Engine is Running

Today at 11.50 AM we started up the new Volvo D2-40 engine for the first time.

The startup almost didn't happen.  Joel and I set up the instrument wiring harnesses quite correctly in our opinion, but could not get the EVC control panel at the cockpit to power up.  After an hour of fruitless work Victor the electrician arrived with two helpers just as I was leaving to telephone Mark in Port Townsend.  Victor spent 20 minutes going over everything and could not find any problem.  I then went to telephone Mark while Victor got on to the original agenda items.

Mark provided advice that turned out to be very helpful, which was to set up a minimal configuration: one main wiring sheath to the EVC, the other to the tachometer, and leave out the other instruments and buzzer/alarm.  We did this and the EVC panel came alive and we were able to start the engine.  Victor then daisy-chained the temperature and voltage displays off the tachometer so we were running with all instruments except the external buzzer/light alarm.

A modern marine engine is a novelty to me because I've only known Pachuca's Sabb and my first boat Chiquita's heavy single cylinder Volvo.   Running the new engine is like driving a car: you push one button and the engine starts immediately, and you push another button and it stops.  There is no thump thump thump of a big bore with a heavy flywheel.   The engine is very smooth, with a gentle clatter of tappets and a whirr when I engage the transmission.

Joel fussed around the engine checking everything and the big demand seemed to be for more coolant as the system drained the top tank to fill itself.  He monitored the engine temperature very carefully, making independent checks with his hand held sensor.  The engine ran at a temperatore of 195-200 F.  After a 20 minute run we shut down and Joel topped up the crank case and transmission oil levels. The one problem that he found was that when the transmission is in reverse water was spewing out of the 3/8" hose that passes from the PSS packing to above the water line.  The "expert" at the boat yard to whom I paid $22 USD to install the 4 ft of hose had made it too short.  I will install a 6 ft long hose tomorrow to ensure that it ends  at least 2 feet above the waterline.

Victor had used the engine running time to figure out some of the circuits of the boat.  His solution for the problem of the management of the distribution of power from the alternator among the two battery banks was simple and cost saving for me.  He utilized the voltage sensitive relay next to the battery switches to yield the following.  The starter battery bank always gets charging current from the alternator when the engine is running.  When the relay detects that a voltage of 13.6V has been reached in the starter bank it allows simultaneous charging of the house bank.  When this happens a red light on the relay goes on.  So as far as I am concerned it is an automatic process.

Pachuca Instrument Panel

The external "Next Step" regulator has been disabled.  I asked about the battery temperature sensor which started a discussion about battery technology.  Victor says that if the house bank has AGM  (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries according to my records then there should be no temperature issue since AGM batteries can take a higher voltage than the Volvo alternator will deliver.  However, were they to be GEL batteries then we would have a problem.  In any event he said that only 1 of the 4 house batteries was being monitored for temperature, making it a hit-and-miss exercise.  To get specific, Pachuca's battery will no longer be monitored for temperature because that function was being handled by the now defunct "Next Step" external regulator.  It will be my task to reach absolute certainty that the house batteries are AGM

After Victor left Joel spent some time tidying the cables with plastic ties then we moved the engine cover base into position.  Then came the step that I had been running over and over in my mind for weeks: sliding on the engine cover.  The big question was whether or not the engine was too far forward to allow the cover to slide on without modification.  This stemmed from the new propeller shaft appearing to be 6" longer instead of the 3" longer that I had specified.  I never got to the bottom of that because I foolishly allowed Ernesto to take the original shaft away.  Anyway, I had decided to take a chance and go with the longer shaft much to my regret in the last few weeks because the engine was in place and there was zero chance of moving it back during my tenure.  If the engine cover did not fit we would have to either move the coolant reservoir at great trouble or revert to the 3" spacer that I had installed in New Zealand and continue living with that half instead of full lower step.  It was a scenario for an enduring guilt trip and I had been kicking myself for not having Ernesto cut 3" off the new shaft while I had the chance.  Anyway, it was going to be a near thing: 10 millimeters either way, I figured.

We slid on the cover and I gently pushed it home with no resistance from the coolant reservoir.  Joel and I discussed how we would determine if the cover was hitting the reservoir then I figured that  the sharp edge of the join around the middle of the tank would leave an imprint on the soft 1/2" insulation.  After running the engine for 15 minutes with the cover in place we were not able to see any evidence of contact between the tank and the insulation.  Later Mark suggested that I use tape on the tank rim and the insulation with sticky sides facing each other to see if they would make contact when I shut the cover.

Before I left the boat I discovered that the EVC panel was active even if the main switches of both battery banks were off.  This was not acceptable and I telephoned Victor who told me that he knew what the problem was and that he would fix it.  I told him that Joel has the key to the boat in case I am not around.

This left the problem of the buzzer/key harness:  if we hooked it up in order to use the buzzer the EVC would not activate, but if we left the harness out of the picture the EVC would work fine.  I took photographs of the "X3 AUX" harness then went to the apartment and emailed them to Mark then telephoned him.  After discussing the situation he suspected that I had been shipped the wrong cable.  His invoice specified the correct cable but another trip to the boat confirmed that I had actually received an incorrect cable.   Volvo will make this good.  Mark reminded me that in the meantime the EVC has its own built-in buzzer which though not as loud as the external one will sound out if there is a problem.  A problem symbol will also be displayed on the tachometer display window.

As far as I am concerned the problems I've just described are minor and will not impede the functionality of the engine.  I plan to spend the next two days tidying up loose ends such as the PSS hose and strapping down the instrument cabling the cleaning and tidying up the boat from stem to stern, above and below deck.  It seems like every square inch of that boat is covered in dust either from the desert or from the engine installation work.

Brenda and I finished the day by celebrating the engine milestone with a bottle of excellent Shiraz from Chris and Jim's Condingup Vinyard, just east of Esperance in Western Australia.