Generator Clock Randomly Starts

[Cupcake]

Wondered if anyone has experienced this or has ideas about the cause/fix.

1994 Winnebago Brave with Onan Generator. Start/stop switch on dash and on stove hood, hour clock on stove hood.

While on shoreline external power the generator hours clock will randomly start running and the dash switch will illuminate, as if the generator was running. Pushing any of the generator off switches has no effect, clock keeps ticking. I can make it stop by either momentarily unplugging the shoreline, turning off and on a 15 amp AC breaker (for fridge and an outlet), or unplugging the external control wires at the generator. It will stay off for a while but then randomly starts running again.

I’m thinking maybe a bad ground or short somewhere but not sure how to find it. Appreciate any ideas.

Thanks. John

 

[CharlesinGA]

1994 Wiring Diagrams​

• Brave (F)
• WCF23RC
• WCF27RC
• WCF27RQ
• WCF29RQ
• WCF31RQ
• WCF33RQ

Pick your model.
Body Wiring Diagram is the one you want. Later I will attempt to trace it when time permits.

Charles

 

[Cupcake]

Thanks. It’s the WCF31RQ. The fourth breaker from the left (which feeds power to the converter) is the one that will cause the hours clock to stop ticking for a while when turned off and back on.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, however, I'm betting you have a poor ground somewhere, possibly in the stove hood. I assume you have the house battery on all the time, so turning the converter off simply lowers the voltage of the 12v system somewhat.

If its a Jensen hood, you carefully push upward on the bottom of the front panel, and when you get it up as far as it will slide, you then pull the bottom outward. Once the bottom is clear of the opening, slide the top downward and the whole thing comes out.

Charles

 

[Ray-IN]

I agree, poor/missing ground somewhere is back-feeding that meter and light. BTW 80% of all 12V issues are the result of a poor/missing ground. Most people forget about the other half of a circuit.

 

[Kirk]

The fourth breaker from the left (which feeds power to the converter) is the one that will cause the hours clock to stop ticking for a while when turned off and back on.

The circuit breakers are 120V-ac and not 12V-dc. While I have never had occasion to work on an hour-meters for a generator, I would expect that it was simply powered by the generator output, as most such meters are. If it were me, I'd check to be sure which voltage you have on the meter before I started to fix things. If I am right, the issue would be something that is common to both the generator output and shore power. Since 120V does not use a chassis ground, confirming the voltage at 120 would pretty much eliminate that problem. Since the generator does use 12V for starting and remote starting, it may be a 12V hour-meter, but be careful. In looking at the Winnebago drawings, I found the generator and the range hood but nothing on the hour meter or remote start. They may be there but I don't see them.

 

[dktool]

Posting the model number of the generator should eliminate a lot of questions.