# Generator Repair and Overhaul: Cost, Hours and Process in Hacienda Heights Generator repair and overhaul diagnoses and repairs a house generator that will not start, will not hold load or has thrown a fault code. Scope runs from a gummed carburetor and a failed control board through a top end overhaul. The chassis engine is a different machine and is not part of this work. ## Specifications - Price band: $400 to $8,500 plus - Shop hours: 2 to 35 plus hours - Turnaround tier: Systems and electrical - Insurance billable: no - Parts lead time: Common Onan service and ignition parts 3 to 10 business days. Control boards and windings 10 to 25 business days. - OEM brands: Onan, Cummins, Kohler, Generac, Champion ## Start with fuel, because it is usually fuel A generator that cranks strongly and never fires is a fuel problem far more often than an ignition problem. Gasoline left in a carburetor for a year varnishes the passages, and the pilot circuit is small enough that a trace of varnish closes it. That single failure accounts for a large share of the units that arrive here declared dead. On diesel units the equivalent is air in the fuel system, a clogged filter or a lift pump that has lost prime after a long sit. Same story, different mechanism: the unit is mechanically sound and the fuel is not arriving. The reason this matters for your invoice is that a carburetor rebuild or a fuel system service is at the bottom of the band on this page, while an overhaul is at the top. Diagnosing in the correct order is the difference, and a shop that starts by quoting a rebuild has skipped the cheap answers. - Varnished carburetor passages after a long sit with gasoline in the bowl - Clogged fuel filter or a lift pump that lost prime on a diesel unit - Failed fuel pump or a pinched or cracked supply line - Ignition coil, plug or module failure on a gas unit - Low oil pressure shutdown, which mimics a fuel starvation shutdown - Control board fault or a corroded harness connector at the unit ## Runs and then shuts down, which is a protection circuit doing its job A unit that starts and drops out after thirty seconds to two minutes is normally being shut down deliberately by its own protection, not failing randomly. Low oil pressure, high temperature and overcrank are the usual triggers, and the fault code at the panel or the blink pattern at the unit identifies which. Low oil pressure is the most common and the most consequential, because continuing to crank a unit that keeps shutting down for oil pressure is how a cheap repair becomes an overhaul. If your generator does this, stop starting it. The second pattern is a thermal shutdown from blocked cooling airflow. A generator bay with a rodent nest, a compressed sound insulation panel or a partially blocked intake overheats within minutes. That is a cleaning and airflow repair, not a mechanical one, and it is a satisfying outcome to deliver. ## When an overhaul makes sense, and what it costs The band on this page is wide and open ended for a reason. A carburetor service is a few hours. A control board and a harness repair is more. A top end overhaul with valves, rings and a bearing is 20 to 35 plus hours at the posted mechanical and electrical rate of $260 per hour, with control board and winding lead times of 10 to 25 business days. The decision usually comes down to hours on the meter against the cost of a new unit. A generator with 4,000 hours and a burned valve is at end of service and an overhaul is money spent on the parts that did not fail yet. A unit with 900 hours and a clear single fault is worth repairing without hesitation. We give you the hour count and both numbers and let you decide. Diagnosis is the in depth diagnostic tier at one hour and $285, credited against an authorized repair. That hour buys a fault code read, a fuel and ignition check, a compression reading where indicated and a load test. It is the hour that decides whether this is a $600 job or a $6,000 job. ## Not included - Chassis engine rebuild, transmission rebuild and drivetrain work are outside what this facility performs. - We do not repair generators at a customer location. Fault isolation requires a load bank. - Portable standalone generators are not coach mounted equipment and are outside this scope. ## Questions **Why will my Onan generator crank but not start?** Usually fuel. Gasoline left in the carburetor for a year varnishes the small passages, and the pilot circuit closes with only a trace of deposit. On a diesel unit the equivalent is a clogged filter, air in the system or a lift pump that lost prime. Both are at the low end of the band on this page, which is why we check fuel before anything expensive. **My generator starts then shuts off after a minute. What is that?** That is almost always a protection circuit shutting it down deliberately: low oil pressure, high temperature or overcrank. The fault code at the panel identifies which. If it is low oil pressure, stop starting it, because repeated cranking under that condition is how a modest repair turns into an overhaul. **Is it worth overhauling an old RV generator?** It depends on the hour meter. A unit at 4,000 hours with a burned valve is at end of service, and an overhaul spends money on the parts that have not failed yet. A unit at 900 hours with one clear fault is worth repairing. We read the meter, price both the repair and a replacement unit, and hand you both numbers. **Does the chassis engine come into this at all?** No. The house generator in the coach bay is a separate machine and it is what this page covers. Chassis engine rebuild, transmission rebuild and drivetrain work are outside what this facility performs. Drawing that line explicitly matters because the two get blurred constantly and it wastes an owner's week. --- Source: https://ocrv.club/rv-service/generator-repair-and-overhaul OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887 Phone (949) 799-3387. Email info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Hacienda Heights and the surrounding area. 18.4 miles, 24 to 38 minutes via SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, then south to La Palma Ave. In shop work only. All estimates are priced and credited against an authorized repair.