Messages

I think I may have found the source of my leak.  It is very slow so it takes a few days after a rain to start to puddle in the head floor.

I followed it back today and discovered that it is coming in from the stanchion above the nav table.  There is a ledge along the hull that the water followed back to the wall between the head and the main cabin.  It worked its way down along the bottom two points you have marked in the photo above.

Rebedded the stanchion with butyl tape and hopefully the problem will be solved.  Guess I will find out the next time it rains :)

Thanks all for the help.  I installed a new sender today and all seems to be good.  As Ron said, there is an inspection port above the tank in the port lazerette that makes it much easier to get the old sender out and the new one in.  The only real challenge was getting the screw holes lined up as they are not symmetrical.  Took a couple of tries but think I am fine now.

Greg

Thanks all.  I have taken the port aft panel off and have access to the sender.  I am having problems with step 2 of the trouble shooting procedure.  It says to connect the pink (which in my case is purple) wire to a known ground.  I am not sure where a nearby known ground is. Any suggestions?

I did try the next step (connect pink to ground on sender unit) and it tested ok.  Does the fact that it passes step 3 mean that it would pass step 2?  If so, then it is a bad sender.

Thanks,

Greg

Hi all,
I noticed today that my fuel gauge is stuck fully to the left (empty).  The tank is nearly full and it was working fine 2 days ago.  It almost seems that the needle moves a little further left when I turn on the ignition.

I am working through the document I found on here (Fuel Gauge Test Procedure).  I shorted the S and G terminals on the engine panel and the needle moved fully to the right.  I am hoping someone on here might have a suggestion that does not require me to remove the aft cabin walls to get to the fuel tank (although I am almost positive I will have to do that.)

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

PS  I should have added that all other gauges are working fine.

Thanks all.
I was able to get down to the boat for a short visit today and tried the engine.  It started off no problem.  After letting it run for awhile, I turned it off and waited a few minutes.  The first time I engaged the start button - nothing.  But I noticed that none of the gauges moved when I pressed the start button.  I immediately tried again and it turned over.

The fact that the gauges did not change when I first engaged it seems to indicate to me that the button was not engaging.  Does this make sense or is it just me hoping for an easy fix?

Thanks Ron.  I replaced this last year :)

This is a follow up to my post from a few days ago.  I have had intermittent problems starting my engine. When I push the start, there is nothing.  Usually if I wait a few minutes, it starts no problem.  There was one time last year that it just refused to start and we had to sail to the dock (which was an interesting experience!!)

In reading the threads about this, I see mention of wiring a temporary start switch directly to the starter and "jumping" this to start the engine if all else fails.  I haven't been able to find many details about this.  Would anyone have info or a link (or suggestions) about setting this up as a "just in case".

Thanks,

Greg

Thanks Ron and Noah.  So it appears that any marine push button switch should work. Would the following be ok as it is local and easy for me to get?  Thanks again.

Sierra Heavy Duty Push Button Starter Switch

Hi all,
I have been having intermittent engine starting issues for the last couple of years. I have replaced the gummy connectors at both ends, replaced the inline fuse , and made sure all the connections (including the engine ground) are clean.

Last week when I was coming back to the dock, I hit the engine start button and nothing.  Before panicking, I let it off and tried again while wiggling the started button and it started right off.  I am not sure if the wiggling had anything to do with it, but it makes me think it might be a problem with the starter button.  As far as I know, it is original so 34 years in a salt water environment can wreak havoc on anything.  I would think replacing this would be a fairly easy and cheap option.

My question is if there is a specific button/switch that I need.  I am not sure of the exact panel model, but it is the one where the key is turned and held to the right for the glow plugs and then the button is pressed to start.  I know the xp25 is a kubota engine and I have bought some parts for the engine from the local Kubota store.  Being in Canada means that shipping costs from the US get very expensive so any local alternatives would be great.

Thanks,

Greg

No solution but exact same problem.  I even notice some in the aft cabin. Like you, it pretty much disappears when the dodger is up.  I will keep you posted if I find anything.

My advice to you is to replace the throttle at the same time.  It is not a fun or easy job and it is best to get both done so you won't have to do it again soon.

Hi all,
Had a situation yesterday that I would appreciate your thoughts/opinions.

The boat was at the mooring so I went out to bring it to our dock.  Started no problem.  Later in the day, I took my son and his friends for a sail.  Again, no problems starting.  Upon return to our cove, I tried to start the engine and it was a no go.  Sounded like low batteries - not enough juice to turn it over.  This was strange as I only had the radio and GPS on for about an hour.  I tested the batteries and they were fine.  Tried several times, but no luck.  Fortunately we had a northerly wind (not typical) and I was able to sail to the dock.  We arrived safely (thanks to the help of a neighbors) but that is another story :) .

I tried a few more times with no luck.  Even though the batteries were fully charged, just not enough juice to turn it over.  At this point I thought it might be a bad starter and I would contact a mechanic after the long weekend.

Fast forward to this morning.  Just for the Hell of it, I tried again and it started first try.  No hesitation whatsoever.  This made me think it might be a connection issue.  While the engine was running, I tested the batteries and one had a good charge from the alternator and the other a low charge.  I cut the engine and cleaned all the battery connections.  They were a little "gummy".  I also cleaned the engine block ground (although it seemed fine).  After reconnecting everything, I started the engine (again no problem) and tested the batteries.  This time they both were showing good charge from alternator.

So my question is, can a bad starter be intermittent? Is it most likely that I had dirty connections and should be fine now?  It is a 1990 C34 with a Universal 25xp.  Anything else you can think I should check before I get a mechanice?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We get similar growth in Nova Scotia.  I find that if I leave them over the winter, they get brittle and scrape off rather easily in the spring.

Thanks all for the advice.  I do have the original harness but have replace the gummy connectors.

I was able to replace with a Blue Seas 20amp fuse and it seems to be working fine.  Not sure if that was the cause of my previous starting problems, but time will tell.

Hi all,

I have searched through the forum and see lots of discussion about the inline starter fuse, but not specifically how to replace it.  I have had very intermittant starting problems where I have power at the engine panel but when I engage the starter button - nothing.  Usually I just turn off the key and then try again and it starts no problem.  I have cleaned all the battery and ground connections so looking at the next likely (and easiest to fix) cause of the problem which I believe is to replace the inline starter fuse (pretty sure it is the original so probably fairly corroded.)

This is not my area of expertise so any suggestions on how best to replace would be greatly appreciated.  Do I just cut out the old one and connect in a new one?  Anyone have a suggest of the best one/type to use (I believe it is 20amps?)  Anything else I might be missing?

Thanks,

Greg