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Investigate why/what was allowing that high a current to be produced -- somewhere there must have been a low resistance path that allowed a high current flow.  Either that or the regulator went whacky   

So being down only 40 amp hours,  on my house bank wouldn't be expected to produce that much of an acceptance rate eh? I thought it seemed excessive. We are having a fridge problem right now. It had a refrigerant leak, which has been repaired, now trying to get the refrigerant level to a place where it cools properly. Currently running at 7amps continuously. Maybe there's more of an electrical problem with the fridge than I presumed, and something there caused this low resistance path? Other than that, from an electrical perspective, we did install all new batteries and a new solar controller (Victron Smart MPPT) this spring.

Bringing this thread back from the dead. The alternator we installed last year (Wilson 90-31-7000) had worked well until this weekend. Our battery bank was more depleted than usual, but still hardly at all. According to the xantrex link we were only down 38 amp hours out of our 520. But that is still more than our usual 20ish. This was due to a fridge issue, which I'll post about in a new thread.  Anyway, once we started motoring and got up to 2000rpm, we noticed a strange smell. I sniffed around the engine room and it seemed to be coming from the alternator. According to the Xantrex the alternator was putting out 40 amps, plus whatever loads, so I'd guess 51-52 total. Pretty close to the 55 amp rating. Took a temp reading with the IR gun, and it was 128c, that's about 260 in freedom units, near the windings. I started shutting off loads and we brought the engine speed down to 1600. The amps and temp started to drop pretty quickly and the smell went away. With the Xantrex showing 30 amps, all seemed well. Question is, shouldn't the alternator have limited its output to avoid burning up? Was it actually dangerously hot, or just a weird smell because we've never had it that hot before, in which case should we have ignored it and let it burn off? This alternator has about 60 hours on it, but with our solar and everything, this is the highest it's ever run. Usually I see around 20-30 amps.

Thanks guys. Ron, that makes sense, I  guess there's really no need to run the engine longer than a minute or so. The injectors are either going to leak, or they're not eh? I've only worked on injectors once before, and instinctively ran the engine for a good 10min or so after to make sure all was well, but realistically, nothing changed over those 10min. I've removed the impeller for the winter, not to mention we're still below freezing here for another month or so, therefore using the bucket and water option isn't realistic. I'd have to winterize again after. But doing the injectors this weekend, running for a minute or so, and then running for longer seems like a reasonable option. I can't imagine 30 second or a minute of running without water would be enough to damage the muffler. Or could it?
Kevin, the three bucket two hose idea is great, definitely an option once the freezing risk has passed. Often our club doesn't put the water on until a week or two before launch, which is frustrating. The three bucket idea could be a great option come late April.

Hey folks, I've got a bit of work to do on the injectors, and it'll still be 1.5 months before we have access to running water at the club. I'm wondering about pulling the impeller and running the engine for a few minutes with no raw water. I suspect the engine itself will be fine, given that there is still coolant in the fresh water side, not to mention it's -10c here. My concern is melting the aqua lift muffler. Any thought or experience with this? I understand it's frp? How big a risk is say 5min of running with no water cooling the exhaust, on a cold early spring day? I'd like to get the work done now, rather than rushing right before launch.

Aaron

A thought since it's not constant.
I'm 99% against playing Whack A Mole replacing parts but in this case the 1% exception might be to replace the oil filter assembly pressure relief valve to see if affects the noise.  That's an easy low-$ try and a faulty one might show up in before/after oil pressure checks.

My game of Whack A Mole seems to have paid off. Installed the new relief valve, and the hissing seems to have stopped! Fingers crossed it does not return, and that the valve really was the issue. The old spring was definitely a fair bit softer than the new spring. Also the ends of the spring were pretty worn looking. We also cut apart the oil filter, and there no signs of metal flakes in it, so I'm feeling pretty good about the state of internal bearings.

Unfortunately, now that the engine isn't hissing, it's become very evident that two of my injectors are super noisy. They do have a fair bit of diesel wetness around them as well, which I've been aware of for a couple seasons. I'm thinking the injectors are likely the cause of our engine bogging, and poor fuel consumption this season. One of them especially is hammering away compared to the others. So I ordered new injectors from Kubota and attempted to install them today. I hit a roadblock though. I can't for the life of me get the old "heat shields" out. I've tried mechanics pics, PB Blaster, gentle tapping with a hammer and drift. Nothing is budging them. All four are stuck. I didn't find any tips in the tech notes, or the forum, and it seems that the M25 doesn't have this part? The service manual suggests jamming a Philips screwdriver in to try to pull them out, but I'm hesitant to do anything that could create metal debris.

I've noticed that the number of gauges (yes, it's the Canadian spelling) on a vessel corelates to the level of risk associated with operating said vessel. Cars have fewer than planes, which have fewer than space shuttles. Given that we operate Coral Wave on the worlds second largest lake, surrounded by wilderness, are often the only boat in an anchorage, and operate frequently outside of VHF range, the more gauges the better!

I agree completely about the too little too late trouble lights. One of the first things I noticed when we started with Coral Wave was the lack of an oil pressure gauge at the helm. Not sure what Catalina's reasoning is for setting things up that way. I'd much rather have the fuel gauge at the nav station, and an oil gauge in its place if space was at that much of a premium. Seems like fuel gauges in boats are unreliable at best, and oil pressure is a more pressing concern. The reason I was thinking of adding a manual gauge in the engine room, since I was going to be putting one on temporarily for a diagnostic reading anyway, was that I have a series of hourly engine checks I perform during extended motoring. I take IR temp in a few places, check for leaks, check the bilge, and record/reset the barometer while I'm below deck. It would be handy to have an oil pressure gauge down there while I'm at it. Also, when there is any troubleshooting going on, I'm in the engine room and Kristina is at the helm.

I wouldn't want to run a remote gauge and have engine vibration transmitted to the copper tubing/fittings. What's the benefit over a pressure sender?  I've done a few panels that i added a pressure gauge to but always ran a wire.

Yeah, just the having to run a wire. As someone who's still learning, I tend to think the less I mess with the electrical on the boat, the better. Also, don't manual pressure gauges tend to be more responsive, and therefore better for troubleshooting? I would just be mounting the gauge in the engine room, not running it to the helm. So it would just be used for engine checks and diagnostics.

Thanks again Ken, my thoughts exactly on the pressure relief valve. I was thinking I'd start right off the bat by replacing that, and also perhaps the oil pressure switch at the same time. I believe both are cheap parts. And I'm wondering if the Rice Crispies sound and engine bogging could be related to a switch which has been overworked by a faulty relief valve cycling on and off too quickly to light the light, or cut the engine, but just enough to cause the bogging the one time. I believe the relief valve should be a standard Kubota part, though, it looks like it's actually a series of 3 parts on the Kubota parts blowup (spring 1624136950, seat, valve 1624136930, ball 0771500201). I see from previous forum posts that there does not appear to be Kubota or any other equivalent for the switch, so I will just order one from the Canadian Westerbeke supplier. I think they are pretty cheap.
For the oil pressure check, I was contemplating installing a gauge permanently in the engine "room", and it looks like there may be an unused port, according to the  service manual. However the manual only discuses installing an oil pressure sender in that port. Would there be any reason I couldn't install a manual gauge rather than an electronic one?

Where you are indicating I'd first suspect either an idler gear or oil pump noise.  I don't know what would HISS, but I suppose that is in the ear of the beholder.  I couldn't hear the noise that you describe.

Thanks Ken. Should I be relieved by that, or more stressed out? Would the cyclical on/off intermittent nature of the sound ( which hasn't really come across in the video) be more indicative of the oil pump? It's not cyclical in any sort of predictable time pattern, but does sound like something pressurizing, or relieving pressure. I wonder if Kristina has any devices at the hospital that will let me record from a stethoscope. I'll look into it and see if we can borrow something, for the interest of the forum.

Well, made it down to the boat and did some troubleshooting.
Removed the raw water pump, and installed the camshaft sleeve as per the Service bulletin. It hadn't been done, despite the PO having the service bulletin in his files. The pump itself feels fine. Put things back together and did some listening with the mechanics stethoscope. The Rice Crispies sound did not present itself, but the good old hiss did. It definitely was most prominent in the points I've marked in red in this photo. I guess this is starting to look like a crankshaft bearing failure? I cant find any info on failed crankshafts on this engine, on this forum or even Google. Seems strange that such a rare thing would happen on a well maintained engine with minimal hours. But it would correlate to the alternator failure I suppose. I haven't yet determined if the bearing is serviceable without removal of the engine from the boat or a full tear down. Could this be anything else?

Thanks Ken, it's the pages like that and the 101s on this site save a lot of hunting through threads! I'd read on one website that the Facet Posi-Flo pumps are an update to the Cube pumps. Apparently they have a check valve which allows a higher lift height. I don't imagine that's an issue given that our tanks are above the pump. But we do have a longer line than would be on a car. In your link you mention that the Posi-Flo can be used in place of the round pumps, but don't mention using them in place of the cubes. Does this have something to do with the b series wiring/oil pressure safety?

The raw water pump was already eliminated because the temp gage is staying at 160 degrees !!!  That also eliminated Ken's dissertation on the water pump's freezing up and breaking the lug connection on the engine (which is VERY important!!).

Oh, I see what you mean. However, our lake temp has yet to rise above 6c, so it wouldn't take much flow at all to keep the engine temp down. I'm going to pull the water pump off anyway, to check for that service bulletin collar. It was a cheap part so I preemptively ordered one from Westerbeke and have it here ready to go. They had no record of any contact with the PO, so it may never have been done.

Will look into all of Ken's suggestions as well, and listen around with the stethoscope.

I've become suspicious of the fuel lift pump. It occurred to me that I had some diesel leaking around it last winter, which I attributed to expansion/contraction of hose clamps and barbs, but perhaps the pump itself is leaking. I could imagine that causing an intermittent hissing, as it fights to maintain pressure. I think it could also cause the bogging of the engine under increased load as we turned up into the wind to raise the sails. Our tank was half full. We have an aftermarket lift pump that the PO had installed at some point after the original failed. Ours has never clicked, it produces more of a buzz. It's always provided sufficient pressure to prime the Racor and bleed the system though.

She has a "Stop Button"?

Why didn't you or the dock buddy use the methods told about to locate EXACTLY where the (pump?) noise and/or Rice Crispies were coming from?
Why wasn't the (pump?) noise isolated (and taken care of) before going out for four days?
Why hasn't the multitude of manuals been downloaded and throughly read that:
     1) shows every wire and electrical connection, and overcurrent device (ie, breaker, not fuse) on the 35B.
     2) what stops the 35B - it's not a tractor.

Ken, no, she does not have a "stop button", "hit the kill switch" was a colloquialism. Coral Wave has the stock stop lever, which isn't really a lever I suppose, it's a pull knob.

The noise has been present for the past two seasons (the hissing, not the Rice Krispies, that was brand new at the dock), and the engine has always run great until the alternator failure last month. So, we figured it was reasonable to go out for a weekend of sailing, and to continue the troubleshooting during the week. Honestly, I don't regret the decision at all. We had a great weekend, and the difficult weather on the day of the engine problem gave us a chance to test our selves and our procedures in a somewhat stressful situation, relatively close to home.
1-Every manual is on my phone an iPad, as well as in a binder on Coral Wave, and has been since purchase. The previous owner, like most folks on this forum has made electrical changes and upgrades, which are not in the manual, but SHOULD be in a owner-made wiring diagram. I've completed bits and pieces of said diagram, but there's still a lot to be mapped. I think the guy who suggested an arcing fuse was thinking an MRBF type fuse, or maybe something installed somewhere to protect a wire. I haven't located any around the engine, and the Rice Krispies noise was definitely not coming from the battery bank area.
2- I think he meant a fuel shutoff solenoid, which I'm fairly certain we don't have on our engines. It's just a lever that cuts fuel to the injector pump if I understand correctly.

Aaron : You definitely need to get that stethoscope and isolate where all that noise is coming from !! 
Your removal of the belt (and the noise continues) like you have said eliminates the internal coolant pump, raw water pump and the alternator. Also start sniffing around and find what is burning & where???

Magnetize your oil dipstick so when you run the engine next time the dipstick will act like a "chip detector".  When you pull it out you can examine it for metallic "chips"

A few thoughts 

Thanks Ron, a stethoscope has been purchased, now I just need a day and a friend to help troubleshoot. I'm a bit confused as to why you say the raw water pump can be eliminated as a source of the problem. It doesn't run off the belt. Am I missing something?

Good idea on magnetising the dipstick. I really really hope I don't find any chips.

My lovely wife and I were out in the Kingston area and anchored overnight in one of the recommended bays for first timers like us.

Kerr Bay by chance? We spent our first season with Coral Wave living aboard in the Kingston area. The weeds in that region are horrendous. One trick we heard from a few boaters in the area is to have a bread knife attached to a boat hook. You use it to saw off the weed balls as you haul the anchor up. Now on frigid Lake Superior weeds are never an issue. We do occasionally haul up entire trees though