I have a 2 year old Onan 5500 gas generator with 170 hours. It has performed perfectly until today.
When cranked, it started just fine. At a 50 watt load it maintained voltage and frequency. At 500 watts, it gave a shrill, rattling sound and voltage dropped until the transfer switch dropped out. RPM sounded constant. After a minute or so, the transfer switch would pull back in and all was fine until a load was put back on and the voltage dropped. After a few cycles of this while troubleshooting, I turned the gen off. It now cranks and starts but will not run unless the start switch is held on. No codes are shown.
This model generator has a drive belt and idler pulley. The idler pulley failed and took the belt with it.
The good news is that the drive components have a lifetime warranty - it does not get much better than that. Cummins Power South in Atlanta did a great job fixing this for me.
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