Generator start button

[Keith Moffett]

There is a start button for the generator on the dash, and one in the bedroom.  Unless the Aladdin reads about 13V, the front button wont start the generator.  I almost always need to use the barrter boost.  The rear button works fine even when the Aladdin is down to 12.1V.
Are these start buttons on seperate relays or something like that?

[Bryan Beamon]

Ken your switch up front could be failing and the ground cable on your coach for your generator is probably not adaquate according to REV ( Monaco ) group who recently upgraded our ground cable to our generator.

[Keith Moffett]

Byran, do you know where the cable runs that they upgraded?  Likely to the chassis on the generator but ....?

[Bryan Beamon]

Keith, the ground runs from the gen set bottom center directly to the frame of your motorhome.

[Edward Buker]

Keith,

 You are overcoming wiring harness losses or poor switch contact losses when you parallel the battery banks with the battery boost switch. We have no idea how the wiring harness was made and the gauge vs the wiring length of travel that is involved to get to the genset from each switch. If you think of the distance the front switch vs the rear switch might be from the battery bank source you can see the possibility of the extra voltage drop.

If it bothers you enough, I would run a separate fused or breaker 14-16ga stranded wire (can be coupled to an existing breaker output side to cover the need) from the left buss in the under seat electrical bay up to the switch. Measure with a meter what switch spade lug or screw terminal has 12V on it, pull the existing 12V supply wire, tape it off and replace it with your shorter heavier GA wire that comes directly from the wiring bay Buss.

You should temporarily do this just running the wire in through the window to see if it resolves your issue before actually rewiring. There is some small chance that the output side of the front switch heading to the generator start relay has a voltage drop but I think that is less likely.

Later Ed

 

[Dale Soule]

This might be a little out of place here: 
we have had some major elec. issues from trip to the N. West.  Door locks, there a thing of the past, but our Generator will not start from inside or out side on gen set. but you can here the glow plugs working and here the fuel pump run. If I play with the auto gen switch in elec. cabinet and hit test, it will start. Then it will start from the inside switch. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Joel Ashley]

That sounds like the genset ground issue referred to in the earlier posts here, Dale.

[Dale Soule]

Thank you, the ground wire would be clost to gen. with enough cable to let slide?

[Joel Ashley]

I'll let others confirm that, Dale, as I've not personally dealt with such genset issues.  But on any automotive component with such symptoms as you describe, it is common for either a voltage drop or ground connection to be culprits. 

Since both switches activate, as you say you can hear the pump, then I'd first suspect there is too much resistance to current (flow of electrons) through to chassis ground to allow the genset starter to engage and crank.  There could be other causes, of course, but it's where I'd begin looking. 

See if you can find a large wire going from under the generator to a bolt into the coach chassis frame, and clean and tighten that wire at both ends.  But Bryan indicates the wire itself may be not up to snuff.

Joel