Official 280 Sundancer Thread

Not a good night last night. Fired up the gen and AC for the first time since the sea trial this past Oct. AC seems to work but isn't pumping out water, maybe its just an impeller in the water pump? Gen shuts down with over heating code, coolant bubbling back into the overflow, possibly a head gasket? Boats an 08 gen only has 120hrs and was pumping plenty of water out. Anyone have any input?
Thanks
Are the seacocks open for both of those systems?
 
The A/C or Heat side won't run if the water pump is not working. What could be happening is that the fan is on so it seems like it's working. Either click on the A/C and lower the temp to the point the compressor will start or the reverse with heat. If the pump isn't working the compressor will shut down and you'll get an error code on the thermostat.

Sorry can't help with the generator.
Hi Captain, thanks for the quick response.
I believe we had cold air and the compressor would shut down with no error code. I did cycle through the modes and it was on "cool". I shut it down after maybe a minute when I seen no water pumping out. Possibly the error code would have come up if I let it run longer?
 
Are the seacocks open for both of those systems?
Hi Mitch, thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, both sea cocks were open. We checked the oil, had to add a little then fired it up for the first time(since sea trial, where it ran perfectly). It shut down after a minute with a low oil code, so we added more oil. Fired it up again. gen was pumping water just fine both times. Then it shut down again after a minute with a overheating code, I believe my mechanic/friend said the overflow was "bubbling" He suspects a bad head gasket
 
Hi Captain, thanks for the quick response.
I believe we had cold air and the compressor would shut down with no error code. I did cycle through the modes and it was on "cool". I shut it down after maybe a minute when I seen no water pumping out. Possibly the error code would have come up if I let it run longer?
I'd let it run longer to see if the error code comes on. Any way we can bleed the system before the water filter? That use to be a problem on my sailboat every season we launched the boat - you had to bleed the inbound water line. Haven't had that problem yet on my 280. Also I assume the water filter is clean and no obstructions in the water line
 
I'd let it run longer to see if the error code comes on. Any way we can bleed the system before the water filter? That use to be a problem on my sailboat every season we launched the boat - you had to bleed the inbound water line. Haven't had that problem yet on my 280. Also I assume the water filter is clean and no obstructions in the water line
Yes, filter is clean for the AC and I'll look into bleeding the inbound line too....thank you.
Also, my friend is researching the gen problem of overheating and he found people having to bleed the gens coolant system. Seems if you crack the radiator cap on some systems, you'll need to bleed any air from the system. Hoping its that easy....
 
I'm not sure how to start a new thread/issue so I'll do it here. I have a 2004 280DA twin 4.3's with about 200 hours.
I am having an issue with the starboard engine coming up to full RPM's. The port will run up to mid 4's and the starboard will go to 38-3900 after a bit of running above 4000 on the port. They will only sinc at about 3500 but the throttle won't be together. My top speed is about 30 knots. I do have broken sensors on both outdrives. They appear to be down and even but I'm thinking they are not. Is it possible that the issue is because the outdrives are not even and/or they are not fully down?
 
I'm not sure how to start a new thread/issue so I'll do it here. I have a 2004 280DA twin 4.3's with about 200 hours.
I am having an issue with the starboard engine coming up to full RPM's. The port will run up to mid 4's and the starboard will go to 38-3900 after a bit of running above 4000 on the port. They will only sinc at about 3500 but the throttle won't be together. My top speed is about 30 knots. I do have broken sensors on both outdrives. They appear to be down and even but I'm thinking they are not. Is it possible that the issue is because the outdrives are not even and/or they are not fully down?


That's a possibility, you can confirm with a quick dip in the water to see if the drives are down and even. Assuming the drives are down, when is the last time these engines had a tune up? I have the same boat and had the same issue when I purchased it, replaced spark plugs, wires and distributor and they were good to go.
 
I'm not sure how to start a new thread/issue so I'll do it here. I have a 2004 280DA twin 4.3's with about 200 hours.
I am having an issue with the starboard engine coming up to full RPM's. The port will run up to mid 4's and the starboard will go to 38-3900 after a bit of running above 4000 on the port. They will only sinc at about 3500 but the throttle won't be together. My top speed is about 30 knots. I do have broken sensors on both outdrives. They appear to be down and even but I'm thinking they are not. Is it possible that the issue is because the outdrives are not even and/or they are not fully down?
Physically verify what your drives are doing. You can tell they're down by sound, or simply by looking. Then, see if they come up at the same speed. Check that, first, then let us know. Otherwise, it could be that the engine needs a tune-up or is low on power or somewhere in between.
 
Thank you lazy and STG. I don't have any control to raise or lower them at this point. They both look all the way down to me. When I had it out I tried to eyeball it and they look pretty close to me.
I have not done a tuneup since I bought it with 66 hours on it in November of 2017. It now has about 200 hours on it.
 
Thank you lazy and STG. I don't have any control to raise or lower them at this point. They both look all the way down to me. When I had it out I tried to eyeball it and they look pretty close to me.
I have not done a tuneup since I bought it with 66 hours on it in November of 2017. It now has about 200 hours on it.
You're saying you can't trim/tilt the drives at all? Have you tried the trailer button?

But, if that's correct, that could very, VERY well be your problem since you can't trim the drives. That's the first thing you need to fix.

You could also try jumping around the solenoids on the trim pumps to get them fully down and even. In the meantime, before you get it fixed, then (jumping) trim them up for about 2-3 seconds. You can check that they are exactly even by measuring the rams. That 2-3 seconds should give you a decent running attitude. Adjust if needed from there doing the same thing.
 
That's correct. I won't use the trailer button because then I'm totally out of business until I pull the outdrives and repalce the sensors.
I hadn't thought about that. Tell me how to do that. That's a good idea!
 
That's correct. I won't use the trailer button because then I'm totally out of business until I pull the outdrives and repalce the sensors.
I hadn't thought about that. Tell me how to do that. That's a good idea!
Super simple, actually. Use a wire at least as large as the large wires on the trim pump solenoids (goes to the motor). Heck, you can even use a pair of pliers. Jump from the positive supply lead (in the middle, has a button fuse) to the the large green wire to put drives down... to the blue wire to go up. Get it? Blue like the sky, green like the ground! :)

Note... I may have done this more than once ;) Being your first time, take it slow and figure it out/ID the parts before you start touching things. You won't hurt yourself - it's 12V - but you could end up causing damage to other things. Google can help you with wiring diagrams.
 
Anyone else have trouble with extremely "sloppy" steering? I got under the helm yesterday and held my finger on the shaft that turns the rack, and my wheel moves a considerable amount prior to that shaft moving at all. So it seems to me that the "slop or slack" is in the tilt mechanism itself. Is this just a U joint? Any experience with this symptom?

For anyone that has replaced this unit, was there a big improvement?

I checked the drives when the boat was out of the water, and they do not have any excessive movement or wiggle room, and the tie bar between them seems tight. When a drive is pushed on the other drive react immediately as well.

Thanks for any help you can provide
 
Ok need so help from people who have had issue's with the hatch slidign door being a complete SOB. Just purchased a 2002 280DA, I knew the door had issue and require fixing but I was going to leave it until the fall.... its starting to annoy me after just two days. I have to lift it up and slide it across, it's REALLY difficult to open from inside the cabin too. any advice, greatly appreciated.... asides from cleaning and lubing the track,.
 
Ok need so help from people who have had issue's with the hatch slidign door being a complete SOB. Just purchased a 2002 280DA, I knew the door had issue and require fixing but I was going to leave it until the fall.... its starting to annoy me after just two days. I have to lift it up and slide it across, it's REALLY difficult to open from inside the cabin too. any advice, greatly appreciated.... asides from cleaning and lubing the track,.
can't help you on the fix but there have been numerous threads here. Since you're a new owner - you might want to go through the 280 pages - lots of great info here.
 
Anyone else have trouble with extremely "sloppy" steering? I got under the helm yesterday and held my finger on the shaft that turns the rack, and my wheel moves a considerable amount prior to that shaft moving at all. So it seems to me that the "slop or slack" is in the tilt mechanism itself. Is this just a U joint? Any experience with this symptom?

For anyone that has replaced this unit, was there a big improvement?

I checked the drives when the boat was out of the water, and they do not have any excessive movement or wiggle room, and the tie bar between them seems tight. When a drive is pushed on the other drive react immediately as well.

Thanks for any help you can provide

Wanted to follow up with my findings after fixing this issue yesterday. Total job was less than a half hour. After looking at the design of the tilt column I found that there are 2 Allen head bolts that clamp the tilt helm to the input shaft on the steering rack. After removing the steering wheel, then the rubber boot and plastic trim around the tilt assembly I had access to these bolts. I was able to get nearly 2 turns on both, which removed the slop or play I was experiencing in the helm entirely. Super easy job and one more thing knocked off the list.
 

Attachments

  • 998072D0-8DA0-49CD-B49B-3A47C9C4823F.jpeg
    998072D0-8DA0-49CD-B49B-3A47C9C4823F.jpeg
    203.5 KB · Views: 213
Wanted to follow up with my findings after fixing this issue yesterday. Total job was less than a half hour. After looking at the design of the tilt column I found that there are 2 Allen head bolts that clamp the tilt helm to the input shaft on the steering rack. After removing the steering wheel, then the rubber boot and plastic trim around the tilt assembly I had access to these bolts. I was able to get nearly 2 turns on both, which removed the slop or play I was experiencing in the helm entirely. Super easy job and one more thing knocked off the list.
Great tip - I was living with the sloppy steering - going to try the fix next week!
 
Ok need so help from people who have had issue's with the hatch slidign door being a complete SOB. Just purchased a 2002 280DA, I knew the door had issue and require fixing but I was going to leave it until the fall.... its starting to annoy me after just two days. I have to lift it up and slide it across, it's REALLY difficult to open from inside the cabin too. any advice, greatly appreciated.... asides from cleaning and lubing the track,.
I've had the same problem with mine for years but not at the breaking point of tearing it apart to fix it just yet. One method that I use to open ours easily from inside is to put your hand flat on the door and then apply upward pressure while opening. Hope this helps.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,944
Messages
1,422,715
Members
60,927
Latest member
Jaguar65
Back
Top