Eeyore

Post a picture of the holes in the mounting bracket if you can. Disconnecting the battery, unless there is a switch in the circuit. Make sure everything is switched off before reconnecting the battery, otherwise the slight sparking can be a bit alarming.

Looks a bit like a Beta Marine high level mount? They certainly used an alternator with that slot on some engines

Are you confusing a temperature switch with a temperature sender? A switch would be either open or closed circuit. Perhaps that particular unit on your existing panel used a temperature sender?

Interesting, the last one I was in had the relays mounted facing downwards; and yes one of them had vibrated out!

Off topic, but still useful to the curious. Most filter manufacturers have cross reference tools on their web sites, and one is probably supplying Listers. They all have one thing in common, and that is the size of the screw thread, and thats about it. The range of internal bypass settings are probably the most curious. It would of course be irresponsible to suggest anything other than genuine parts; but it certainly gives the impression that anything that both screws on and seals would do the job!!

So we agree, its not an issue on a properly maintained engine 😎. I was probably looking from the other perspective. Interesting to note that the filtration system wasn't up the the task of maintaining a supply of clean oil beyond 100 hours, even during development. Cann't remember off hand if the LPWS engine uses the largest of the many genuine oil filters; but clearly a consideration when servicing.

I was lucky enough to have quite a lot of slack (extra cable) in the loom between the 11way plugs on the engine and panel. Everything on the engine, except the main battery connection to the starter and alternator was removed. The loom from the panel was then trimmed to suit and wired directly to the engine. Mine was a LPW3 so you would need to retain or rewire the glow plug wiring on your LPWS; you could upgrade the size of the +ve going to, and the heater supply coming from the ignition switch, or use a simple energise to close relay as currently installed. The panel can be the simplest diagram you can find.

Nothing to do with the lifters. Its the difference in compression ratio between the indirect injection LPWS at about 22:1 and the direct injection LPW at about 16:1. The higher compression simply creates more blow by until the piston and rings get up to full working temperature; the best seal being when they have expanded fully into the bore. The pistons and rings will of course only be fully expand if the engine is worked hard enough for it to maintain full working temperature, so more blow by on the LPWS engine is just a fact. Don't forget that the coolant temperature is no indication that the internal components are at full working temperature.

Thanks for that Nick, I bowed out because I had doubts when I reread the test lamp results. Another day at school.

I’m happy to advise on the potential danger of creating a live to earth connection , but you should contact the manufacturer for further advice on a neutral to earth link.

It’s worth noting that the French version of the Schuko can have an earth pin in the socket. So it’s possible to use one of those to ensure correct polarity; or just fit a UK socket to the inverter.

Yes, because if its the wrong way round you will have an earth to live connection.

There is a surprisingly high percentage of idling as trains can often coast for many miles once up to speed. The effects of idling being offset against the high power demands of accelerating away from a stop. This sounds a bit like the "Italian tuneup" advice often given to boaters with smokey engines, a high power run on deep water to get everything up to correct temperature for about half an hour and alls well again. So perhaps a little synthetic is fine providing you can get it up to full working temperature once in a while? That said, I ran my nearly new Lister LPW3 on Mobil 1. It was slightly undersized and over propped for a 62' nb, so no issues with getting it up to temperature, with the added bonus that it would idle smoothly from start up in sub zero temperature because the thinner oil didn't "gum up" the governor linkages which are internal to the engine.

A fleet of trains that I worked on during their warranty period had Mercedes engines which used a synthetic oil. The Mercedes tech support team seemed to think it was needed in order to keep the oil inside the engine! This of course makes perfect sense as you can design/specify seals to deal with oil molecules of a consistent size.

I wouldn't be so sure about that https://www.prm-newage.com/help-centre-marine The change from engine oil to atf was related to the time it takes for the oil to be 'squeezed out" from between the cone clutches during engagement. In some circumstances engine oil delayed the engagement of the clutch resulting in slipping and rapid wear of the linings.

This tensioner was liberated from an Isuzu engine. Not a marine engine, but the same type as used by HMI when producing their range. Might be an Isuzu part.

Some diagrams in this: 27255_Stelrad-HS_Classic_Web-3.pdf

Did you use a small load, say a 60w lamp, whilst testing? This seems to settle things down a bit. I've experienced units that displayed a harmonic frequency on the meter when off load. The worst one had sheared the screws holding the stator coils to the frame allowing them to rotate; with only the cable connections (briefly) holding everything in place!

The maintenance requirements are quite simple: "The SL model alternator similarly requires no regular mechanical maintenance. It is, however, fitted with slip-rings and brushgear which require regular attention. Inspect brushes and sliprings at 500 hour intervals. Replace brushes when they are worn to a depth of 8 mm. The new brush should be bedded using a medium grade abrasive cloth. If the sliprings are pitted or badly marked the rotor should be removed and the sliprings lightly skimmed. The alternator must periodically be inspected and any accumulation of dirt or oil must be removed. Air inlet and outlet openings must be kept unobstructed." An accumulation of carbon dust from the brushes (normal wear) can cause some interesting symptoms, depending on where it settles.

You will have to dismantle the end of the acoustic box to get to the circular end cover; it requires a clearance of at least its own length to remove it.

The avr is attached to the same bracket as the brush gear, under the end cover. The box on top of the alternator containing the sockets and circuit breaker is fitted by Beta.

Adjusting the engine speed will change the output frequency; and of course a frequency setting on your meter is the ideal way to set the engine speed.

Is this the voltage from a meter on the control panel or from a multimeter? A multimeter needs to be a “true rms” type, otherwise it may give you the voltage you mention by default.

And for us old enough to remember such things, part of a scandal involving some wine suppliers! It is of course the corrosion inhibitors that primarily determine the life of "antifreeze".