Onan Marquis Gold 5500 Generator Carburetor Cleaning No More Surging Guaranteed, Fix Yours Today 

Absolutely the best video on Onan 55OO Marquis Gold carb cleaning...just follow exactly (except for notching the needle valve) and you'll get your gen set running again. Fast forward to when he has to start over again, I did, fixed my problems. 2006 Onan Marquis Gold 5500 I did replace fuel filter with new Onan filter. Gaskets, did have to rebuild with $10 bulk gasket material and make new gaskets. No problem. Time + $4.50 in B12 carb cleaner and rock and roll!!!! Thank you for the video. MB

Kevin helped us out on my Daughter and Son's Onan 5500. What a generous man with his expertise. THANKS Kevin. And great vids too!

Noone had an OEM carb in stock so i bought an Amazon carb; JUNK! i followed this video and rebuilt my stock OEM. This thing runs like new! Thank you again!

Thanks! No way I could have gotten this carb cleaned and the generator running without your video. Super easy to follow. And instead of buying a knockoff carb, or being out $400 for an OEM replacement, my generator is running as good as ever with the original 2003 OEM carb without buying anything!

I need to thank you for this most excellent video. Your tips are awesome, like using pliers to remove the float pin and stressing being careful removing the jet. I only had to remove the top plate to clear the jet and now 😊 she purrs like a well fed kitten. Thank you for saving us unknown number of $'s that we did/do not have to spend on this easy (after viewing your video) carburetor fix.

Excellent hands on video. Thank you for helping US.

Excellent Video! Thank you very much!

Thank you Kevin for sharing!! Scott

Another great video, thanks Kevin.

Great video!

You totally killed it! I watched this last night and went to storage to visit our HIlton, a 2016 Vista 27N, today to clean the carb. Our generator was never functional since we bought the RV last year. Generator only has 51 hours on it. Wish I had a little more access on left side to get those 2 bolts out but a stool and a little patience paid off. Got the carb off. Salvaged the gaskets, and went to work with a bunch of carb cleaner. The bottom of the bowl had lots of nits and varnish and was definitely in the need of a good cleaning. I didn't have a vice handy so I wrapped some electrical tape around the main needle valve and used a deep well socket and lightly tapped the valve out of the plastic housing. Came out easy. Notched the end of the valve, reassembled everything and wow, what a difference! Even had a Kill-A-Watt to check the frequency. Hz was around 62 under load, dropped it down to 60. Your video was EXTREMELY helpful. Thank you! P.S. added piece of fuel line to the bowl drain after testing... and will keep that in place to keep things easy

Thanks! Your video fixed my generator.

Thank you!!!!!!!!! You saved me 400 and time!!!! my generator works wayyy better!!! The surging was driving me crazzy! I fixed and cleaned everything! But this worked!! Thank you again!!

Great information. I have fixed mine a few friends generator with your great video. Thank you!!

Excellent video thanks

Kevin thank you for this video it help me repair my onan generator 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽Thank you 😊

That was an excellent video, I certainly learned a lot. Will definitely try your suggestions tomorrow. Thanks so much. Dom

The best carburetor video I've seen to date. Great video !!!

Thanks Kevin, I. disassembled my carb wile in a remote area of Colorado and was able to clean and reassemble, and it actually worked and ran much much better. Thanks

I know this was a while ago but I am thankful for you making this video!! I figured I would have to buy a new carb and all I had to do was clean out that bottom jet. I cleaned out the rest of the carb too, per your instructions. Also, thanks for that tip on the screw to empty the bowl when storing the trailer. I really appreciate this video.

Thank You ! Just saved me 550dollars from buying a new carburetor for the 2nd year in a row.

thanks bud it was the float passage on mine

Great video. After watching this video I had the confidence to tackle cleaning my carb. Followed the instructions and was able to fix my problem. Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough and helpful!

Wow, that’s funny. I have a ‘03 fleetwood with the onan 5500 that has a cold start surge until it gets up to operating temp. My plan was to look into that this morning but I think I’ll just try to adjust the af ratio first to see what happens. The funny part is that this popped up in my notifications this morning. Well done

Awesome video!!! My little Onan 2800 that had been sitting all winter that I just bought is surging just like that. I’m going to use your video to help me. Thanks again

this was excellent - I hope I don't have to go this far - mine runs for nearly an hour with one A.C unit running and then surges and then shuts down. Probably have dirt in there blocking some flow. I do try to run it once a month for an hour. I'll put new filters on set altitude a little higher. I have been putting a lot of Sta-Bil in the gas but it is in bad need of running out and replacing with new.

Kevin - thanks for making this! It definitely made the difference for me! It was extremely informational and I now feel like I understand how this generator works and can troubleshoot issues now instead of just hoping it works right! I made the mistake of letting my generator sit for too long without running it and putting a load on it. When I went to test it out, it would not turn over! I ended up siphoning out all of the bad gas and changed the oil pump and filter. It seems like the nasty gunky carburetor was the biggest problem, though! Thanks for all of this - it was perfect! I did have one issue when putting everything back together, though, that I was hoping you may have some thoughts on. I had issues getting the throttle linkage rod to fit back into both the carburetor and the bottom arm (apologies if I am using the incorrect terms). I thought the arm that it attached to on the bottom could come off to give me more room to twist the angled ends into the holes, but when I went to loosen the nut on the on that bar (under the carburetor and to the left a bit), the bolt snapped (the bar never came off). I can not get the nut back on, but that arm is still moving properly and pretty snuggly attached. Since it was snug and still working properly, I went ahead and put everything back together to see if it worked. While it did (yay!), I am concerned about this broken piece. I have looked for info on that piece and how to potentially replace it, but have not found much of anything on that specifically. Do you happen to have any thoughts on that? Cheers!

THIS IS HOW I FIXED MINE, IN THE CASE OF.... "I CAN'T START MY GENERATOR" It's has been two years since last time it was running, so I started by checking oil level full at gen dipstick (it won't start if low oil because of sensors) then I checked gasoline more than 1\4 tank in the RV (also safety sensors), sparkplug checked for good spark, also checked the manual reset circuit braker ( to be ON) at front motorhome engine compartment for 12v current to the generator to be able to start it, also cleaned the carburetor and even installed new one but same situation, then checked wires and found some has been chewed like gum by rats at the back of starting switch generator panel so I replaced them, at this time the generator started but stay running only by keep pushing the switch on all the time, so then finally I knew it was internal electrical problem from the engine itself, so I took the generator out from my RV to work in my garage, (I did this by myself with some tools and old Mayan tricks ) lol, it's really heavy for one person. I disassemble the unit at my garage and started by removing the cover, then the air cooling assembly, next was the aluminium fan or flywheel unit (it's 2 items in one) for this one I used a wheel pulling tool, finally I was at the gen rotor and brushes assembly area and this is what I found: one more wire chewed by filthy rats plus the stinky rat nest in the middle of the generator motor coil, I fixed the wire and sanded the commutator copper contacts where the brushes are sitting becouse they were real duty with old urine from the rats, and of course I got rid off the stinky nest, lol!!! Then I assembled everything back together and... bingo it's runing like a champion!!! For this project materials involved was about $60.00 including an aftermarket new carburetor and an harmonic balancer/steering wheel puller (available at any auto parts for $25.00) to pull the aluminum fan out and (flywheel). Just picture this: (Any gasoline engine run smooth if gasoline and DC current aren't interrupted) so following this important principle you'll always find the problem to be fixed. Also if you have a onan microlite 4000 like mine, don't run it for more than a minute without the cover because you'll cook the engine real fast, also keep the eye on the aluminium fan and also at your fingers after cranking it in case you missing one or two...just kidding, lol!!! After testing the gen with the help of a gasoline container, a piece of hose and 12v battery, I did put the air cooling assembly back and the rest of components including the cover, then it was ready to be installed at my RV. Once the gen was installed back at my motorhome I started it to be tested for 120v electricity but not before flipping the AC circuit switch (on) at the gen starting control panel (sometimes hiding under or around the panel) to be able to transfer power to my RV GFCI main outlet and electric panel as well, my motorhome it's equipped with GFCI so I reset it and tested for green led light indicating power is ready at my main breakers panel, so I turned my main breaker (on) along the others ones but no power was present at my breaker main switch (faulty main braker) so I flipped it many times, sometimes you can make it work again, mine did work, lol!!! I'm happy because everything works now including the refrigerator for cold drinks and AC for this crazy summer, lol! Later I'll buy me a new main braker, for now this is a resurrected generator story that needed to be shared to the RV community.

One thing that to check is the voltage and hertz. Voltage should be 120 at 60 hertz. If it is to low your engine speed is below 3600 rpm and too high your engine speed is over 3600 rpm.

Thank you good information! I have one that runs for a few minutes then shuts down showing code 14. I'll pull the carb and give it a cleaning!

like it Kevin . mine is running sweet but know when it starts what to do Martin🪂

Great video thanks a lot. I was following great till we got about 14 minutes 35 seconds when you had a picture of the table with all the parts to put back together. I do have a better understanding of how the carburetor works now.

Hi Kevin, love your videos about the Onan Generator. They've helped me a lot. I was wondering if you could help me with a low voltage issue? We couldn't use the Generator for a few months and the ethanol evaporated, so I followed your instructions and "de-gunked" the carburetor, jets, etc. It runs fine, no surging. The issue is that the voltage drops from 117v with no load, down to 112v with load. No error codes. Do you think the governor needs adjusting, and if so, how? I think the spring might not be in the correct notch location after re-installing the carburetor. How do I figure out if I need to move the spring left or right a few notches? Or do you think there might be a completely different reason why the voltage drops? The Generator only has 350 hours, and it has run well in the past until I had to tear into the carburetor. Since that's the only thing that has been tampered with I'm assuming it could be the reason for the voltage drop. Please help.

I inserted a 1/4" ball valve just outside the carburetor. When I shut down for any long length of time, I shut it down with the valve and let it quit from fuel starvation. Then I crank it dry for about 15 seconds. This draws out any fuel in the jets and bowl and keeps things from gumming up.

Clean the out side of the carb first so you dont get grimy residue on your fingers and inside the carb. keep your hands and parts clean.

So Most often if a small engine will only run on full choke it has a plugged pilot jet. Does that onan carb have a pilot jet and main jet? Clean out is needed.

Hey Kevin I've got a 5500 marquee gold just like yours And mine won't start I put a new control board in I've had to carburetor off and clean it it will start and run if I hold the choke almost all the way shut and it will run as long as I hold the joke shut shut but that's the only way it will run any ideas

What level do you keep your oil? I have seen some videos where they recommend to keep oil level just above the add mark on stick.

Appreciate this video. Been watching it for about 4 hours. About to assemble everything together now and will let you know!!! Would love to know how to test the actuator for life

That little aluminum washer inside the fuel bowl mine doesn't have one , how important do you think that is ? I've been trying to figure my problem of flooding just wondering if that washer is the problem.

At 1:32 in the video, where do you buy a new smaller spring? The smaller one that you removed from the carburetor?