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Old 02-15-2014, 08:18 AM   #1
canesfan
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Generator Gas Gauge Problem - Yet Another Question

So I searched all about generator fuel gauge, gas gauge, empty, stopped working, etc and didn't find this addressed anywhere in the defective gas gauge threads.

I went out to do some stuff in the RV and noticed the gen gas gauge was reading empty when the other day it was about 1/4 full and the gen hadn't been run in between. I checked for gas on the ground and didn't find any. I decided to start the gen so I unplugged the coach, went back in and the gas gauge was now reading 1/4 full again. Weird. Gen ran fine and the gauge hardly moved. I'm not a mechanic but can fix easy things. What might cause this? A bad ground like I've read in other posts or maybe a defective gauge? What can I easily check? The coach stays plugged into a 30 amp outlet at the house all the time.

Thanks!

Edit to Add - by the way, when the gauge was reading empty the light was still on so there had to be power to it unless the light gets power different then the gauge does.
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Old 02-15-2014, 03:08 PM   #2
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Post Weird confirmed

By your write up it appears that the fuel gauge works in all modes of operation (Battery, Generator/converter) except the shore power/converter mode. The gauge and sensing system is 12 VDC which in our rig is supplied by batteries alone or the converter/battery combination. As you stated gauge works in battery only and generator/converter modes which indicates battery, converter, wiring, gauge, grounds seem to be okay. Only difference is that AC power to the converter via the transfer switch gets its AC from shore power rather than the generator when it is running.

Yes, weird , I do not see how the gauge would work in all modes except shore power. Since the gauge system is 12VDC, in my opinion if it was a bad ground it would be a bad ground in all modes of operation. Same logic applies to a defective fuel gauge.

I will be monitoring your post to see the final resolution and maybe like other electrical problems it may just go away. SCARY !!
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Old 02-16-2014, 09:09 AM   #3
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Thanks for the reply and insight. It had me scratching my head, like you said, at first I though maybe it didn't work on shore power (which wouldn't make sense), but I know before it stopped reading it had been reading fine on 120V (shore power), 120V (gen running) and 12V (unplugged on battery only). It just stopped reading overnight or so, no change in electric source (still on shore power), no power interruption (all my computers would have told me). And I agree with you that a bad ground or defective gauge shouldn't make any difference as to the source of power, which is why I posted. It's just really strange that when I unplugged shore power it started working again, and since then, at least yesterday, was working fine again on shore power. I know I've kicked things before and they started working, so maybe the same principle. So maybe a fluke thing, we'll see unless somebody else had the same issue. If I didn't dry camp so much it wouldn't be much of an issue. Time will tell I guess.
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Old 02-17-2014, 06:01 PM   #4
abneynormal
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you can check it

the gage works on a 12 volt dc system (my gage works fairly well. on my 3912 w/ 2 ac units it consumes around 15 gal a day) now if you want to check the gage carefully pull out the panel. the gage will have 2 insulated nuts on the back. take a volt gage on dc and check the voltage. to compare find a constant ground. put the + lead on the positive terminal on the gage and the - lead on the constant ground it should be 12+ volts. the negative lead in the fuel gage is variable in resistance to make the gage work. the fun part of electrical that a loose nut could cause it. I keep mine full and monitor the time ran because I don't trust the gage. I do the same on my bike yep I don't trust that gage either.
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Old 02-18-2014, 07:31 AM   #5
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Thanks for the testing procedure. That's something I can tackle. I was hesitant sticking a meter in there not knowing for certain what was what. And I completely understand about loose connections and electrical.
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Old 02-18-2014, 07:01 PM   #6
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it should be sorta like this

the tank rheostat varies the resistance to make the gage work. and like I said I don't trust the gage. if you are running the generator at a heavy load allow 15 or more gal/ 24 hr.
http://s5.postimage.org/7s77psczb/Fu...Circuit_01.jpg
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Old 02-19-2014, 07:25 AM   #7
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Thanks for the diagram and explanation!! A picture is worth a thousand words.

Was wondering, I've seen mention of adding a switch to kill the light, would it matter which side + or ground I put it on?

I only have one AC at the moment, looking at the manual it has gas usage estimates and going by that I'm guessing around .75 gal per hour which would give me about 40 hours on 30 gallons. I'm conservative with electric no matter if I'm dry camping or hooked up so I should do pretty good. I'm going to fill both tanks and keep track of usage like you said. I wonder how soon I miss my Hondas that ran ~8 hours on a gallon of gas?
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Old 02-19-2014, 09:23 AM   #8
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Post Power Sources

Quote:
Originally Posted by canesfan View Post
Thanks for the diagram and explanation!! A picture is worth a thousand words.

Was wondering, I've seen mention of adding a switch to kill the light, would it matter which side + or ground I put it on?

I only have one AC at the moment, looking at the manual it has gas usage estimates and going by that I'm guessing around .75 gal per hour which would give me about 40 hours on 30 gallons. I'm conservative with electric no matter if I'm dry camping or hooked up so I should do pretty good. I'm going to fill both tanks and keep track of usage like you said. I wonder how soon I miss my Hondas that ran ~8 hours on a gallon of gas?
No sure I follow what you are trying to achieve seems like generator run time and power consumption has been discussed. In my opinion that single bulb is a small issue compared to adding a switch and finding a location for it. That is a DC powered bulb so you can open either the + or - side. + I would say is the text book method. Make sure if you choice to open the - side that its to the light and you are not opening a common ground. I think this is a little fish to fry.

Stick with me just trying to talk through this, basically when dry camping we have two sources of power available 120VAC (generator) and 12VDC As mentioned generator gas consumption is based on load. If we are talking about 120V appliances such as AC, microwave, AC outlets, etc generator is our sole source of power. On the other hand if the appliance/fixture/device is 12VDC, then we have two power options, one being our battery bank which in our rig which is two deep cycle batteries or from our converter when generator is running. As you know the converter along with supplying 12VDC to our devices charges the battery. The converter puts a considerable load on the generator as compared to this single bulb.

Not sure how you plan on managing your total power consumption 120VAC, 12VDC or both. Less 120v device loads on generator, less gasoline usage per time. I am new at this RV Stuff but real old Here is something to think of, others with more experience may want to comment on this.

If AC not needed I would run solely off batteries and recharge thru generator, Monitor battery life so as not to run down batteries so can not start generator. If you do, remember you have can hook up to truck and start generator as backup. Now if you need to run AC need generator, there is a 120V breaker in the distribution panel, at least marked as such, to shut off 120VAC to the converter thereby reducing load on the generator. At this point your 12VDC devices are being powered by our battery bank but not being charged. Something to consider and others to comment on. I would look into other things and not worry about this single bulb's power consumption. I have responded to another post on batteries which you may want to look into. Have to get these Raptors unburied from this white crap and onto the road!!!
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Old 02-19-2014, 10:22 AM   #9
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I normally dry camp 3-4 days at a time and like I said, I'm conservative when it comes to power/water etc anyway. I just never had to think about the genset starting battery because I used to pull them to start them. I just watch my batteries and when they get around half charge on the idiot meter I'd fire up the gens and charge them. No big deal. So I'm figuring I'll just operate the same way with the onboard gen. And if for some reason I burn through 30 gallons of gas I'll take a ride and fill up a couple gas cans. It's not like I'll be 100s of miles from anywhere, at least not that I envision in the near future. Also I prefer to be warm and outdoors, so my AC isn't cranking full blast 24/7 like some others prefer it. I don't see any issues at this point after I add a second battery.

As for the light, I figured while I have it apart to test things I might as well put a switch in. I have plenty of blank spots on my panel and also some extra switches the dealer gave me. Sure it's just a minor current draw, but with that and all the other little draws they do add up. Just like replacing the bulbs with leds in the few lights that aren't leds, especially the one under the kitchen counter that gets used most.
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