Predator 5000 Remote Won't Start the Generator After the First Day?

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So this week, I finally got around to putting my Predator 5000 generator to work. On the first day, everything went great. I was using the remote start feature without a hitch.

But on the second day, I hit the remote button and… nothing. The generator just sat there. No clicks, no noises, no startup like the remote wasn’t even connected anymore.

If you're scratching your head like I was, let me walk you through what I figured out (and how I got mine working again).

What I Found Out

1. Check the Battery Switch

First thing I learned: make sure the battery switch on the generator is turned ON.
If it's off, the remote won’t do anything — the generator won’t even "see" the signal.

2. Generator Sleep Mode (This Got Me!)

Turns out, the Predator 5000 has a sleep mode built in.
If the generator sits idle for 12 hours, it automatically shuts off the controller to save battery life.
When that happens, it won’t recognize the remote until you "wake it up" — either by:

Turning the battery switch OFF and back ON, or
Starting the generator manually using the push button or pull start.

Once you do that, the remote will work again normally for another 12 hours. I had been using the push button all day before, and honestly, starting it manually wasn’t a big deal.

After I restarted it once, the remote started working perfectly again.

turning-the-battery-switch — Turning the battery switch OFF and back ON
Photo: Bryan Rome

3. Check the Remote Battery

Another thing someone mentioned (and it's worth checking):

If your remote’s battery is weak — and sometimes they come with cheap batteries — it might not send a strong enough signal.

I swapped in a fresh, good-quality battery just to be safe.

4. CO Fault Shutdown Cancels Remote

If your generator ever shuts down due to a carbon monoxide (CO) fault, the remote feature gets canceled out. You’ll need to manually start it with either the electric start button or the pull cord before the remote will work again.

5. Standby Mode After Remote Stop

If you stop the generator using the remote, it goes into a standby mode for 12 hours. If you don't start it again within that time window, the receiver on the generator shuts down completely, and you'll have to do a manual start to get things back online.

The Solution That Worked for Me

In my case, it was the 12-hour sleep mode that caught me off guard.
All I had to do was:

Turn the battery switch off and then back on, or
Start the generator manually with the push button.

After that, my remote worked like new again.

Final Thoughts

If your Predator 5000 remote suddenly stops working after the first day, don't panic. Here’s the quick checklist I used:

Make sure the battery switch on the generator is ON.
Restart the generator manually if it’s been more than 12 hours.
Swap out the battery in the remote if needed.
Check for any CO fault shutdowns.

Honestly, once you know about the sleep mode, it’s no big deal. Now I just make it part of my startup routine to manually "wake" the generator if it's been sitting for a while.