When pulling our truck camper (1995 Lance 880) out of storage, we noticed a problem with the on-board propane generator. It will not start, and appears to have no power going to it. I can't start it using either the system monitor switch, or the generator based switch. Unit is an Onan Micro-Lite 2500.
On a maybe-related note... The holding tank level/battery charge switch on the control panel is also dead. The rest of the panel works fine- the only two dead switches at the "monitor" and the generator.
I've checked all the fuses and circuit breakers on all the panels, as well as the 5-amp fuse on the generator itself. The generator was winterized (oil-change and fogged) by me when put into storage... worked fine then. As did the control panel...
Battery is fully charged, and everything else related works as normal.
Am I missing something obvious here? Any other ideas on what to check?
Only one battery in the camper unit. Freshly charged when I put it in, although I did not have it checked at the battery place. I suppose it's reasonable to check it... perhaps it's holding enough charge to power lights, pump, etc. and not have enough oomph to turn over the gennie...
But, shouldn't the generator starter motor fire off of shore-power, anyway?
The generator starter requires 12 vdc power to operate. Shore power and your converter cannot supply enough dc power to get it running. How about checking for loose, corroded or incorrect connections.
Don't forget the ground path return to the battery. The power has to get back to the battery to complete the circuit.
Turn on a dc light and try to start the generator. Did the light go out? If so, you have a low battery and/or a high resistance connection.
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