Surprise, surprise.
Every few days, if we haven’t moved the boat, I like to start the engine. You know, just to make sure that it hasn’t gone on strike since it was last running. Even though I wasn’t really influenced by the weather, the wind had picked up a bit yesterday, so given that, I’d say that it was perhaps even a bit more prudent to check it than if it had remained dead calm like it had been the few days prior. Imagine my surprise though when the engine wouldn’t start! I definitely wasn’t expecting that.
As soon as I got over the surprise, I checked our LinkLite to make sure that the starter battery voltage was up. It was. I then began to fear that our problem related to the starter. Why? Because of the post that I wrote the other day about buying a spare one. Our boat really likes to screw with me when I do things like that, especially since I didn’t buy the spare! After giving it some thought though, I began to think that the issue was really fuel related, and not electrical at all.
Once on that train of thought, the first thing I did was check the dipstick to make sure that there was fuel in the tank. I was confident that there was, but you never know. As it turned out, there was a ton, like I expected there would be! The next thing I looked at was the Racor filter. When I removed and examined the filter element, I guess you could say that it was dirty, although I’ve certainly seen worse. Either way, I put in a new one.
To tell the truth, even though I take a good look in the Racor’s bowl quite often, this was the first time that I’ve changed the filter since we installed it back in October. And being that this was my first time doing so, I learned something new. Apparently the filter is lower than the level of fuel in the tank, so when I cracked the top, gravity started to force fuel out. I wasn’t expecting that either. By closing the shut-off valve at the fuel tank, it was easy enough to deal with, and in reality, filling the bowl back up after I put in the new filter element was made easy because of this. All we needed to do was slowly re-open the valve to allow the filter unit to fill back up before I screwed the top back on.
Of course, after putting in the nice new filter, the engine still didn’t want to start right away. That would have been too easy, right? I then did another first, I followed the steps listed in the manual to bleed the fuel system. Ultimately, after doing all that, we got the engine going, so I’ll assume for now that our issues were, in fact, caused by a dirty filter. I reserve the right to change my hypothesis if the engine doesn’t start for me when I check it again later today.
What book would you recommend for the 4-154? I’ll be starting to check mine out real soon.
The owners manual. Seriously.
http://www.kp44.org/ftp/Perkins_4-154_Shop_Manual.pdf
I love reading all the things you go through. I have very sharp and vivid memories of things we went through. And sometimes it prompts me to share. We could not get our starter to roll over once . As it turned out I needed to clean the area that is between the starter and engine. Some starters get the negative ground this way. I went to the effort off pulling the starter and almost took it in to a shop . But as it happens another guy like you showed me the ropes.
Our mechanic friend Joe says “it’s always the ground.” Good job finding that!
Mike,
How are you using the turm, “wouldn’t turn over”? To me this means that when you turned the key the moter didn’t turn. I THINK your saying that it turned but wouldn’t fire. Please understand I’m not nitpicking your language but trying to understand. I guess what I’m trying to figure out is if the system has a sensor that won’t allow it to turn over if the fuel is dirty? I may be over thinking this *Smile*.
Yes, wrong terminology. Post edited to reflect that. The engine wouldn’t start. It was turning over.
Mike, I know that you know all this, but this YouTube about servicing a Perkins in French and English is the best I have run across and may help others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAUjW9jmUJY
Other great articles about Diesel engine repair can be found at http://www.adventuresonboats.com/marine-engines.html
-johnny
Hey Johnny
Never assume that I “know all this.” I love learning, especially from pros. That’s a very good video. Thank you for sharing! I’ll check out your other link too. 🙂
When all else fails follow the instructions. (but only as a last resort, you don’t them to pull your man card)
Truth. 🙂
About 5 years ago I was motoring out the channel, rock jetties on both sides, 20-knot cross wind, and one engine died, followed by the other 20 seconds later. I quickly shot into the wind, dropped the hook, and stayed off the rocks.
The cause? I had changed the filters earlier in the day and forgot tot reopen the cut off valve. Figured it out in about 2 minutes, feeling quite foolish. It seems there was just enough in the carbs to get me in trouble.
I remember this because I changed both filters again today. And I test ran them at the dock, under load, for 10 minutes each!
It’s amazing how long the engines will run with just the fuel in the carb. Like you said, long enough to get you into trouble.
Ha! I found the very same manual for our new-to-us CSY 44! I almost died of shock, I’m so used to having to look up stuff like that on the internet. Having the hardcopy –> luxury!
I don’t mind digital copies of fiction books (Kindle) but I do prefer hard copies of technical/reference books.
Mike… file this away in your memory bank… just in case.
On our first sailboat, we had a fuel problem in the middle of the night. We managed to limp to our next destination. We found a really dirty filter…. and really dirty fuel. (it was our first boat). We changed the filter and thought we were good.
We used the motor coming home… but as we neared the coast… the motor began to give us trouble again… until it ultimately died and wouldn’t start again. We sailed the rest of the way at I think…. 1 knot! We suspected bad fuel.
Long story and much trouble later our great mechanic found the issue.
Within the filter housing of filters like the Racor… there are channels that the fuel moves though. If it sees enough bad fuel… it can clog and you’ll go crazy trying to figure out the issue, because you can’t really see the passages.
If you have further issues… maybe consider actually replacing the whole filter housing. Besides….who knows how old it actually is. Usually people only change the filter.
Good luck! We’ve been following your travels for a few years now. You seem to have some words of wisdom for those of us preparing for cruising.
Adam & Jess
Thanks Adam. That would be a pain to find. We actually installed the Racor ourselves but the advice is still valid.