AC on Generator

[bigt1739]

When I run my AC on shore power I have no issues.

When I run AC on the generator, it does not work. It will run for about 1 minute....fan and compressor....then it kills the whole RV. The generator continues to run, but no power to the RV......The generator runs the RV fine without the AC running.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by bigt1739

When I run my AC on shore power I have no issues.

When I run AC on the generator, it does not work. It will run for about 1 minute....fan and compressor....then it kills the whole RV. The generator continues to run, but no power to the RV......The generator runs the RV fine without the AC running.

What do you mean "it kills the whole RV"?

Do breakers trip in the breaker box?
Does the generator breaker trip?
Does the transfer switch unlatch?

[bigt1739]

Originally Posted by 5picker

What do you mean "it kills the whole RV"?



Do breakers trip in the breaker box?

Does the generator breaker trip?

Does the transfer switch unlatch?

No power to the whole unit. No breakers tripped....it’s as if the transfer switch opens. So I guess my question is why would the transfer switch open?

[bigt1739]

Or how do i confirm it’s the transfer switch?

[5picker]

Originally Posted by bigt1739

No power to the whole unit. No breakers tripped....it’s as if the transfer switch opens. So I guess my question is why would the transfer switch open?

What do you do to reset things and what size generator?

[bigt1739]

The generator is the one that came with the RV...4kw?? Not sure. ....I shut the generator down and turn off the AC, then fire the generator back up and it will power the RV without AC on....now that I’m home and able to test things, I shut the generator off and plug into shore power and everything runs fine, including AC

[GL1800Rider]

Do you have the AC off when you start the generator and are you allowing the generator to warm up for a couple of minutes before turning on the AC and applying the load? The generator should certainly be capable of running the AC and the fridge on electric and the converter without any issues. We use our 95% of the time when traveling.

[iceclimber]

Your A/C probably would benefit from a hard start capacitor assuming it doesn't have one.

https://www.amazon.com/SPP6-Capacito...61289157&psc=1

However, as suggested above you can try letting your generator warm up, turn everything else off (at the breakers) and starting the A/C on the lowest setting to see if that helps.

Betting you are overloading the generator and it's faulting as designed.

[bigt1739]

Seems as though it’s the generator...
The generator puts out voltage...i measured at the transfer switch...the inside fan for the AC comes on and runs, after the AC time delay, the compressor kicks in for a few seconds and then the generator does not put out power anymore...meter reads zero at the transfer switch...same thing happens if I try to turn on the electric element in the water heater....everything works great on shore power