marc2912
RVF Supporter
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2021
- Messages
- 283
- Location
- New York
- RV Year
- 2015
- RV Make
- Newmar
- RV Model
- Dutch Star 4312
- RV Length
- 43'
- Chassis
- Freightliner
- Engine
- Cummins 450HP
- TOW/TOAD
- 2022 Jeep Unlimited Sport S w/ Air Force One and Blue Ox
So a while back my generator stopped cranking (model 10HDKCA-11506G). Whether trying from inside or outside it would never get to crank. It would, upon releasing start, blink three times meaning basically nothing helpful as it’s a more generic error code saying it needs further investigation. Pressing stop though gave me the full error code, error code 32. As I was traveling I looked up the nearest Cummins service center and called the one in Horseheads NY. My luck continuing the rep told me their generator tech had quit and they hadn’t replaced him and to try elsewhere. With the closest next service center 2 hours away I said heck and started researching more.
Now the Onan generator fault code 32 generally indicates a problem with the starting system, often due to low cranking speed or a failure to start. Most details you’ll find tell you to check battery voltage and to that you’re getting the cranking amps needed to start. Now I know my batteries were ok (or I assumed) so I didn’t want to spend too much going down that rabbit hole. I wasn’t getting any crank at all which to me (and take this with a grain of salt as I’m not a mechanic in any way possible) meant bad starter or electronic issue. After doing a bit more digging I found that the Onan generator have 3 identical relays, and if I correctly remember their use they are:
Anyways I next needed to find these suckers. Some online posts told me back left corner. What took a little bit to find out (and it’s mostly on me for not thinking things through) is that back left was actually front left from me because back left is a reference when facing the generator controls and due to how the generator is positioned on my Dutch Star slide out what is my “front” is actually the generator’s left side.
Looking at the above picture it’s slightly to the right of the ac outputs and remote control connections under the smaller top cover. Unfortunately they did not give us a nice and easy access. In fact the whole top cover is supposed to come off though I found that if you remove some of the closest screws on the top cover and the ones for the control panel cover you can work the smaller cover off. Now I finally found the relays. Turns out inside the generator, after 10+ years it gets pretty gross and dusty. I wanted to test by switching relays one and two out (I know you can test relays but I had no easy way to feed it 12v and test) so for me if I now got crank but no start I’d know it was a relay issue. Now watch out, they’re 5 pin relays and don’t use the same pins in each use case. The leads also aren’t that long so it’s a tight fit, if you have something to label wires do that. Anyways, as I was pulling the connectors apart the amount of dirt that fell out made me really question the quality of the connections. Upon finishing the switch out the generator started … and kept running. Yes all this for dirty connections.
I ran to the local Napa and got some electric connection spray, sandpaper and a spare relay (because relays are cheap and I’d rather have one on hand). I cleaned all the connections that are exposed with a bit of sandpaper, sprayed everything and reconnected everything. Generator is still running like a top.
For those looking for the relays info mine were Tyco Electronics 0-1432794-1, 12VDC relays (again these were in my 10HDKCA-11506G so your mileage may vary). Tycoon Electronics rebranded themselves to TE Connectivity but regardless that relay is discontinued. Fret not, it’s really just a general purpose SPDT 30A 12VDC relay. I’ve included the datasheet for the relay and you should be able to find one for $10 or less with no issues if you need it.
This might have been obvious to many of you but I couldn’t find any great info so figured I’d share in the hope it helps someone else one day.
Now the Onan generator fault code 32 generally indicates a problem with the starting system, often due to low cranking speed or a failure to start. Most details you’ll find tell you to check battery voltage and to that you’re getting the cranking amps needed to start. Now I know my batteries were ok (or I assumed) so I didn’t want to spend too much going down that rabbit hole. I wasn’t getting any crank at all which to me (and take this with a grain of salt as I’m not a mechanic in any way possible) meant bad starter or electronic issue. After doing a bit more digging I found that the Onan generator have 3 identical relays, and if I correctly remember their use they are:
- Fuel Pump Relay
- Start Relay (Crank relay)
- Run Relay
Anyways I next needed to find these suckers. Some online posts told me back left corner. What took a little bit to find out (and it’s mostly on me for not thinking things through) is that back left was actually front left from me because back left is a reference when facing the generator controls and due to how the generator is positioned on my Dutch Star slide out what is my “front” is actually the generator’s left side.
Looking at the above picture it’s slightly to the right of the ac outputs and remote control connections under the smaller top cover. Unfortunately they did not give us a nice and easy access. In fact the whole top cover is supposed to come off though I found that if you remove some of the closest screws on the top cover and the ones for the control panel cover you can work the smaller cover off. Now I finally found the relays. Turns out inside the generator, after 10+ years it gets pretty gross and dusty. I wanted to test by switching relays one and two out (I know you can test relays but I had no easy way to feed it 12v and test) so for me if I now got crank but no start I’d know it was a relay issue. Now watch out, they’re 5 pin relays and don’t use the same pins in each use case. The leads also aren’t that long so it’s a tight fit, if you have something to label wires do that. Anyways, as I was pulling the connectors apart the amount of dirt that fell out made me really question the quality of the connections. Upon finishing the switch out the generator started … and kept running. Yes all this for dirty connections.
I ran to the local Napa and got some electric connection spray, sandpaper and a spare relay (because relays are cheap and I’d rather have one on hand). I cleaned all the connections that are exposed with a bit of sandpaper, sprayed everything and reconnected everything. Generator is still running like a top.
For those looking for the relays info mine were Tyco Electronics 0-1432794-1, 12VDC relays (again these were in my 10HDKCA-11506G so your mileage may vary). Tycoon Electronics rebranded themselves to TE Connectivity but regardless that relay is discontinued. Fret not, it’s really just a general purpose SPDT 30A 12VDC relay. I’ve included the datasheet for the relay and you should be able to find one for $10 or less with no issues if you need it.
This might have been obvious to many of you but I couldn’t find any great info so figured I’d share in the hope it helps someone else one day.
