Replaced the Oil Pressure Sensor

I haven't been able to give Pachuca much attention because my efforts are currently focused on the house renovation project.  Every week or ten days I visit the boat to have a look around and depart with a cart load of material to take to Darlington for storage.  However, this morning I gave the engine some attention because it had not been run since shortly after my arrival in Fremantle last April.  My first task was to swap out the oil pressure sensor that Mark Jochems had ordered for me during my visit to Port Townsend.

The faulty sensor had caused me a lot of worry during my passage from South Africa because during engine runs the oil pressure alarm would begin to sound at random times.  The big question was whether there really was low oil pressure or the sensor was faulty.  Until that question was resolved I was forced to shut down the engine whenever the alarm became active. 

Ready to unscrew faulty sensor

Replacement sensor above

Fortunately Mark continued to provide his outstanding support from half way around the world and through days of interaction with him via Sailmail and performing various maneuvers on the engine under his instruction he concluded that the problem wasn't real and the fault lay with a faulty sensor.  The ultimate responsibility of running the engine with an active oil pressure alarm was mine and I had enough confidence in the investigation that we had done to go for it and simply ignore the alarm.  My safe arrival in Fremantle after many hours of engine runs vindicate the decision.

Today I had a look at the placement sensor (Part ID VOP 21250645, Product No. 262567) and was relieved to see that the existing wire harness would fit nicely into the new unit.  I then used a 23mm spanner (wrench) to remove the faulty sensor while using a 15mm spanner to hold back the fitting that it was screwed into.  Fitting the new part was straight forward, though I was wary of over tightening the part with the large 23mm spanner.

I then went through the engine starting sequence that is so engrained in my head that is second nature: (1) Check the oil level, coolant level, and belt tension (all good), (2) Ensure that the raw water inlet and exhaust valves are open (they were), (3) Turn on the engine master electrical switch, (4) At the cockpit activate the engine panel and wait for the two "beeps" informing me that all is well, (5) Set throttle to neutral, (6) Hit the starter button.  The engine burst to life on the first try with the starter.  I set the control to "reverse" to give the engine some load and ran it for about 30 minutes at 1000 rpm, until the temperature was at a steady 196F and the volt meter was running at a healthy 14.5V.  Afterward I checked the oil pressure sensor for leaking around the joint and found no problem.

The V berth section had been smelling a bit musty for a while so I removed all items of clothing stored in about 6 bags and eventually took them to the car so that I can wash everything, including the bags.  I will store the clean clothes and bags in Darlington and decide later what I will return to the boat.  On the next visit I will remove all of the wool blankets for washing.

I also removed the storm jib that Victor had sent to me and Brenda lugged in her baggage when she joined me in Argentina.  In the afternoon Stephen and I visited Victor and I returned the storm jib to Victor, explaining that I had not been able to have it up on my staysail when rounding the Horn because the staysail at the time was jury rig with bulldog clamps, but at least he could say that his boat Chiquita's storm jib had been around Cape Horn.

Continuing the Blog

I have decided to continue this blog because I need a repository of activities with Pachuca, and rather than starting a new blog I may as well maintain the continuity of this one.  The original scope of this blog was the preparation and hopefully a successful circumnavigation of the world.  I will now extend that scope to include an open ended chronicle what happens to Pachuca after the circumnavigation.

So let this entry of 24 November 2013 be the demarcation between the circumnavigation and post circumnavigation eras.