fear I will either burn something up for having too much or too little power (volts) thoughts???

I set my throttle speed and basically you will do the same with a meter set to hertz and with a load, you will need to see 60Hz from your electrical socket. I use a Fluke digital multimeter.
160 is too high and 100 is too low.

Go to smokestack.com and go to the onan forum you'll get all kinds of info. Look for tech manuals to they're out here.
Do you know your way around an engine ? What have you done to the gen-set ? It sounds like you are using the idle screw to try to set your run rpm

There are specific proceedures to set up carbs and governors. If adjustments were made, you may have thrown something off. Instructions for adjusting the carb, governor, frequency, etc are in the service manual. It's a good thing to have on hand. If you follow proper prceedure and it still acts up, there's another issue.

The governor is to maintain engine speed the speed will be 3600 rpm or 1800 rpm . this keeps it at 60 cycles (60Hz)

this is freaky. i'm having the EXACT same problem. puts out high with no/little load, but cuts out as soon as i try to run the a/c.

the gentleman who works on my boat for me rebuilt the carb this last week. but we were disappointed when we found that the genset still won't pull a load (a/c). so, he is going to look into (if i recall his terminology correctly) the linkages, etc.

hopefully he'll have it up this next week.

please post once you get this fixed. be interesting to know the cause/fix.

update on mine...

had the carb rebuilt and walah! runs like a champ. runs everything on board...including my ultra high powered transmitter that i use to communicate with the aliens (that was for you, mtp).

Tuck wrote:update on mine...

had the carb rebuilt and walah! runs like a champ. runs everything on board...including my ultra high powered transmitter that i use to communicate with the aliens (that was for you, mtp).

Is there a rebuild kit that you purchased or know where to get? Onan direct? Very exact issue here with mine too. As well as it is SUPER hard to start. I have to hold the butterfly wide open to get it running.

i'm not sure about where to get a rebuild kit, brother. i didn't do it. i'm lucky enough to have a top notch mechanic who i hire to do this kinda thing for me.

all i know is he took the carb off, took it home, 'rebuilt'/cleaned it, and reinstalled. the day after he did it, it started running totally funny, and wouldn't even stay on for more than 10 minutes.

he looked at it yesterday, and it was a $20.00 part (condensor). runs great, again.

Cummins bought Onan - so your local Cummins dealer should be able to get it for you.

As someone else said, check SmokeStak.com - lot of very bright guys on there.

As Tony mentioned about the genny forums. But it's http://www.smokstak.com

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1

when i bought my f-32 in 2008 the genset did the exact same thing. i rebuilt the carb, changed the impeller in the water pump to have more water flow, AND, changed out the thermostats. believe it or not, if the engine is running hot, it will not handle anything. my mechanic and i also adjusted the engine speed and set the gov up a notch to handle the loads. she runs like a top now, and will handle the oven and a/c or all three burners on the stove plus the a/c without bogging down. make sure you set the gov speed in addition to the throttle as they run hand in hand.
if you do not, once you turn it off you run the risk of sending a power surge through the system and it will blow fuses. i only hope that the genset on the next boat, whenever that is, will run as good as i have this one running.

aaronbocknek wrote: if you do not, once you turn it off you run the risk of sending a power surge through the system and it will blow fuses. this one running.

i believe it is good practice to turn the ac power selector switch from generator to off before starting or stopping or even shore power to off when connecting or disconnecting power to the boat from any source. to avoid just those issues and also burning your power cord plugs when the power arcs to it when connecting them

Sluggo,

I thought for sure when you started talking about Jenny and Govenor problems you were talking about the State of Michigan's problems

Pat

Hey guys you also get carb parts from e bay. Got 2 carb kits from there. And forget Cummins Hell they can't even cross over the spark plug #'s . Look around and you'll find it on the net for sure but when you do double your order.