non starter

[finnie]

Hi all

Just found this forum after 12 years of boating so I`m hoping somebody can help me with a starting problem that I have with my BMC 1.5 diesel engine in "The Little Rose" What happened was ;

Went to the boat on a Friday as usual and started her up as normal ie. easy start when cold she was running for about 1 hour just to top the batteries up a bit shut her down .

Next morning wanted to do same thing and did but after 30 seconds of running it just died as if there was no fuel .Ok did what I think was wrong -cleaned fuel filter -checked that there was fuel coming out at injectors yes it did got the easy start but she won`t start now !

Have anybody any ideas ?

Is there air in the system ? or is it fuelpump not giving enough pressure ?

 

Please help .

Thanks

[chris w]

Is there air in the system ? or is it fuelpump not giving enough pressure ?

 

Please help .

Thanks

Do you have an electric fuel pump? Has its fuse blown perchance? Obvious questions: is the diesel tap ON? Have you checked ther is fuel in the tank?

 

Chris

[finnie]

Do you have an electric fuel pump? Has its fuse blown perchance? Obvious questions: is the diesel tap ON? Have you checked ther is fuel in the tank?

 

Chris

 

Mechanical fuel pump -lots of diesel and it`s open as my fire is fed from same tank and it was working all night .

[Big COL]

Mechanical fuel pump -lots of diesel and it`s open as my fire is fed from same tank and it was working all night .

 

Hi finnie

 

Is it a manual stop cable? Has the stop lever on the pump fully returned back to the start position?

[Iain_S]

Is there a bleed point before the injectors, e.g on fuel filter where you can get a good jet of fuel? If there is air in it, it should show up as frothy fuel. This has to be on the pressure side of the fuel pump; if there is an opening on the "suction" side, it will just allow air in.

 

I had a similar problem with an SR2 after the fuel sysem was altered to comply with BSS. The problem then was water in the fuel, which eventually clogged the newly fitted prefilter, and decreased the pressure in the supply pipe enough to allow air to get sucked in. Bleeding at the filter on the engine would allow the engine to run for five or ten minutes before air stopped it again. I never did isolate the air leak; the most likely culprit was an "O" ring on the pre-filter which was changed for a thicker one when all the connections were nipped up a bit.

 

Iain

[RobinJ]

Is there air in the system ? or is it fuelpump not giving enough pressure ?

You seem to have checked diesel, you can always check the lift pump if it has a priming lever by pumping and cracking a fuel pipe!

If after checking the stop cable, there is probably only the heater plugs left, the fact that you've been using easy start may indicate that they were not all working in the first place?

[alan_fincher]

.....................but after 30 seconds of running it just died as if there was no fuel .

 

 

.....................there is probably only the heater plugs left, the fact that you've been using easy start may indicate that they were not all working in the first place?

Robin,

 

As the report is it runs for 30 seconds, then dies, I can't see why the heater plugs come into play, once it's started.

 

Surely this has to be a fuel issue, if the stop cable is correctly returning ?

[dor]

Have you checked that there is not water in the fuel. can be a problem with the rapid temperature changes we have had recently due to condensation.

[RobinJ]

Robin,

 

As the report is it runs for 30 seconds, then dies, I can't see why the heater plugs come into play, once it's started.

 

Surely this has to be a fuel issue, if the stop cable is correctly returning ?

True it seems to be a fuel issue, but the system has been bled and the fire is obviously burning it, so there may be an air leak which will re-occur, but in the meantime the issue is starting?

[Chris Pink]

Check for water in the fuel filter - this is a sign of condensation - heating system may be more tolerant or the engine fuel filter may have filled up with water.

[finnie]

Surely it has to be a fuel issue -I think it could be the fuel pump not giving enough pressure through the injectors it is 30 years old and I have a friend who have a compression tester so that will be tested as well .

How does the lift pump works? is it just for priming or does it also work as a feed to pump ?

[denboy]

lift pump works off a cam and pumps fuel to the injector pump as a rule,, other possibility is the diaphragm in the lift pump is split whether you can get a repair kit for it nowadays i have no idea

[finnie]

lift pump works off a cam and pumps fuel to the injector pump as a rule,, other possibility is the diaphragm in the lift pump is split whether you can get a repair kit for it nowadays i have no idea

 

Ahh - I`ll try that lift pump first thanks for that

[david and julie]

Mechanical fuel pump -lots of diesel and it`s open as my fire is fed from same tank and it was working all night .

This may kid you if they both have there own supply, one feed may be higher in the tank than the other, in which case one may get diesel and the other water.

 

Was it freezing at the time? if so, even a small ammount of water in the diesel can freeze and block a pipe.

[Troll]

Check the fuels not waxing with the cold

[OptedOut]

Ahh - I`ll try that lift pump first thanks for that

 

I think the lift pump valves could probably do with a check when you check the pump, they have been known to stick or get held open with dirt etc.

[denboy]

Ah now theres a point inside the lift pump there are 2 small one way valves one for in one for out i once had the problem were one had some how flipped over and just pumped a bit of fuel

[OptedOut]

I forgot to mention that if your engine has a fuel filter with a bleed-off pipe at the top of the filter the small hole in the banjo bolt should also be checked, if blocked the filter will not auto bleed air.

A small air leak on the suction of the lift pump will then possibly give the symptoms described.

[finnie]

Hi All

Merry christmas and happy new year.

Finally solved the problem - I took off the lid on the lift pump and Oh my god was it dirty ie. totally blocked ,30 years of gonk in there cleaned it out and when everything was off cleaned all the fuel lines as well put it back together and then I couldn`t get fuel beyond filter so changed that as well and guess what NOW IT STARTS AND RUNS LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW.

Now we can have a happy new year on the boat .

 

Thanks

[denboy]

Hi All

Merry christmas and happy new year.

Finally solved the problem - I took off the lid on the lift pump and Oh my god was it dirty ie. totally blocked ,30 years of gonk in there cleaned it out and when everything was off cleaned all the fuel lines as well put it back together and then I couldn`t get fuel beyond filter so changed that as well and guess what NOW IT STARTS AND RUNS LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW.

Now we can have a happy new year on the boat .

 

Thanks

[onthecut]

Hi All

Merry christmas and happy new year.

Finally solved the problem - I took off the lid on the lift pump and Oh my god was it dirty ie. totally blocked ,30 years of gonk in there cleaned it out and when everything was off cleaned all the fuel lines as well put it back together and then I couldn`t get fuel beyond filter so changed that as well and guess what NOW IT STARTS AND RUNS LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW.

Now we can have a happy new year on the boat .

 

Thanks

 

Well sorted --- always a great feeling to be underway again after being broken down. Just a quick line to add a reminder to anyone using a priming lever on a mechanical lift pump --- if the lever seems particularly easy to use and is producing no result, flick the engine over on the starter and try again. It may be the engine has come to rest with the pump arm cam lobe on maximum lift, leaving the hand lever with no scope to operate the diaphragm, as it is on maximum travel already. Turning the engine over a little will take it off the peak and give you back manual pumping ability.

 

Mike.

[finnie]

Hi All

Merry christmas and happy new year.

Finally solved the problem - I took off the lid on the lift pump and Oh my god was it dirty ie. totally blocked ,30 years of gonk in there cleaned it out and when everything was off cleaned all the fuel lines as well put it back together and then I couldn`t get fuel beyond filter so changed that as well and guess what NOW IT STARTS AND RUNS LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMORROW.

Now we can have a happy new year on the boat .

 

Thanks

 

 

Guys -don`t forget to clean that filter on the lift pump every so often

[FORTUNATA]

Now the engine has been serviced, it really shouldn't need Easy Start. In fact, not wanting to come across as overly pious , stuff like filter, lift pump or oil changes ought to have been looked into before the dreaded "Easy Start" was resorted to. Does anyone recall the boat owner a few weeks back whose boatyard reckoned his engine had been knackered due to ether cold starting sprays? Whether true or not, the prospect of major engine work was an expensive affair.

To quote another poster:

 

"Easy start sprays contain ether which has a low flash point and thius helps to start the car. It can also promote severe detonation for the same reason and therefore can cause damage to the engine."

 

It should now hopefully be starting on its own without ether but if not then there is a heater plug problem to address.

 

 

 

Hi all

Just found this forum after 12 years of boating so I`m hoping somebody can help me with a starting problem that I have with my BMC 1.5 diesel engine in "The Little Rose" What happened was ;

Went to the boat on a Friday as usual and started her up as normal ie. easy start when cold she was running for about 1 hour just to top the batteries up a bit shut her down .

Next morning wanted to do same thing and did but after 30 seconds of running it just died as if there was no fuel .Ok did what I think was wrong -cleaned fuel filter -checked that there was fuel coming out at injectors yes it did got the easy start but she won`t start now !

Have anybody any ideas ?

Is there air in the system ? or is it fuelpump not giving enough pressure ?

 

Please help .

Thanks