Vetus engine problem

[Ricco1]

I went cruising today on the boat I bought 3 weeks ago. Probably cruised for 3 hours, no problems.

 

On returning I slowed down to prepare to moor up. At this point I noticed that a red light had come on on the control panel. It's the one connected with water or temperature, or similar. When I slowed down further and knocked it into neutral the warning light went off.

 

I'd made a habit of regularly checking the control panel, as the boat is new to me. The warning light won't have been on for more than 2 minutes. at the most.

 

Any ideas what might have caused this, what should I investigate?

 

Thanks.

[kevinl]

Which warning light is it if they're not labelled there's usually a picture next to them. if it is the engine temperature then if you're raw water cooled it's more than likely the water strainer is blocked with weeds, if you have keel cooling check the water level there should be a header tank.

You say you noticed the light when any of the warning lights come on a buzzer should also sound if you have a Vetus control panel.

[Ricco1]

Which warning light is it if they're not labelled there's usually a picture next to them. if it is the engine temperature then if you're raw water cooled it's more than likely the water strainer is blocked with weeds, if you have keel cooling check the water level there should be a header tank.

You say you noticed the light when any of the warning lights come on a buzzer should also sound if you have a Vetus control panel.

 

Thanks for the reply. There is a picture, I'm pretty sure it's the engine temperature. A buzzer didn't come on, perhaps that's a fault?

 

I don't know much about engines but from what you say I'd say it's keel cooled, as there is definitely a header tank. I checked it the other day, it was 3/4 full. I had to rush somewhere so didn't have time to check the header tank. But I will tomorrow.

 

What would you do if it's still 3/4 full? And if it's not I can refill it but there must be something wrong. Any thoughts?

[Hawkmoth]

You do need to find out what the light means. I have a Vetus and there are only two lights on mine. Oil pressure, and generator charging.

Bob

[kevinl]

I might not have explained that properly, does the engine suck in water from the canal use it to cool the engine then spit it out the exhaust (raw water cooled)? If no water sprays out of the exhaust then it's got skin tanks, a second skin on the boat hull and the hot water from the engine runs through this to get cooled down, the header tank is generally clear plastic like in a car.

[Ricco1]

I might not have explained that properly, does the engine suck in water from the canal use it to cool the engine then spit it out the exhaust (raw water cooled)? If no water sprays out of the exhaust then it's got skin tanks, a second skin on the boat hull and the hot water from the engine runs through this to get cooled down, the header tank is generally clear plastic like in a car.

 

It's definitely got a header tank, just like in a car.

 

Looking forward from the back of the boat the header tank is to the right and above the engine. To the left of the engine there is an 'indentation' on the hull which I presume is the skin tank. I guess this acts like a car radiator, is that right?

 

Hopefully I've explained that OK!

[RLWP]

I might not have explained that properly, does the engine suck in water from the canal use it to cool the engine then spit it out the exhaust (raw water cooled)? If no water sprays out of the exhaust then it's got skin tanks, a second skin on the boat hull and the hot water from the engine runs through this to get cooled down, the header tank is generally clear plastic like in a car.

 

This is a little simplistic, probably good enough as advice though. I changed the thermostat on a raw water cooled engine recently. The thermostat was beneath the header tank and part of the engine circuit. That circuit was cooled by a heat exchanger in the header tank that was cooled with raw water. The header tank was cast iron

 

Our boat has a skin tank on a pressurised system. The header tank is a part of the exhaust and is consequently cast iron (again)

 

So... Things are not always as simple as they may seem

 

Richard

[mrsmelly]

Hi

 

Unfortunately I have a vetus marinised engine. The lump is a mitsubishi which is great but vetus kit in the main is crap and expensive. Is it the 42 ish hp 4 pot?

You probably have the usual problem caused by the wrongly positioned header tank outlet. When the engine has cooled remove the header tank cap and the heat exchanger cap and the water should drain back into the engine. DO NOT overfill the engine it needs to be a couple of inches below the top of the neck or it simply expands into the header tank and stays there. There will be an optimum level your particular engine likes when you have found it then just leave it alone. There is a mod you can do and member catweasel may soon be along to kindly send you the fotos of what to do like he did with me.

Once sorted the problem goes away........now as for vetus filters...............................

 

Tim

[Hawkmoth]

 

 

 

Once sorted the problem goes away........now as for vetus filters...............................

 

Tim

Surely (or is that Shirley) no one buys Vetus filters!

Bob

[kevinl]

OK so it doesn't spit water out of the back, then the cooling system takes the hot water from the engine, runs it through the tank on the side to cool it then back into the engine again in a circle. If the header tank is full to the mark (not to the top to allow for expansion) then the water isn't circulating, likely causes: an airlock in the tank so there's air trapped and not enough water, thermostat is faulty so instead of letting the water circulate it's blocking it, trapped water pipe constriction the water flow. All are an easy fix and shouldn't cost much. If you look in the maintenance bit here you'll find out about airlocks, the thermostat remove it and boil it in a pan of water to test it and the pipes just have a good look at everything see if something has got twisted or trapped. You may be unlucky and be one of the few who buy a boat that has a too small skin tank, the previous owner may never have run the engine as long or hard as you or going from canals onto rivers where the engine has to work harder so need more cooling could be possibles.

[mrsmelly]

Surely (or is that Shirley) no one buys Vetus filters!

Bob

Only if they are stark ravin bonkers !!

 

Tim

[Troyboy]

You do need to find out what the light means. I have a Vetus and there are only two lights on mine. Oil pressure, and generator charging.

Bob

Surely boatbuilders don't build boats with just warning lights and no guages do they ?

[kevinl]

I've only got warning lights and a buzzer on my Vetus

[ditchcrawler]

Surely boatbuilders don't build boats with just warning lights and no guages do they ?

Yes

[grahame r]

If the engine is overheating it's unlikely that the light will go out as soon as it's put into neutral. More likely the light is either low oil pressure or lack of generator. Turn on ignition without starting engine, see which lights come on.

[kevinl]

If the engine is overheating it's unlikely that the light will go out as soon as it's put into neutral. More likely the light is either low oil pressure or lack of generator. Turn on ignition without starting engine, see which lights come on.

turn the ignition on but not the engine and they all light up on mine they only go off when there is oil pressure and power being generated.

[grahame r]

turn the ignition on but not the engine and they all light up on mine they only go off when there is oil pressure and power being generated.

That's right, I was hoping that Ricco might do this and realise that the light coming on was in fact a generator or oil light. I'm not sure it has been ascertained that he even has an overheating light.

Edited September 1, 2013 by grahame r

[Ricco1]

I've tried to attach a pdf I found on the internet which shows the engine control panel, but not sure how to do it. It was definitely the overheating light that came on. Top left of the 5 lights, if anyone knows the panel. The engine is the 11hp 2 cylinder version by the way.

[grahame r]

I've tried to attach a pdf I found on the internet which shows the engine control panel, but not sure how to do it. It was definitely the overheating light that came on. Top left of the 5 lights, if anyone knows the panel. The engine is the 11hp 2 cylinder version by the way.

http://www.abcpm.co.uk/downloads/engines/vetus/M2C5.pdf OK, sorry to confuse things. I notice it does say there should be an audible alarm also for temperature. Grahame

Edited September 1, 2013 by grahame r

[Ricco1]

So there appears to be a fault with the alarm, or the wiring to it, as well as the overheating problem. Does anyone own a similar engine, possibly point me towards how I can fix the alarm problem, or at least diagnose what's causing it?

[Tony Brooks]

Where did the overheating problem come in? I can't see anything about it in the posts and I am not even sure that we have established exactly which light you are having problems with. One things for sure and that is that it is pointless worrying about an audible alarm that may or may not be fitted. Without an age for the engine it is a bit unsafe to assume it does have an alarm.

 

Try this:

 

Look at the back of the alternator and you will see at least one fat wire (stay well away from any fat wires) and at least one thin wire, probably more. With the ignition on carefully remove each thin wire in turn. One of them will put one of the warning lamps out. When you find out which lamp mark it as "Battery", "Charge", or "Ignition". Then come back and tell us if it is this lamp or the other one that comes on.

 

If its the other one then we will need to further tests to see if its reacting to both oil pressure and temperature or only oil pressure. Mu guess is its oil pressure and at present I am favouring a faulty oil pressure switch but that all needs confirming. Look around the cylinder block (not the head) for a thing screwed into with a single wire on it. If you find one its probably the relevant switch.

[Mac of Cygnet]

I have the same engine, but raw water cooled. I see you are on the Macc. I expect to be travelling from Congleton through Macclesfield to Bollington tomorrow. I'm certainly no engine expert, but if you're around I can see if I can see anything.

[Troyboy]

Yes

I find that amazing . With all the gadgets on boats these days replacing guages with warning lights is in my opinion a retrograde step . I find it reassuring being able to watch the temperature guage , oil pressure guage and ammeter on my boat . Presumably the reason for replacing guages is to save cost I cannot think of any other advantage .

[MtB]

I had an annoyingly loud and angry-sounding warning buzzer on my Beta engine panel years ago. It sounded whenever the ignition was turned ON prior to starting the engine and drove me nuts. I located the buzzer and snipped the wire in the end. Maybe the previous owner of your boat did this too!

 

But a red light that goes OFF when engine revs are reduced to tickover and comes ON again when revs are raised (if I read your post correctly) seems more like a sensor fault than a genuine fault to me

 

MtB

[Guest]

Hi

 

Unfortunately I have a vetus marinised engine. The lump is a mitsubishi which is great but vetus kit in the main is crap and expensive. Is it the 42 ish hp 4 pot?

You probably have the usual problem caused by the wrongly positioned header tank outlet. When the engine has cooled remove the header tank cap and the heat exchanger cap and the water should drain back into the engine. DO NOT overfill the engine it needs to be a couple of inches below the top of the neck or it simply expands into the header tank and stays there. There will be an optimum level your particular engine likes when you have found it then just leave it alone. There is a mod you can do and member catweasel may soon be along to kindly send you the fotos of what to do like he did with me.

Once sorted the problem goes away........now as for vetus filters...............................

 

Tim

What Tim said about coolant levels ^^^^

 

The earlier vetus has a habit of airlocking leaving water in the plastic header tank, and insufficient in the yellow tank atop the engine. This is caused by having the small pipe feeding from a banjo off the thermostat housing. I balnked this off and tapped an M8 hole into the top of the yellow heat ehchanger. I would be happy to send you more info and pics next week wehn back on my braodband. In the meantime is the fanbelt tight enough ?(PITA for being slack on these engines.)

Bit about it here:

http://destinynarrowboat.weebly.com/vetus.html

Edited September 2, 2013 by Guest