A bit weird !!!

[Lucky]

Yeah, he's great Ian !!

He's the chap that I go trackday motorbiking all over Europe with - he hates flying and I'm probably the worst person to tell that to - I point out all the dodgey looking characters for him to worry about !! lol !!!

So, so glad that we found the problem, as you say, could be very dangerous - and in fact, when the engine started on its own, we were sitting on the floor with our feet on the engine at the time !

That is Lucky, Lucky (if you see what I mean) . Intermittent electrical faults are a nightmare to trace, but at least now you know you aren't going mad

I did start to wonder Mark !! lol !!

Remarkable, chance in a million fault and a chance in a million diagnosis, that has to be one for Volvo’s technical archive, I would write to them if I were you. :dance :dance

Its like the 'washing machine repair man' the machines always work fine when you don't want them too !! I think it would of been virtually impossible to sort without it actually happening when he was here !

I've got Sky turning up this afternoon for a problem with our signal in the house. Most of the time we can't get a lot of the channels - every now and again it works perfectly. You know whats going to happen - chap turns up, everything works fine !! Oh well.....

Thanks for all the suggestions on this thread, its been very helpful, if only to discount ideas as we went along !

[petersjoy]

Clanny is currently in Jims shed as well so will no doubt see you there.

So it was you waiting at the otherside of the bridge last Saturday when i was down there talking to James, he did point you out, talking about getting you in the shed.

[Lucky]

Well, the story goes on !!!!!

The keyswitch was installed first thing yesterday morning and we started to get on with the service....

Then, all of a sudden..... broommmmmm !!!!

Dam.... Problem returns. We now think it was the wiring at the end of the loom where it goes through the plastic box and into the white plastic connector that connects to the starter relay..

We bypassed the connectors at both ends (to be on the safe side) and now it looks like its ok..... time will tell.

Strangely enough, the wiring loom on the other engine has had exactly the same treatment, so the Volvo engineer is going to try and find out if this is a common fault.

Unfortunetly, the tracing took just over five hours yesterday, so we only got time to:-

Change the primary and secondry fuel filters, change the oil and oil filters

Are you impressed with me ? I know what these things are now !!! woo hoo !!!!

Today its the rest of the service including impellers, every single belt, all the rest of the fluids and other stuff which I don't know yet !!

Still, hopefully the bypass has solved the problem, otherwise we will have to either replace the whole wiring loom from the ignition to the electronic box, or simplier, run a new switch wire down there - you can guess which option I would prefer !! lol !!

Another problem may of put its ugly head up though. the port side engine doesn't appear to be putting out a charge to the battery. The starboard is giving 30amps, but nothing to the port. We wouldn't of found this out normally as the boat is always on shore power, so we are going to whip off the alternator and take it to the shop to get it tested this morning. 'Alternator' - another thing I've learnt !!

If anyone out there is like me and knows absolutley nothing about engines (and I'm sure there isn't), when you get your boat serviced, ask if you can help/watch - I've learnt so much yesterday - I even know what the turbo and superchargers now do !!

Another bad point, is that 'we' and when I say we, I obvioulsy mean Richard the mechanic, has assertained that no way was this boat serviced last year, which I was told by the previous owner. Its a shame people have to lie, but I guess its the same as cars...

[mbird]

Another bad point, is that 'we' and when I say we, I obvioulsy mean Richard the mechanic, has assertained that no way was this boat serviced last year, which I was told by the previous owner. Its a shame people have to lie, but I guess its the same as cars...

That's the slight niggle I have with ours Luke. I am taking on board Ian's (Senators) advice and have ordered some outdrive oil, so when she is out for a couple of days next weekend, I am going to check that out just incase, even though supposedly it was all done in July. I know the engine oil is pretty clean, so I'm sure that was changed, but the air filters look pretty dirty so I doubt a proper service was done.

Glad you are learning techie stuff, and I think you are ahead of me on these engines now, but things like changing impellors and fuel filters are must to know how to do if venturing to sea IMHO.

Just out of interest, when the fuel filters were changed, was it an easy operation to bleed the system? I know how it should be done in theory, but I just wondered how the mechanic did it in practice?

[Lucky]

Ah Mark - it was soooooo easy. On top of the secondly fuel filter is a nut. Undo this nut then below the filter and off to the side a bit is a lever. Pump this lever up and down until the fuel comes through (obviously without any bubbles) then put the nut on top.

I can't beleive I am saying this, but it really IS easy ! A cloth on the floor to catch any dribbles of course and its done. He said that if you have any CLEAN fuel, to put them in the filters before putting them on, but this isn't always possible.

[Antares_9]

Good to see folks becoming self sufficient, there is no AA at sea, at least on the Broads you are rarely more than 20 feet from the nearest land.

If you have a Pella or similar for oil changes it can also be useful for bleedeng after filter changes, especially if you've done both primary and engine. Just suck the fuel through to fill up the filters and give it a final bleed. It’s especially useful for clearing airlocks or where the thing simply will not pull diewsel through on the lift pump.

[Lucky]

Lots of things became obvious today in our 'Day Two' of servicing. This boat hasn't been serviced for a while - in fact, the belt that drives the power steering has never been changed, it actually had a fair amount of the original green paint that was put on the engine by Volvo prior to installation !!! Also, where servicing has happened in the past, non-Volvo parts were used. I'm not a fan of this - I think that if you are going to do a job properly then the original parts should be used, and not try to save 10% or so by using non-original parts. Only my view of course, everybody is entitled to their own, but I have always used original parts in the past for cars and boats.

Everythings ok though, a thorough check on virtually every bit, and the engineer is back again tomorrow to finish off the impellor housing repair kit as there was a slight leak on both sides. The alternator power problem was just because we had the shore power plugged in at the time and is all working fine - in fact, the engines are in very very good condition especially considering the lack of servicing in the past !

So, after tomorrow, the next job is the servicing of the legs - just got to wait for a certain NBN member to get his boat out of my garage (Jim's place) so we can sort it out (only joking Ian)

[jimbo]

So the moral of this story is "Always isolate your engines starter battery before working on it"

[senator]

Hi Luke,

If you are waiting for the Dolly that Clanny is on you are cutting it a bit fine for Easter, Clanny is not due in till the 15th.

Lets hope that the leg servicing has not been neglected to the same extent Luke, engines may survive but legs tend to be a bit less forgiving.

Ian

[Lucky]

No its fine Ian, I was only joking.

Yes, I'm hoping that the legs will be ok, but time will tell !

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Hi all, very interresting thread this one. Regarding lies being told by vendors, when i bought Mistral, she was advertised as a 75 boat, but after contacting ridgeway marine, later Pegasus yachts, they informed me she was actually the 73 west country boat show exhibit. I could have negotiated a lower price, but i`d owned the boat for a few months by then. As for using genuine parts, well yes maybe, but when i used to service my early bikes, i needed a new set of contact breaker points, and was told i would`nt be covered under warranty if i used pattern parts, so i paid nearly treble the price for genuine Suzuki points. At a later date, i went to by some point`s for another Suzuki, and when i asked for genuine parts as the pattern parts were`nt covered under warranty, they salesman told me they are EXACTLY the same part as supplied to Suzuki, with exactly the same part number etc, and showed me what he was talking about. So i started buting pattern parts from then onwards. The moral of this story is that companies such as Ford or Vauxhall et al, don`t make clutches, filters brakes etc, but use outside manufacturers such as Quniton Hazel, Lucas, Borg and Beck etc etc. The same goes for the marine industry, where engine manufacturers such as Volvo, Yanmar and Nanni etc etc don`t make pumps, injectors or filters etc, but use outside suppliers, and just put them in a genuine parts bag or box. Next time you`re looking to buy service items, check out both the pattern part, and the genuine part side by side, and check the part numbers. Don`t be surprised if you find the numbers exactly the same, but always consider the savings in costs. It`s worth considering?. Regards to all.................... Neil.

[Lucky]

I couldn't agree with you more Neil - we had this exact conversation on the boat yeasterday about who actually makes what !!

But, as the engineer said, the price difference for non-original parts, ie. the plastic bag - which is sometimes the only difference, is only pennies or a pound, its worth paying the slight extra - even when the engines are out of warranty - more so for piece of mind than anything else.

If it was a major part, like an alternator (£250) or something like that, then its well worth looking for an alternative, especially if the original part is made by the same manufacturer - which happens quite a lot.

By the way, if anyone needs a Volvo Penta keyswitch with key, give me a shout - I've just put my used one on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270542364273&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT I'll probably replace the other one as well as I like the comfort knowing that I have a spare key just in case....

Mark (mbird) - When you read this, when you come to change your belts, take a careful look at the power steering belt. When we came to change mine (only one on the KADS) the official Volvo belt was actually too long. We had to get an alternative supplier to suit. It would be interesting to see if you have the same problem....

[mbird]

Mark (mbird) - When you read this, when you come to change your belts, take a careful look at the power steering belt. When we came to change mine (only one on the KADS) the official Volvo belt was actually too long. We had to get an alternative supplier to suit. It would be interesting to see if you have the same problem....

That's interesting Luke, thanks for the heads up. I did check all the parts I'd been sent by Keypart were the correct ones yesterday, and the belt looked about the right length, but I'll double check today now you've mentioned that. I don't intend changing the belts just yet, as they all seem still quite servicable, but will carry them as spares just incase, so I do need to be sure they are the right ones!