Still no luck in starting the engines. I am confident that all the batteries are fully charged and ready to go. The port throttle seems to be stuck in the neutral position, where the starboard ones moves smoothly from full ahead to full astern. Kostas should be arriving within the next hour, so his first job will be illuminating operator error and seeing if he can start the engines.
Today I have found the switches that control the windscreen wipers. This boat doesn't have any windscreen wipers.
One of the old fishermen here popped on board to see if I wanted to buy two Ford Marine engines. I was in the engine bay at the time. He had a quick look and suspects the starter motors need stripping and maintaining. He reckons they are not engaging with the engines. I don't think he is right - but I will investigate it anyway.
One tip he did give me was to get a large stilson and see if I could turn the prop shaft manually. It might just bring things into alignment and allow the starters to engage.
The dive today was good. 27.1m for 66mins (including decompression time). Temp was 21degC and visibility was poor at 5m.
WooHoo! The fridge is now working! Next time I am here - we can have cold drinks!
I had a look at the feed for the gas stove. Top marks to anyone who can spot what is missing here:
Garden Hose; Regulator; Corgi Engineer?
Top Tip, Starter motors usually engage as they spin using a dirty great electromagnet (solenoid). If they are not engaging you hear them spin but the engine does not turn over, or they make a nasty clacking sound in which case the gear is not engaging correctly. The cause may be either insuffcient power to the solenoid or the corrosion inside the startermotor is preventing the gear moving forwards into position.
ReplyDeleteTwo things to check then, Ensure all battery connections are sound and the batteries have enough puff. If corrosion is the issue then firmly tapping the starter motor may free the gear and allow it to engage.
Sugggest a Spanner on a stick for the tapping (as you dont fit in the engine bay). Although at some point you will still need to strip em an refit. I would think that in high seas with an engine failure finding a spanner on a stick may be a step too far!!