[tod]

It seems like the two problems on my port engine have been resolved.

1 – WOT RPM – I had the boat hauled and the props checked. They both looked good but an actual scan showed the port propeller to need some significant work. Afterwards, the engine reaches 3050 rpm. The load is still about 4% higher than the starboard engine but I believe this variance is within spec. Seems to run great.

2 – Warning Horn – Cummins Northwest came to the boat and reprogrammed the ECM. A half hour long sea trial running between high cruise and WOT resulted in ZERO WARNING HORN EVENTS. This is the first time in over 100 hours without the alarm sounding.

Thanks to Tony and Corey for their thoughts.

[tod]

Tony and Corey –

I understand that the DieselViews are obsolete and should be replaced but I have been struggling with other issues. I have a spare DieselView unit that has been on the starboard side and worked fine except the data flashes at a rate of about 3-5 cycles per second. I will switch it in for the problematic port side and see what happens. I will also start collecting some $$ to replace these units in the near future (your J1939 units?).

Regarding the WOT rpm problem, I have attached an Excel spreadsheet that shows data from a sea trial we did in April. It has data for both engines at 600. 2500 and 3000 rpm. At idle, all data is pretty consistent. At the higher rpm conditions, the fuel flow rate, boost and load are all higher on the problem port engine.

One thought of interest – About two years ago I had the port engine turbo rebuilt while investigating the problem on the original port engine (high oil consumption). Can the turbo be a cause instead of an effect here?

Also, I never had an alarm until the R&R of the longblock last December. Afterwards, I get an alarm every time I run the boat. Can ECMs or DieselViews get damaged during an engine R&R?

Anyway, take a look at the data and let me know what you think. There are four tabs on this spreadsheet including “Plan”, “Data”, “Fuel Flow” and “Load”. The tab marked “Data” has all of the raw data for the various conditions.

Thanks for the help and I know I need different displays!!

[tod]

Tony – Funny you should ask. On Saturday when I looked at the ACs again, I wiggled all of the air connections and tried to rotate them. All were good. However, there was a light black haze on the outside of the fuel cooler. Hmmm? When I was running I took a look at the boost and it was 20 psi which seemed normal.

This is a “new” config AC so it has the condensate drain. I haven’t really looked at it. Will do when I get home.

I might have to drop by Oxnard on Wednesday to get more instructions!!

[tod]

Rob et al – I plan on pulling the AC when I get home and looking inside for anything that might be blocking it when I get home in March. The data seems to support this scenario (clogged AC). It is almost too perfect.

Thx, Tod

[tod]

Phil – Thanks for the info on DieselView and IMT. I’ll be checking that out when I get back to the boat in March. Also, I was just thinking that the Acs were off and reinstalled when the block change took place. I will contact the mechanic (100 miles north of me in Victoria, Vancouver Island) and see if he remembers inspecting the AC for clogging. I will pull the AC in March if that remains the #1 likelihood.

[tod]

Rob – I thought maybe I hadn’t been clear. I have had mechanical engines in the past and the tachs were always kind of a reference. With old (circa 1992) Glendenning synchronizers, to sync them perfectly I had to do it by ear. With this boat, in the synch mode, both engines come up to virtually the exact same rpm and there is no “out of synch” vibration at all. That is why it was so dramatic to me when the port engine only came up to 3010 rpm instead of the “programmed” WOT rpm of 3050 like the other engine.

Thanks for your suggestion on generating RPM vs GPM data. I plan on doing that when I get home in March.

Tod

[tod]

Tony/Rob – I went to the boat yesterday and confirmed my DieselView DOES have a “maniold” page including IMT data. Do you know if the DV has an internal piezo buzzer/alarm? I can’t see one but I need to look more carefully. If that’s what is going on, I’m surprised I don’t see anything in the alarm history.

More on the aftercooler – I bought the AC that is now on the “new” engine in Fall of 2016 from Seaboard. Since that time, I have been in salt water for a total of 4 months and the rest of the time in Lake Washington. The “old” engine always seemed to operate normally (except for oil consumption) and when in “sync” mode, the two engines came up to rpm and tracked each other perfectly. Are you still suspicious of the AC?

Does it seem reasonable that the two “big” symptoms, the alarm (IMT or whatever) and the inability to get to 3050 RPM are unrelated?

I am out of town until March but plan on doing the following when I return based on your and Rob’s suggestions:
– Generate a GPM vs RPM chart for both engines in the “cruise” range.
– Complete more research on the DieselView IMT alarm.
– Monitor IMT during a sea trial.
– Check the rpm using an optical tach and compare to my DieselView values.
– Other diagnostics as suggested by the “experts” including you, Rob and the mechanic (in Canada).

[tod]

Tony – I’m listing my answers to your questions:

1) The old motor had 1080 hours on it. I have owned the boat for 4 years and put 600 hours on the engines. Both engines ran fine but the port engine consumed a quart of oil about every 1.5 hours. It ran fine otherwise. I have spent several years trouble-shooting the oil consumption issue (very long story). The most likely answer kept coming back “broken rings” and finally I bit the bullet and had it replaced last Fall.

)2 The LB is a reman unit from Cummins (back east?).

3) The R&R was done by a yard near Victoria, Vancouver Island named Philbrooks Boatyard. They are the best overall yard that I have been in over the last 30 years.

4) RPM vs GPH – The boat is put up for the Winter. I will do this in March when I return back to Seattle.

5) Aftercooler Service History – The boat came with “unclear” AC service history. In Fall of 2016 I did an AC service. The port AC (engine that was replaced) had a core in bad shape and I bought a new assembly from sbmar (I still have the old AC case in my garage that I plan to sell on Craig’s list – My wife is really happy about that).

6) – IMT alarm – Do you think I have one? I didn’t find it on a brief look at my displays. This is a first generation QSB 5.9 and I still have the DieselView displays (I know….). I have queried the DV display alarm history but it says it is empty. The alarm I get is a loud, ear piercing screech and it behaves like you said for an IMT alarm. I have looked pretty hard in/behind my helm for a piezo buzzer but haven’t found one. I also checked my RayMarine chart plotter for alarms but haven’t found anything there.

[tod]

Rob – This is an electronically controlled engine. Before it’s replacement, the “old” port engine came right up to the electronically controlled WOT rpm (3050) exactly like the starboard engine. I have no vibration so I don’t think the prop was damaged during the yard work.

I have had this boat for 4 years and 600 hours but have never had this alarm before (although my WOT operation is normally very limited). I’m not aware of any non-OEM alarms but I’m still looking.

I will go down to the boat tomorrow and get some good pictures of the helm. I’ll post one or more as another reply tomorrow night. Here is a picture of the engine in the installed position as viewed under the engine compartment hatch.

[tod]

I am on travel for a couple of months starting on December 4th. I’ll try and get this information gathered before that time but it is somewhat unlikely.

I’ll repost when I get this info but until then I guess you all should stand down on this issue.

Thanks, Tod

[tod]

I burn about 12 gallons/hour of fuel at cruise and consume a quart of oil every couple of hours at cruise.

The local Cummin$ folks want to do a sea trial and measure blowby. A local mechanic (not factory) wants to do a similar thing but his blowby test is to undo the oil filler cap and put his calibrated hand over it.

I suspect that major surgery will be recommended after this. I would like to be armed with the thoughts of the experts on this forum regarding credible scenarios before I start down that path.

Thanks to all, Tod.

[tod]

As suggested by Jason Leslie (thanks), here is some additional information:
1 – CPL is 8464
2 – S/N is 46365672 (port engine)
3 – History of Use – I bought the boat in Connecticut in Fall of 2015 with 450 hours on both engines. Used for offshore fishing and some cruising before I bought it. I cruised it over to Green Bay Wi through Canada and the Great Lakes. I trucked the boat to Seattle in Fall of 2016. I had both gears replaced in fall of 2016 because the starboard engine had “black” oil. I replaced both gears because of the difficulty in getting set up to do the gear replacement (pull genie etc. Long story) was so difficult and I got some help on the price from the ZF rep.
4 – RPM at WOT before and after the problem was 3050 (controlled electronically). The boat comes right up to WOT when loaded with gear and fuel.
5 – I went through the raw water system in fall of 2016. I replaced the aftercooler on the subject engine (sbmar OEM) because the core was ugly however it didn’t leak.
6 – Photos of the installation – I have attached a photo showing the engine area with the hatch open and a mechanic between the two engines. This is a standard Tiara installation. I can take more photos if that will help but this is what I have right now.

[Author]

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