MY ENGINE WONT START

[deletedaccount]

so when i imitally turned the key the light came on on the panel i turned it once more, heard a dull click from then engine then nothing. light goes out.

light wont come back on again. try it again a few mins later and light bones on but the same happens again. have i got a flat starter batt? it'd be odd cos i had the engine on for two hours yesterday. if so can i jump it from my almost flat lesi batts?

[Timleech]

so when i imitally turned the key the light came on on the panel i turned it once more, heard a dull click from then engine then nothing. light goes out.

light wont come back on again. try it again a few mins later and light bones on but the same happens again. have i got a flat starter batt? it'd be odd cos i had the engine on for two hours yesterday. if so can i jump it from my almost flat lesi batts?

 

Dirty master switch?

 

Tim

[blodger]

so when i imitally turned the key the light came on on the panel i turned it once more, heard a dull click from then engine then nothing. light goes out.

light wont come back on again. try it again a few mins later and light bones on but the same happens again. have i got a flat starter batt? it'd be odd cos i had the engine on for two hours yesterday. if so can i jump it from my almost flat lesi batts?

Sounds like the charging was not working yesterday and you'll need power from elsewhere to get up and running again

Have you checked batteru voltages & connections?

Edited November 23, 2009 by blodger

[deletedaccount]

Well after posting that from my phone I got down in the engine bay and followed all the wires around to make sure they were attached to things and then wobbled the things they were attached to.

 

This seems to have worked and my engine started up!

 

I'm pretty confused as to what was wrong though. Moisture? Dodgy connections?

 

So now I'm running my engine at 11:30pm at night but I'm too afraid to turn it off again.

 

What's a dirty master switch?

 

 

Sounds like the charging was not working yesterday and you'll need power from elsewhere to get up and running again

Have you checked batteru voltages & connections?

 

I've checked the connections which are all fine to my inexpert eye but I've not checked the started battery voltage as I've not got a meter I can use (the leisure ones are wired up to the inverter which has a voltmeter built in - a precarious 11.9 /12 at the mo)

[wrigglefingers]

I'm pretty confused as to what was wrong though. Moisture? Dodgy connections?

 

So now I'm running my engine at 11:30pm at night but I'm too afraid to turn it off again.

 

What's a dirty master switch?

 

I've checked the connections which are all fine to my inexpert eye but I've not checked the started battery voltage as I've not got a meter I can use (the leisure ones are wired up to the inverter which has a voltmeter built in - a precarious 11.9 /12 at the mo)

 

It could be either at this time of year. When it's light, check all the connections. It's worth taking time over this - investigate anything that looks loose or dirty, but do it bit by bit. (I generally pull everything to pieces, dump it on various ledges, drop in the bilge, leave in the kitchen when swigging tea (delete as applicable) but, for fairly obvious reasons I don't recommend this course of action.) I think when Tim mentioned the master switch he was referring to the switch that allows draw from the batteries to reach the control panel. It was a fairly agricultural/mechanical thing on Surprise and the contacts did need to be emery'ed off every so often as they corroded gently in damp weather. Obviously anything I say about electrickery needs to be explained in technical jargon but it worked for me. You can get a cheap multimeter in Maplins. Have you checked and topped up your batteries this autumn - that may be a cause of them not holding charge. A Halfords hydrometer is a few quid well spent.

 

Bet you're popular with your neighbours - where are you at the mo?

 

Good luck, Jx

[deletedaccount]

I checked and topped up all my leisure batteries just recently, but neglected the started. Doh.

 

I'm between bath narrowboats and the tunnel at sydney gardens above bath top lock right now. It's a great spot tbh, mainly because hardly anyone else ever seems to moor here. Which is a bit of luck

 

I'm having my engine serviced on friday so hopefully it'll sort a few things out.

[Sir Nibble]

You have a poor connection. Note, not "you probably have" or "you may have" you have a poor connection. You have now disturbed it and the problem may not reoccur. Try feeling the battery terminals, switch etc after an hour or so's charging, it may well reveal itself as heat.

[deletedaccount]

NOW SOMETHING ELSE HAS GONE WRONG!!

 

So I turned off my engine and guess what? It won't start up again.

 

This time the symptoms are different. There's plenty of electricity getting in there, but it just chugs a bit when I turn the key but never starts up properly. I've got no idea why. There's diesel in the tank and the fuel filter is just two weeks old. The tanks pretty low, but there's a good couple of inches yet.

 

Could there be air in the fuel pipe? The bloke had to bypass a non-return valve between the tank and the fuel filter when he fixed it last time.

 

HELP!

 

You have a poor connection. Note, not "you probably have" or "you may have" you have a poor connection. You have now disturbed it and the problem may not reoccur. Try feeling the battery terminals, switch etc after an hour or so's charging, it may well reveal itself as heat.

 

I found out where it was this morning. One of the battery terminals has cracked open and is loose. So I suppose I'll need a new one. Can I get one from Halfords?

[MoominPapa]

This time the symptoms are different. There's plenty of electricity getting in there, but it just chugs a bit when I turn the key but never starts up properly. I've got no idea why. There's diesel in the tank and the fuel filter is just two weeks old. The tanks pretty low, but there's a good couple of inches yet.

You may well be out of fuel. Most tanks have the diesel outlet above the bottom of the tank to avoid picking up crud and water. Check to see if fuel is getting to the engine.

 

MP.

[deletedaccount]

You may well be out of fuel. Most tanks have the diesel outlet above the bottom of the tank to avoid picking up crud and water. Check to see if fuel is getting to the engine.

 

MP.

 

That was my initial thought.

 

To check I should undo one of the fuel pipes (like the one from the tank to the filter) and see, right?

[Chris Pink]

That was my initial thought.

 

To check I should undo one of the fuel pipes (like the one from the tank to the filter) and see, right?

 

there's likely a bleed screw on top of the fuel filter, open it a bit then, diesel good, water very bad, air bubbles a little bit bad.

 

btw if you're getting your engine serviced Friday, panic will not be required.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Chris Pink

[blodger]

You may well be out of fuel. Most tanks have the diesel outlet above the bottom of the tank to avoid picking up crud and water. Check to see if fuel is getting to the engine.

 

MP.

If fuel pump is worn,etc, like mine, engine seems to rely on a measure of gravity feed so I have learned to not let the tank get below half full or no start.

 

Symtoms you are describing still seem electrical however

[Bones]

are you sure the engine stop is in the right place? Half open will stop the boat roaring.

[deletedaccount]

I have brilliantly made things worse.

 

Took the fuel filter out to have a look, cleaned off and shook out some gacky stuff and replaced it. Managed to screw it back on too tight and snapped the bolt.

 

Meaning I now have a broken fuel filter housing as well as whatever else was wrong with it.

 

I may well have diesel bug considering how much gack was in there, although it could just be the gunk at the bottom of my tank.

 

Go me.

[RLWP]

I have brilliantly made things worse.

 

Took the fuel filter out to have a look, cleaned off and shook out some gacky stuff and replaced it. Managed to screw it back on too tight and snapped the bolt.

 

Meaning I now have a broken fuel filter housing as well as whatever else was wrong with it.

 

I may well have diesel bug considering how much gack was in there, although it could just be the gunk at the bottom of my tank.

 

Go me.

 

Time for a mug of tea and a think.

 

Richard

[deletedaccount]

Time for a mug of tea and a think.

 

Richard

 

That's exactly what I just did

[Naughty Cal]

I have brilliantly made things worse.

 

Took the fuel filter out to have a look, cleaned off and shook out some gacky stuff and replaced it. Managed to screw it back on too tight and snapped the bolt.

 

Meaning I now have a broken fuel filter housing as well as whatever else was wrong with it.

 

I may well have diesel bug considering how much gack was in there, although it could just be the gunk at the bottom of my tank.

 

Go me.

 

Did it look like jelly?

[Guest User]

I have brilliantly made things worse.

 

Took the fuel filter out to have a look, cleaned off and shook out some gacky stuff and replaced it. Managed to screw it back on too tight and snapped the bolt.

 

Meaning I now have a broken fuel filter housing as well as whatever else was wrong with it.

 

I may well have diesel bug considering how much gack was in there, although it could just be the gunk at the bottom of my tank.

 

Go me.

 

I'm having my engine serviced on friday so hopefully it'll sort a few things out.

 

Just hang in there till friday, and then tell him/her that everything was fine when you last looked, but if there's anything amiss could they please fix it .... (and cross your fingers behind your back)

[deletedaccount]

Did it look like jelly?

 

 

More like crud than jelly.

[Bones]

More like crud than jelly.

 

 

Oh dear. It all sounds like a complete disaster! I hope you can find your sense of humour in it all!!!! It isn't long until Friday....

[Naughty Cal]

More like crud than jelly.

 

The diesel bug we have seen looked almost like black currant jelly.

 

It may just be crud from the tank

[wrigglefingers]

Oh dear. It all sounds like a complete disaster! I hope you can find your sense of humour in it all!!!! It isn't long until Friday....

 

Nah, not a complete disaster, Mort, I think Deleted's still got water even if the pump is a little lacking in electricity and the weather isn't too bad at the moment. Hopefully the lav is a manual job and he's close to Bath.

 

Welcome to boating! (we've all been through this ...... at least once!)

[Naughty Cal]

Welcome to boating! (we've all been through this ...... at least once!)

 

Have we?

[wrigglefingers]

Have we?

 

If not, probably not been boating long enough then Phyl!

[deletedaccount]

if i buy a small 1k genoy how do i get it to charge the batts. the dc says it'll do 13.8v but only 8a. can i fix the ac to my interve charger? is there an adaptor to stick it in my shore power hookup?