OFFICIAL - 450DA Owner's Thread****

The dumb wife here, I'm hoping someone can help me. for some reason the galley lights do not work unless we use shore power or the generator. They have never worked on battery power. As the one who does the dishes it is a bit difficult when anchored out at night and who wants to listen to the generator just after a nice diner?
 
I have a 460 but I'm pretty sure those lights are 120vac and not 12v. That would explain the issue.


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Thought I would post my progress with my new dash. I'm currently waiting on screws for the systems monitor. I also purchased new gauges which simplified things. Thanks to Frank for the suggestion, I unplugged the wiring harness and did all the work at home. Now on to all the switches.
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Thought I would post my progress with my new dash. I'm currently waiting on screws for the systems monitor. I also purchased new gauges which simplified things. Thanks to Frank for the suggestion, I unplugged the wiring harness and did all the work at home. Now on to all the switches.
0f0bb41e3d4a772ef1ae1406a1fa3fc7.jpg

21c39501618d9f388754d0495659bab9.jpg



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Beautiful!
 
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Yes some are 12volt and the other 110.

My lights are 12V but on the Galley AC circuit. There is a rectifier behind the fridge that converts the AC power to DC for the overhead lights. So if you're not on shore power or don't have the generator running, well there is no power being sent to the overheads (even though they are 12 bulbs). Weird design.
 
Yes, Got a new unit from Washington Marine, Took about a 1/2 day to do. Corner of the couch, central vac has to come out . A little tight working around the steps. Pretty well plug and go other than the power in and power to the water pump. Mark the wires, and thats it.
 
On the '96 year model with the galley to port, all you need do is remove the salon sofa cushions. Be sure to put a towel or drop cloth over the upholstered front edge of the sofa so you don't scuff it as you remove the old unit. From there it is just label t he wires, remove the electrical stuff and unbolt or unscrew the mechanicals. I chose a Marine Air unit and all the holes matched up and there was no rewiring to do.
 
Hoping for quick-fix / diagnosis on my 450DA Cat 3126's. Port side produces a brief puff of smoke once I spin her up. Only lasts a couple seconds. Also, engine seems to not hold a consistent idle at normal RPMs until she's warmed up. Could it be as simple as old fuel filter?
 
I would hate to guess on this, but it could be as mundane as filters, fuel, air in line or things we pray at night we hope don't go bad.....
 
I know that filters are the default option for solving every diesel fuel related issue, but in t his case, the filter would have to be completely blocked severely limiting the flow of fuel to cause a fluctuating idle, and your clears when the engine warms up. NOt air in the line because in a Caterpillar unit injection system, air kills the affected cylinder and t he problem gets worse as rpms increase. I tend to think you are dealing with a pump/governor problem or setting because once you get the engine off idle, the problem clears. One other possible issue is a broken or fouled injector tip causing a bad spray pattern at idle but the combustion strokes are so close together at higher rpms you can feel the fluctuation.

The most likely problems fall in Mark's last category........they are not things you can or should fix on your own so a call to a Cat mechanic is probably in your future.......your very near future because a faulty injector can wash out a cylinder (unburned fuel washes the lube oil off the cylinder walls and caused rapid wear due to the lack of lubrication) and ruin a cylinder liner quickly.
 
One other idea - There are four little plastic check valves in the injector unit and over time these gum up and malfunction causing similar issues. Two of these provide a flow checking function for the fuel pump and if they do not close there is fuel reversion causing injector loading pressure fluctuations. These little check valves are cheap and easy to get to.
Tom
 
I wanted to post my final pics for the update I did to the dash. All is complete minus 2 broken switches that are on order. I've been waiting on new radar and Axiom setup which finally arrived.

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Anyone know the correct bulb for a 1996 arch lights? One of mine blew and I forgot to take it out before I left yesterday. Would like to replace with LED.


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Dash looks amazing! Great job!


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