ONAN

Hello out there again. I have a Onan generator that appears to be only crank start? Several have replied to me about starting by batteries. I see no where on this thing to hook a batteries too it. It has a wico mag wired to the spark plugs and one wire to control panel and one wire from mag is about 3 inches' hooked to its self? does it contain a solenoid within the Mag? Thanks

Lee

Lee i think you best bet is to contact onan about your unit the number is 1-800-888-ONAN. Be sure to give them the model and serial numbers as well as any other info you can find on the unit. I contacted them about a generator i had and they sent me a photo copy of the owners manual free of charge. The manual had the usual info plus the wiring diagrams for the unit.

If it is a flathead water cooled two cylinder, it is probaly a W2C. These where popular as manual start plants. The wires from the mag went to a stop switch and a high temp shutoff, both of which ground the mag to shut down the engine. Most battery plants seem to have coils instead of a mag.

Hi Guss this is Lee you sent me copies of a w2c onan. mine clearly reads W3M, I called the factory yesterday and finaly got some one with a little info. He thinks its late 30-40 year range. He was going to try and find some info, to send me. I think it may only be a manual start. What do you think. Thanks Gus.

Lee

I still think it's a W2C in sheeps clothing. The guy at the factory was right about the age range. I've found the Onan diagrams to be very similar. No I don't believe there is solenoid inside the mag. The WC3 is probably the new and improved W2C.

Hi Gus, Its a (W3M) I wish I had Scanner I would take a picture and post it.Thanks Lee

Lee, Ive just found a 1967 Onan parts book in my filing cabinet. I should go thru my files on a regular basis, as some of the information you gather doesn't seem to important at first. It clarifies some questions about the W2C The W2C is a series offered by Onan, all based on the 2 cylinder water cooled flathead, which included approx. 500 models including the W3M. It seems that if the model has a W as the first digit it is included in the W2C series.

I have a W3A and was told by NTIS that they had no manuals for it as it must be obsolete. Onan told me the month and year the unit was manufactured can be determined by the serial number. For instance the serial number for my unit is 94.201318. The 9 is the month of September, the (.) is 1930 and the 4 means 1934. The (.) changed to (A) in 1940, (B) in 1950, etc. Apparently Onan changed their whole serial numbering scheme in 1970 to something else.

Onan also told me they had no manuals available. My W3A has a place for a battery which can be used to start it. After it starts it charges up the battery. When it quit running about 5 years ago it was just like someone flipped a switch to off as it didn't sputter or do anything unusual before it just shut down. Hopefully, someone can provide some input as to the problem or how to troubleshoot it.

Stan

Stan, Thanks for that info. I've been trying to crack that decimal thing for a about ten years now. I never could get any help other than this info I'm posting,which states that prior to 1952 a period or dash was sometimes used in place of the letter. That would mean the period could be 30, 40 or 50. I've suspected the decimal to mean 30's, but that eliminated the possibility that any of my Onan's were fortyish in spite of my stong feeling that some of them seemed to be. This would make 8 of my 9 Onan's pre 1940 and the remaning one post 1950. This leaves an awfully big and suspicious gap in the age range of what I have in my collection, also I've never seen an A in the SN of other Onans I've seen. I, as usual, am confused.

Hi Gus,

Thanks for thinking about me. I got a hold of a guy at Onan/Cummins in Minneapolis,Minn. he told me he would look for a manual but he doubted one existed for this model he sugested I put it in a Museum! I figured I would never here from him again. Oct 11 I received a package from Onan, in it was a copy of the W3M manual issued September 1943. So I was very pleased and have had some health issues, But look forward in bringing it back to life for Engine shows in 2002. Lee

Gus, The info I posted on how to determine the manufactured date my Onan's serial number was given to me by Onan's service desk. So, you may want to talk to them to confirm what they told me was correct. My W3A is on a 1944 military two wheeled trailer, so I would have also thought that the it was built around the same time and not 1934 which the serial number would indicate.

If anyone has access to a manual on my W3A generator I would appreciate them contacting me.

Thanks, Stan