Starting problems

[Capt Paul]

I took the boat out last weekend to wach the Blue Angels fly. Boat full of family and friends and turn the key to get underway. Engine cranks and no ignition. I have a 6lp-STE. The first time in the 4 years I have the boat it did not start at the first turn of the key.

I try again giving some throttle first and it still will not start. Batteries are in good shape, no cranking probelms. I figure it's a fuel problem. I look at the primary filter and the glass bowl is full of fuel, it's very clean also. Before trying to chane the filters I tried using the priming pump on the secondary filter. Still no start. This time I open up the throttle a little bit and use the priming pump again. Pull back throttle into starting position and it starts right up.

Engine is running very smoothe in the slip. I bring up the RPM a little in neutral and it reacts as normal. I decided to give it a go. Took it out and all is normal, I wouldn't dare shut off the engine though until I go back into the slip. I was able to bring up to full RPM, with 6 people on board. Ran like a charm the whole day out! I get back into the slip turn the motor off and try to start it again, starts up. Shut it off again and wait about 10-15 minutes and same problem it will not start.

Anybody ever run into something like this? I will also post this on BoatDiesel.com

Thanks for any insight on this.
Paul

[Ben]

Is it possible that your automatic fuel shutoff is sticking or malfunctioning? You should hear the solenoid, although I'm not familiar with your engine. If your engine shuts down with a decompression valve then my thoughts don't apply.

Ben

[Russell]

HER DIARY:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird.

We had made plans to meet at a bar to have a drink. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it.

Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; he said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset.
He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior. I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.'

When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent.

Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. To my surprise, he responded to my caress, and we made love. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do.

I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.



HIS DIARY:

The boat wouldn't start today and I can't figure it out, but at least I got laid.

[Denis]

It sounds like the fuel shut off solenoid. It could be a bad connection/ wire harness or a bad solenoid. Check the voltage with the key on and off several times. You should hear the plunger move when turned on. In an emergency you can probably pull the plunger out to get the engine running, but you will not be able to shut the engine off with the key. We had to do that when we were 50 miles out tuna fishing last year but at least it got us home.

[Ben]

I had to do the same thing with my Isuzu truck in the middle of Where the Heck Am I, Montana. I disconnected the spring that held the plunger in and ta-da. It was quite a surprise to me when I went to shut off the truck and... nothing.

Ben

[jcollins]

HER DIARY:





HIS DIARY:

The boat wouldn't start today and I can't figure it out, but at least I got laid.

Now I understand how you came up with the name for your boat.

[jleonard]

Learning how to manually bypass the fuel solenoid or stop solenoid on a diesel is one of those things all boaters should learn how to do on their particular engine in addition to knowing how to bleed the air out of the fuel system.

[Doug]

Where is the fuel shut off solenoid located on a Cummins 370 HP 6BTA engine? What is the best way to by-pass it?

Thanks,
Doug
St Petersburg FL
32+2 CB

[Capt Paul]

Thanks for all the input, I will try and get down to the boat this week and check out the solenoid. Basically its sounds like what I am doing buy priming the engine has nothing to do with the problem. Just an intermittent connection or faulty solenoid.

If the Solenoid was to fault though, couldn't the engine shut off while underway? Or does it automatically get bypassed once the engine starts?

My engine manual is on the boat and I could not get to it this weekend.

Paul

[RobS]

If the Solenoid was to fault though, couldn't the engine shut off while underway?
Paul

The fuel shutoff solenoid is energized when running stopping the engine. When you hold in the STOP button it de-energizes the solenoid that shuts off the fuel supply and thus shuts down the engine. Some panels are wired with the STOP button wired into the ignition key so that the turning off of the key energizes the solenoid as well.

Furthermore, the 6LP's do not have a manual bypass of the fuel shutoff solenoid. The only option is to shut the valve on the fuel supply coming from the tank and wait. Let's hope she's not stuck in gear at the same time

[RobS]

Is it possible that your automatic fuel shutoff is sticking or malfunctioning? You should hear the solenoid, although I'm not familiar with your engine. If your engine shuts down with a decompression valve then my thoughts don't apply.

Ben

The 6LP does shut down with a fuel shutoff soleniod. See my post above.

[Ben]

My bad Rob, I'm not familiar with that engine. I just know it happened to me in a similar situation. Sorry if I posted mis-information Paul, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. It is probobly something simple.

Ben

[RobS]

My bad Rob, I'm not familiar with that engine. I just know it happened to me in a similar situation. Sorry if I posted mis-information Paul, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. It is probobly something simple.

Ben

No bad Ben - you said you were not sure so I figured I'd follow up on it for you....

[Capt Paul]

Again thanks to all for you input,

I figured it out, I just need to get laid and all my problems will be solved!

If owning a boat could be so simple. I went down to the boat and checked the solenoid and all is in working order, as it let's the engine start and shuts it down when all else is right and does not intermittently cause issues when running.

My mechanic was able to take a look see and what he found was two possible issues. First the priming pump on the secondary filter seems to be loosing pressure over time. He checked this buy disconnecting the output side of the filter from the engine. He went down the whole fuel line to the hose from the tank. No issues. He also checked the solenoid operation and agrees no issues there.

Secondly the vacuum pressure out of the ejector fuel pump (I think that is what it is called) seems to be low, about half of what it should be.

His recommendation is to first fix the priming pump, replace it , about $150.00. and pray that's it, because pulling the ejector pump is a major job according to what he sees! It's internal to the engine VS outside of it. Looks like part of the cam mechanical assembly needs to be removed and it is a real tight space.

UGHHH! out come the prayer beads!

To be continued...

Paul

[jleonard]

Where is the fuel shut off solenoid located on a Cummins 370 HP 6BTA engine? What is the best way to by-pass it?

Cummins uses a "power on" solenoid, meaning the fuel is off until the solenoid is energized. It has 2 coils...a pulling coil and a holding coil.
Usually the pulling coil will fail as it draws more amps.
The solenoid is attached to the injection pump...right on top. Will be cylindrical with a rubber boot covering the linkage. It is a very easy task to manually pull it up. Use a couple of electrical tiewraps to hold it up.

You should find the solenoid and try it a few times to learn how it feels.
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