A word of caution regarding electrical diagnosis on live circuits… I recently attended a two day class at Annapolis School of Seamanship on diesel mechanics and one of the things they stressed is removing ALL jewelry (wedding rings, watches, EVERYTHING) when diving into wiring that’s connected to a battery. It takes very little contact to make a nice short circuit across a gold wedding ring or bracelet and the result is a very bad burn, sometimes taking the skin clear off your finger or wrist (I believe the term they used was “de-gloving” your hand). I worked on cars and motorcycles for many years without a second thought about frying my wristwatch across a starter solenoid, but it appears there have been enough instances of bad burns, especially in tight engine spaces (like beneath the companionway of a sailboat) to warrant a word to the wise…
Chuck Gilchrest S/V Half Magic 1983 LF 35 Pandaram, MA From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Dennis C. via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 3:08 PM To: CnClist <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Dennis C. <capt...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Starting Problem I just had same issue. Started at the ignition switch and worked toward engine. It was the slide on connector on the solenoid. Apparently I'd knocked it loose while working near it. Just remember, voltage does not mean the amperage will happen. Speaking of engines, here's what I'm working on this weekend: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/heat_exchanger I hope Touche's exchanger doesn't have as many zinc pieces as this one. I'm seeing 5-10 degrees of overheat right now at high rpm. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA On Tue, Jun 7, 2016 at 1:42 PM, Dr. Mark Bodnar via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: Thanks for all the feedback. I'll me digging out my multimeter and heading down to the boat this weekend. I now realize that I don't think the engine vent fan turned on when I turned the key (my lights on the panel are rather intermittent and my engine overheat buzzer has never worked, plus the tach is intermittent -- so good chance that the wiring harness is the culprit). I'll check the fuses on the engine and see if I can find the ground wires. No glow plug to deal with. I've also been advised to check the "neutral kill swtich" (stops you from starting engine in gear) and the "oil pressure kill switch" - not sure where those are so I'll have to look at the engine manual. I'll see what I find and come back with more details if it's not working Thanks, Mark There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. - George Santayana On 2016-06-06 12:12 AM, Dr. Mark Bodnar via CnC-List wrote: Stopped by the boat today planning to get prep'd for some work that need to get done. Figured I should kick the engine over just to make sure everything was running smoothly. Unfortunately I got nothing (absolutely nothing) from turning the key. Batteries seem fine. Able to run radio - and no visible dip in power to the radio when trying to turn over the engine. I had a similar experience a year ago after running the diesel for a few hours - wind came up and we sailed for a bit, but then couldn't re-start. That day I easily found a loose wire (clearly it had shaken loose with the engine running for a long period) off a clip on the starter solenoid (?). That was my first check today - but it was attached. Pulled it off to clean contact but no effect. I figure there are 3 possibilities 1- ignition key failure - no signal to the starter to kick over 2- starter/solenoid failure - I doubt this as I'd expect some type of noise or power dip indicating that something was seized 3- electrical connection failure - I can see a large wire leading to what I presume is the solenoid, plus a couple of smaller wires connected as well. Nothing obviously disconnected I need to head back down to the boat with a voltage meter - try to figure out what is going on and hopefully find an easy fix! Any advice is appreciated. I presume is the key is working them I'd get a voltage spike at the solenoid when the key is turned. If nothing then it suggests either 1 or 3. Where should I see that? I expect I'll pull the panel and check the contacts behind the ignition key - maybe try hot-wiring it if I can figure out which wires are needed Should I use automotive jumper cables to bypass the starter and try to spin the starter/solenoid directly? The engine is a Volvo 2002 18HP Thanks in advance for the advice, Mark There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. - George Santayana _______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated! _______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
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