searay40dad
Active Member
- Oct 23, 2006
- 1,161
- Boat Info
- 2001 480 Sedan Bridge w/ Novurania RIB
- Engines
- 660 hp CAT 3196's
My Westerbeke 12.5KW BTDB gen is shutting down intermittently. Started happening about 4-5 weeks ago and has happened 5-6 times now. The gen will start and run perfectly for several hours straight, for example, ran for ~10 hours straight this past Saturday then suddenly shut down. It always starts right back up and runs. I did a 11 day vacation over the 4th, I think it only shut down 2-3 times over the 11 days I was on the boat and we often run it 24/7. I have had one time it shut down after about 3 hours of run time and one time it shut down at night after running all day, I restarted it and ran for an hour then shut down again. Thats the only time its stopped like this after a re-start.
When the gen shuts down, its immediate, not like its starving for fuel. No sputtering. Just like you hit the stop switch. And, again, it fires right back up and will continue running for hours and hours.
I’ve checked and done the obvious. Seacock open, strainer & hose clean, impeller good, exhaust waterflow strong with no steam. I changed the impeller 3-4 weeks ago, all vanes accounted for. Re-checked last week, still good. checked and re-checked electrical connections.
As part of my normal maintenance a few weeks ago, I changed both racor and spin-on fuel filters, as well as oil & filter. I have re-checked the oil. Level is fine. I pulled and checked the spin-on, plenty of clean fuel. and the mains are not experiencing any fuel problems.
I have replaced the NO oil pressure switch (37323). I did see the post a few weeks ago about a bad lot of 37323 switches—two tried with same result. I have not replaced the Sea Ray NC oil pressure switch (11552) that is tied to the SR alarm/monitor (although I replaced it last summer). I have also replaced the engine temp (39550) switch (as well as thermostat and new gasket earlier this summer). The only safety shutdown switch I have not replaced is the exhaust temp switch (32923 I think). That is going to be a royal b!tch to do as it’s on the outboard side, to the rear of the gen. Getting to the sound cover latches and getting the sound cover off, then getting to the switch won’t be easy as the water heater and bridge a/c compressor are obstacles.
According to the gauges, water temps and oil pressures are within spec. I’ve verified the engine temp with a IR thermometer. I pulled the heat exchanger, cleaned and flushed the cooling system and filled with same AF I run in my mains, CAT ELC, last May after I returned home after 9 months in Florida.
So, whats left? Could be a bad exhaust temp switch. With the amount of water I’m pumping, I can’t see it being high temp related but who knows about the switch itself. Or, I guess it could be that the fuel pump is going bad. Although my experience with fuel pumps isn’t consistent with the symptoms I’m seeing. Considering the hours on put on my gen, putting a new fuel pump on isn’t a bad idea anyway. If it doesn’t solve the problem, I’ll have a spare worst case. I do remember a discussion we had several years ago about collapsing fuel hoses causing some shut downs but this just doesn’t present like a fuel problem.
When the gen shuts down, its immediate, not like its starving for fuel. No sputtering. Just like you hit the stop switch. And, again, it fires right back up and will continue running for hours and hours.
I’ve checked and done the obvious. Seacock open, strainer & hose clean, impeller good, exhaust waterflow strong with no steam. I changed the impeller 3-4 weeks ago, all vanes accounted for. Re-checked last week, still good. checked and re-checked electrical connections.
As part of my normal maintenance a few weeks ago, I changed both racor and spin-on fuel filters, as well as oil & filter. I have re-checked the oil. Level is fine. I pulled and checked the spin-on, plenty of clean fuel. and the mains are not experiencing any fuel problems.
I have replaced the NO oil pressure switch (37323). I did see the post a few weeks ago about a bad lot of 37323 switches—two tried with same result. I have not replaced the Sea Ray NC oil pressure switch (11552) that is tied to the SR alarm/monitor (although I replaced it last summer). I have also replaced the engine temp (39550) switch (as well as thermostat and new gasket earlier this summer). The only safety shutdown switch I have not replaced is the exhaust temp switch (32923 I think). That is going to be a royal b!tch to do as it’s on the outboard side, to the rear of the gen. Getting to the sound cover latches and getting the sound cover off, then getting to the switch won’t be easy as the water heater and bridge a/c compressor are obstacles.
According to the gauges, water temps and oil pressures are within spec. I’ve verified the engine temp with a IR thermometer. I pulled the heat exchanger, cleaned and flushed the cooling system and filled with same AF I run in my mains, CAT ELC, last May after I returned home after 9 months in Florida.
So, whats left? Could be a bad exhaust temp switch. With the amount of water I’m pumping, I can’t see it being high temp related but who knows about the switch itself. Or, I guess it could be that the fuel pump is going bad. Although my experience with fuel pumps isn’t consistent with the symptoms I’m seeing. Considering the hours on put on my gen, putting a new fuel pump on isn’t a bad idea anyway. If it doesn’t solve the problem, I’ll have a spare worst case. I do remember a discussion we had several years ago about collapsing fuel hoses causing some shut downs but this just doesn’t present like a fuel problem.
