onan help

my MDKAD 17 kw onan was working fine 2 weeks ago, i went to the boat this week and only a click, i jumped it with my truck battery and it started and ran fine for about 15 seconds until i disconnected the jumper cables then it killed. tried again, this time no click no nothing..i checked all connections and nothing was bad. i opened the control box to do some testing and found the voltage regulator had some melted goop running out of it. all start stop wiring goes thru the regulator. after checking with onan the part is 950.00 and there is a 121 day lead time for it. anybody know anything about these voltage regulators? i have called numerous companies and they all say that they cant fix or get a new one, some said they have been back ordered for 8 months. one told me that these things melt all of the time and that it might not be my problem at all. i will follow the service manual check list tomorrow and see what it recommends. any help is appreciated. anybody know of or have a used generator that they are parting out? part number is 305-0896

Maybe the battery is bad, that's why it died after the jump.

I suspect a lot of Onan parts are not unique to Onan- they buy this stuff and then mark it up as spares. Is there a part number on it? And- a long shot- but Sam's might have one on the shelf.

its not the battery, already checked that.
the part number is 305-0896

Big Bill I just replaced my 20KW Onan from a 1995 boat. I am going to pick the boat up this weekend. I don’t mind looking my old unit over and if mine will work for yours I could ship it to you. BTW the old Onan is in St. Augustine.

Have you called Flight Systems? They may be able to repair yours. They also make a aftermarket VR for other Onan gensets. They may have one for yours?

Great idea, they have had + reviews on here several times.

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Originally Posted by motoryacht lover

Big Bill I just replaced my 20KW Onan from a 1995 boat. I am going to pick the boat up this weekend. I don’t mind looking my old unit over and if mine will work for yours I could ship it to you. BTW the old Onan is in St. Augustine.

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thanks, it is located in the control box on the genset

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tonytrakovich

Have you called Flight Systems? They may be able to repair yours. They also make a aftermarket VR for other Onan gensets. They may have one for yours?

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tony, i called them and said---im looking for a voltage regulator for a onan generator, the man on the other end of the line said---i hope its not a 305-0896, told him yes, he said they cant fix it, the dont have one and dont know when they will be available. he said they have tried to get them for about 8 months

Sent you a pm