I have an Onan generator on my LQ trailer.  I bought the trailer new and the generator has been next to impossible to start since day one.  While under warranty, I took it in to a trailer dealership that services Onans and they can coax it to start but when I take it home, it won't start again.  They have replaced the starter once.

I have already paid this service center $600 and the generator still will not start.  It has never started from the remote switch inside the trailer.  I have to go outside and pull the cover off and stand there and try, and try and try the start switch.  Sometimes I get lucky and it fires and most times it doesn't.  And never on the first try.

First, batteries are not the problem.  I hit the prime button and you can hearing clicking sometimes and sometimes not.  It never flashes 3 times, no matter how long you hold the prime button down.  I usually try it anyways and sometimes it will fire up.  It usually hiccups once and then is dead.  Sometimes it doesn't do anything.

It's got to be in the electrical somewhere.  But, I'm already out $600 and the generator is out of warranty and it STILL WILL NOT START !!!

Any recommendations as to what others would do to try and get this fixed?  I feel either the generator is a lemon or, Bunkhouse did something wrong in the wiring.  Bunkhouse is not close to me so returning it to them for repairs is not an option.  And the service center is doing nothing but having fun emptying my pocketbook.

I had a Bunkhouse of Alabama LQ and never had a problem with it. Most of the times I called them was because I had forgot how to do something and needed guidance. I liked dealing with them so much, that I would buy another, if the interior suited me.

It seems to me if the Onan was getting warranty work, then you should not have been charged unless they wrote it up as a service issue and not a warranty issue. I have had several Onans serviced under warranty and never paid. Although, I did take them directly to Onan with a preauthorized clearance. Onan stands behind their products. Maybe, you just need to talk to someone higher up and explain that it has never been functional. The first thing they will ask about is if the tank has the appropriate stablizer in it each time you fill it.

I think we pay way too much for these LQ conversions to have them not function right. I understand your pain, been there, done that, got the tshirt.

Your Onan generator is used in many trailer and RV applications. It would behoove you to search out a competent mechanic, that is experienced with Onan equipment and trouble shooting. Do you have any friends that have had a positive experience with a local dealership?

A call to Onan requesting the name of an authorized local service center, may result in a good referral.

Here's their website:

http://cumminsonan.com/locator?gclid=CJDv_7eSqpkCFQFvGgod6A11qQ

Keep searching for someone higher up.

Our Onan is in a factory installed LQ of 2001, has never failed to start easily from the remote switch, and we have ashamedly never had one thing done to it....we do put stabilizer in the fuel tank each fill up.  Yours should have started from the onset from the remote switch... Did the folks you took it to get it to start from the remote switch?  What year make and model is it?

Thank you for the replies.  I am going to use the link to Onan to call and ask them what I should do.

The LQ is a 2007 bought at the end of the year.  It has always had fuel stabilizer in the gas tank - as much good as that does since the generator rarely works!