2013 3051 Generator Fuel Pump Leaking

[ourflat]

Trwmodela, did Onan Cummins happen to mention if all 2013 3051s are affected with this flaw in the generator fuel pump? Just for once I would like to be one step ahead of these things. As with you, I am still working out the bugs in my Forester.

Frank

[trwmodela]

Frank, I knew there was an ongoing problem with 2013 & 2014 Onan gas RV generators. It started to give off a gas odor around 14 hours. Cummins replaced my carb & fuel pump without charge. My suggestion would be contacting Cummins Oman dealer, provide model and serial number. There is a service bulletin on replacing the fuel pumps. Otherwise you must wait for things to fail.

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[trwmodela]

Frank, I took my RV directly to a Cummins Onan Dealer. Not the RV dealership, hopefully one is closeby.

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[ourflat]

Thanks for the information Trwmodela. I called Cummins Onan this afternoon and gave my gen set data to them. I will find out tomorrow if mine is affected.

Thanks again,
Frank

[trwmodela]

Frank, there is a replacement fuel pump for those generators. Some had their pump replaced more then once, because they are not getting the upgraded model. Avoid places like Camping World that stll may have spare pumps in stock. The upgraded replacement has a different I.D. on it.

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[ourflat]

Was informed today by Cummins Onan rep today that they will not replace the fuel pump until it fails or starts leaking gas. They don't consider the problem bad enough to run a campaign to replace all affected generator owners.

Frank

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by ourflat

Was informed today by Cummins Onan rep today that they will not replace the fuel pump until it fails or starts leaking gas. They don't consider the problem bad enough to run a campaign to replace all affected generator owners.

Frank

Wow that's interesting. Having to wait till the pump fails is one thing but refusing to change out something that is a known cause of a gas leak and safety issue. If the leak lead to a fire and someone was hurt or killed they would have a multimillion dollar valid lawsuit. I opted for the Generac unit but if I had an Onan I probably would opt to change it out myself or at least carry a spare pump on board.

[trwmodela]

Frank,
I would write a very nice letter to Cummins Onan about your concerns over the problematic fuel pumps. Tell them you have done some research online and discovered many new RV owners with the same problem. Cummins is well aware of the problem and has already changed to a different pump. I would address concerns over the possibility of having a fire on-board your RV. They replaced both my fuel pump and carburetor since it was getting harder to start.

Another possibility is writing a letter to Good Sams or FMCA that gets into their magazine. This can sometimes get more attention, but putting things in writing is always a good rule of thumb.

BTW...my fuel pump failed on a 4 month summer trip in the Mountains of N.C.

[ourflat]

Trwmodela, letter sent today along with email to Cummins Onan corporate office. I can't believe they are willing to let this hazard cause a fire to one of our RVs. Fail/fix is not the answer when dealing with a low flashpoint from gasoline vapors in/and around our RVs.

Frank

[DennyH]

I read this thread about Cummins/Onan and I an surprised. If you go back in my threads I also had an issue but Cummins/Onan replaced the fuel pump under warranty at their facility in Nashville

[trwmodela]

Frank,
I am so glad you have written a letter to Cummins Onan.
Now there is a paper trail if something fails.

My generator started to put off a gasoline vapor odor inside the coach after shutting down. I was just running my monthly maintenance cycles with a load in the campground. This happened twice on hourly runs so I decide to stop using it.

Can you imagine a gasoline vapor leak mixing with your propane hot water heater ignition?

[ourflat]

I decided to start a new thread because I believe all owners need to be aware of a potential problem with the generator fuel pump leaking fuel and causes fuel fumes inside the coach while running the generator.

Trwmodela and several others brought this potential hazard to my attention. I called Cummins Onan earlier this week and the service advisor informed me there was no campaign on replacing the fuel pump but there was a fail/replace service bulletin if the part fails to replace it as needed.

I contacted Cummins Onan Corporate today to get approval today to have my generator fuel pump replaced because I believe it to be a safety issue and do not want fuel fumes ever to enter my coach while operating my generator.

For those of you who are in my situation I urge you to contact Cummins Onan to have your defective fuel pump replaced with a new/improved design that will correct this problem. Below is the response I received via email:


Dear Mr. Reckenberg,

I understand your concern about fuel pump reliability. The safety of our products is very important to us. I am currently unaware of an issue with KY fuel pumps leaking fuel or fumes. However, if you feel your fuel pump is not operating correctly, please contact your nearest distributor, as your generator set is still under warranty.
For more information, manuals, parts and service as well as sales and pricing inquiries you will need to contact your local Cummins Distributor. You can find your local Cummins Distributor at www.cumminspower.com (for commercial products) or www.cumminsonan.com (for consumer and RV products) or in North America call 800-888-6626 and select option 1 to connect you with your nearest Distributor.

Regards,
Chris
Cummins Power Generation, Inc.
www.cumminspower.com & www.cumminsonan.com
ask.powergen@cummins.com
"Our energy working for you"



The Cummins Onan service advisor will not replace the defective fuel pump until it fails. I understand that when this pump leaks fuel the fumes can enter the coach and create a potential safety hazard.

I will continue this crusade until all RV owners with the defective fuel pump get them replaced free of charge by Cummins Onan. The service bulletin must be upgraded to a replacement campaign before someone becomes ill from the fumes or lord forbid, get hurt. I would like to see Forest River use their leverage to help us too. I can not believe they are unaware of this potential safety hazard since their is a service bulletin already in service.

Frank

[MrJoe]

Are there any identifiers to determine which units are affected.

[ourflat]

Cummins Onan would not give me that information but I had to give them the serial number of my generator. I wasn't given access to the service bulletin information from the service advisor.

Frank

[paulmlac]

Does anybody know how far back the problem goes? My Sunseeker was made in May of '12. Could it have the bad parts? Thought they were mostly newer generators. But sometimes it's difficult to start which makes me wonder. I took it to a Cummins Onan location to have the unit serviced (oil change) about 3 months ago and they didn't say anything.

[trwmodela]

From my research mostly on Forest River forums. It was 2013 & 2014 models that are having the fuel pump problems.

[4Gcampers]

I'm not convinced this issue will ever be resolved. I have a 2014 Sunseeker with the Onan. Onan has replaced three pumps on mine, twice in Orlando and once in Amarillo. Each time it was stated it was a new version if the bad pump. Well, now it's starting to fume again, so it won't be long until this one fails. I assume right after the warranty expires. It's an inconvenience, but I feel a major safety issue as well.

[trwmodela]

4GCampers,
I would also suggest you write a letter to Cummins Onan Corporation. Provide copies of your repair orders and explain the ongoing concerns.

[ourflat]

As you can see from the email correspondence, the Cummins Onan staff is not familiar with the issue so that is the 1st step. I spent a lot of time studying the manuals that came with the generator. In my opinion, Onan increased the fuel pressure to help with the starting issues without redesigning the fuel system components to handle the increase thus causing seals and gaskets to leak.

Cummins Onan is a solid company and will stand behind their products; I believe. Their decision to find (then repair) is the wrong approach to the seriousness of this issue. Leaking gasoline coupled with fumes is a safety hazard in/ around our new homes. unacceptable, unacceptable and unacceptable!

Please write your letters and send them emails. Above all, keep copies of all your correspondences.

Frank

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by 4Gcampers

I'm not convinced this issue will ever be resolved. I have a 2014 Sunseeker with the Onan. Onan has replaced three pumps on mine, twice in Orlando and once in Amarillo. Each time it was stated it was a new version if the bad pump. Well, now it's starting to fume again, so it won't be long until this one fails. I assume right after the warranty expires. It's an inconvenience, but I feel a major safety issue as well.

It would seem to me that you are very unlucky to get 3 bad pumps or the cause is with some other component in the system.

Onan makes generators for lots of RVs and it would be interesting if the problem is unique to FR products. Not sure since I have a 2012 with a Genrac, but I believe 2013 was when Onan became standard on the Sunseeker/Forester. Possibly they are specific models only used in FR Motorhomes. That may explain some of the Onan rep responses that they were unfamiliar with the issue.

I know based upon conversations with a Big Foot engineer that the leveling jacks used on Sunseekers/Foresters are custom made to FR specifications. If you independently have Big Foot jacks installed you will get ones with a slightly different design.