Parker Skinner Fuel Solenoid Manual Overide

[Stray Cat]

One of the features of the Parker / Skinner solenoid valve used on gasoline boats is often misunderstood when troubleshooting a fuel system. My hope is to illustrate where specific features are on the valve, and how to "manually overide" in the event the coil fails, or you suspect there is no fuel flow to the cool fuel filter system.

Below is the location of the fuel solenoid valves on my boat. The forward one is for the genset, the other is for the starboard engine. There is another on the port fuel tank so I have 3 of these little gems....

In this picture, look closely at the knurled knob's screwdriver slot. You will see an arrow stamped on the face that points to the left or towards the outlet. This arrow should be stamped on all Parker / Skinner valves with this type of manual overide. The screwdriver slot means absolutely nothing with relationship to fuel flow.

In this picture, look closely for the words "NORM" and "BYPASS" stamped on the valve body. Under normal operating conditions, the arrow should point to NORM, which just happens to be the flow path of the valve to the outlet.

If the coil has failed, (test for a magentic field by using a steel rule or small flat blade screwdriver, you should feel a magnetic pull toward the coil when the ignition switch is turned on or when there is 12 VDC present), turn the knurled knob 180 degrees CW until the arrow is pointing to the word BYPASS and stop. By doing this, you have internally moved the plunger off of its seat to allow fuel flow. The arrow point must point to the BYPASS postion on the valve body. Regardless how many times you turn the knob, it must point to BYPASS. You should be able to turn the knob with your fingers, the screwdriver slot position is irrelevant to overiding the internal plunger.

Keep this in mind, this valve only has a 5/16 orifice for the fuel to flow through. If something has breached any screen that may be on the fuel pickup, it is possible to restrict the orifice should something get caught in it. This contaminant can cause the internal plunger to hang up (stick).

Sea Ray part number for the solenoid valve is 1791155 per my 2006 300DA parts manual. I work for a Parker distributor, we are authorized for the Skinner product line. The model code on the tag suggests that it is a proprietary to an OEM because it doesn't follow the standard product offering. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest a substitute to attempt to cut cost if you need to replace it.

I spoke with a Skinner Tech Service Rep to confirm the overide method as described above. I hope this will take any mystery that may have surrounded this important component of the fuel system.

 

[370Dancer]

One of the features of the Parker / Skinner solenoid valve used on gasoline boats is often misunderstood when troubleshooting a fuel system. My hope is to illustrate where specific features are on the valve, and how to "manually overide" in the event the coil fails, or you suspect there is no fuel flow to the cool fuel filter system.

Below is the location of the fuel solenoid valves on my boat. The forward one is for the genset, the other is for the starboard engine. There is another on the port fuel tank so I have 3 of these little gems....

In this picture, look closely at the knurled knob's screwdriver slot. You will see an arrow stamped on the face that points to the left or towards the outlet. This arrow should be stamped on all Parker / Skinner valves with this type of manual overide. The screwdriver slot means absolutely nothing with relationship to fuel flow.

In this picture, look closely for the words "NORM" and "BYPASS" stamped on the valve body. Under normal operating conditions, the arrow should point to NORM, which just happens to be the flow path of the valve to the outlet.

If the coil has failed, (test for a magentic field by using a steel rule or small flat blade screwdriver, you should feel a magnetic pull toward the coil when the ignition switch is turned on or when there is 12 VDC present), turn the knurled knob 180 degrees CW until the arrow is pointing to the word BYPASS and stop. By doing this, you have internally moved the plunger off of its seat to allow fuel flow. The arrow point must point to the BYPASS postion on the valve body. Regardless how many times you turn the knob, it must point to BYPASS. You should be able to turn the knob with your fingers, the screwdriver slot position is irrelevant to overiding the internal plunger.

Keep this in mind, this valve only has a 5/16 orifice for the fuel to flow through. If something has breached any screen that may be on the fuel pickup, it is possible to restrict the orifice should something get caught in it. This contaminant can cause the internal plunger to hang up (stick).

Sea Ray part number for the solenoid valve is 1791155 per my 2006 300DA parts manual. I work for a Parker distributor, we are authorized for the Skinner product line. The model code on the tag suggests that it is a proprietary to an OEM because it doesn't follow the standard product offering. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest a substitute to attempt to cut cost if you need to replace it.

I spoke with a Skinner Tech Service Rep to confirm the overide method as described above. I hope this will take any mystery that may have surrounded this important component of the fuel system.

I have been chasing an intermittent issue with these things for a while. I am starting to believe that the ramp up of Ethanol has taken it's toll on my 1998 Parkers. Would you speak with your rep to see if there is any evidence of that happening on the older shutoffs?
I have 380HP MAG MPI Gen VI engines. I have been unable to cross mine to anything.

 

[Alex F]

....Keep this in mind, this valve only has a 5/16 orifice for the fuel to flow through. If something has breached any screen that may be on the fuel pickup, it is possible to restrict the orifice should something get caught in it. This contaminant can cause the internal plunger to hang up (stick)....

Jeff,

Thanks for informative and detailed post. In my case the problem might have been similar to what you described, b/c when I tried the override method it still wouldn't work, but when the new valve was installed all was fine. Thus, it's very important to keep that in mind when troubleshooting.

 

[Stray Cat]

I have been chasing an intermittent issue with these things for a while. I am starting to believe that the ramp up of Ethanol has taken it's toll on my 1998 Parkers. Would you speak with your rep to see if there is any evidence of that happening on the older shutoffs?
I have 380HP MAG MPI Gen VI engines. I have been unable to cross mine to anything.

Describe your intermittent issue with the solenoid valve.

Do the 340DA's or gas 380DA's with 8.1's use the fuel solenoids? If so, I would think the orifice would be large enough to feed your engines.

 

[370Dancer]

Describe your intermittent issue with the solenoid valve.

Do the 340DA's or gas 380DA's with 8.1's use the fuel solenoids? If so, I would think the orifice would be large enough to feed your engines.

Do a search on this forum with my 370Dancer name. you'll find lots of stuff, but a bunch dating back a couple of years. The long read boils down to these puppies, I believe.
funny thing is these solenoids are rated at 170 degree operating temp, and I'll bet the engine room is close to that many times during a hot summer day with the genny running.

 

[tbontrager]

I have to replace this part and it came from Sea Ray with a Delphi sealed (male) connector. Both wires are in the connector are the same and there are no indications which is the power for hooking up. Only identification on the sealed connector is one wire input has the letter B and the other is letter A. Any ideas how I should wire it up?

 

[BostonJake]

Hello.

I was reading this thread, in hoping I could maybe find an answer, whereas I have a similar, but different issue. Within the past week I just changed out the controller box on the Gen Set (The Black box only) purchased from Kohler. I had to swap over all the internal wires, and components to the new box whereas mine had rusted out completely. Although the Gen Set itself ran perfectly all the time even in that rusty condition. Fitted on a 2006 Sea Ray 38 Sun Dancer, Kohler 7.3E Serial number 2065805. After I completed the swap of all the internal components, I went to go start it. After a few cranks... It started right up. I can start it from down below, and from up in the cabin. About 2 to 3 minutes into the Gen Set running, I began to smell a burning odor, and immediately shut down the Gen Set. The smoke came from the Parker fuel solenoid and melted the top of the solenoid, but not the wires. My question is... Is there anywhere in that Control Box, that energizes the Parker Fuel solenoid that allows the fuel to flow to the Generator, that I may have replaced incorrectly or reversed mistakenly? And also, Is there a schematic of the wiring diagram where I can refer to somewhere? Iook a ton of picture to help me get them all correct, which I am 99.9% I did. Or... Could it possibly be that the Fuel solenoid just shorted out on its own at that time coincidently. Please if any one can help, I would really appreciate it. And thank you Boston Jake

 

[BostonJake]

 

[SMuleMD]

Any luck finding this part online, or another replacement part? Found a few on ebay for 200..

 

[Gunn]

I was wondering the same thing. Mine look rusty and scary. Surely there is a better idea of a replacement? These didn't seem to be very widely used on boats if I recall, just Sea Ray...

 

[DWABoat]

Stray Cat,
I have an 01 280DA with twin 4.3’s.
I posted a pic of one of the Parker fuel line valves.
The labels on the valve or “OFF” and “ON”.
If necessary, may this valve be manually overridden as you described?

 

[370Dancer]

This conversation was 9 years ago. However, I think people get confused a lot because of the orientation of the solenoid. Sometimes the solenoid is right side up, and sometimes it's upside down, depending on the fuel line routing. All of these that I have ever seen have the inlet on the right side if it's solenoid up, and the outlet is on the left side. If you point the arrow to the inlet side, you have bypassed the solenoid, allowing free flow of fuel.
My Starboard engine is mounted solenoid up, and the port engine is solenoid down. That got me for a while because the port one is mounted around the corner of the engine bulkhead. I was turning it the same way as the Starboard, effectively turning it to bypass when I thought I was in normal, and vice versa.

 

[lookintahook]

This worked as you described, turned knob to Bypass and motor started right up! Noticed the Stbd. motor was already in bypass and I have had the boat for 5 years, is there any long term affects on running it that way?

 

[stephenm27]

This worked as you described, turned knob to Bypass and motor started right up! Noticed the Stbd. motor was already in bypass and I have had the boat for 5 years, is there any long term affects on running it that way?

If the solenoid is in bypass, it does not close the valve when the engine is turned off. An undetected leak in the fuel system line can then siphon the contents of the fuel tank into the bilge.

 

[William Miller]

Is it as simple as turning it:
clockwise is normal
Counter-clockwise is bypass

I can't see the arrow or the side because of the orientation on the top of my tanks.
Me thinks this works but can someone confirm?

 

[370Dancer]

In my post above, if the solenoid is right side up (plunger on the top) fuel flows from right to left. If it's upside down (label facing you), fuel flows from left to right. If the knob turns 360 degrees, you will have to reach in with your camera and take a picture to see where the arrow is pointing. If it has stops, then it's easy. If you point the arrow towards the outlet, you are in "Normal" mode, where the lack of 12v shuts off the flow. If you point it towards the inlet side, it is open all of the time.
The photos a few posts above show all this.

 

[RBB]

Does this valve also act as a shut off to keep fuel in the line to the motor.
Kinda like a anti siphon valve.
My problem is after setting for a couple weeks it seems the fuel has siphoned off the carb and it won’t start. If I run it every 3-4 days it’s fine.

 

[370Dancer]

In the Mercruiser service manual for these engines, Mercury recommends using an anti siphon valve, and electric is preferred. I believe this unit serves that purpose as well.

 

[RBB]

Do you know if they’re still available. The one I am talking about goes to the generator. Gas boat, 10kw Koehler.

 

[370Dancer]

Is that a carb engine or fuel injected? If carb, that fuel evaporates anyways, and priming is more important. Us Westerbekers deal with the fuel pump failing or the fuel shut off solenoid on the carb body (does what the Parker Skinner does, just right at the engine) all the time.