Stuck in the Berry Islands - No Engine

[countrybimm]

hey everyone, so im currently sitting in the berry island club,moored,and our engine doesnt start.hoping someone else has had a similar problem and might be able to help
the engine was at idle when cruising to charge the batteries and died.after trying to start it again it sputtered then died.since then hasnt barked at all.we have traced fuel pressure to the injector fuel pump,going to the injectors we have no fuel at all.air filter is clean and we have compresson.at least i can hardly turn it with the hand crank.the engine is a yanmar 2qm15.wondering if anyone knows any tricks with the fuel injector pump?.we have sailed from bimini without it, and will continue on to nassau with the next window for service, but thought i would try the forum for advice.
thx in advance

[Ram]

Have you primed the pump by hand ? Lose the screw on top of the fuel filter-pump the fuel pump until the bubbles are gone! then try again- Good Luck!

[S/V_Surya]

Make sure fuel filters are clean. When did you refuel could contain gunk? Bad fuel common problem.

[ViribusUnitis]

Engine kill system. The injector pump has a system to shut the fuel off when you want the engine to stop.

Checking out a service mannual for the 2GM15 engine:

literature

If you look on page 1-14 it looks like the engine uses a cable based cut off system. If the cable breaks, the engine can cut itself off, and not restart. Check and see if the cable moves anything. If no, figure out what way it should move the kill lever on the injector pump, and wire it in the "on" possition.

Just make sure you don't have low oil pressure, or over heat it. If you do, it's going to remain wired in the "on" possition, and kill the engine.

[johnar]

I had a problem like this and what I found was junk in the tank pulging the line, It would start and run a few then die, try to start it and nothing wait awhile it would start and run a short while.

From what I understand you are getting fuel to the injector pump? but not past it?

Do you happen to have a inline priming pump? if so try and pump it a few times while someone starts the motor. If you have a electic priming pump do it the same way.
I have seen someone run the motor off the priming pump but just to get out of harms way.

Best of luck

Dutch

[Ram]

i once added fuel in that area to my trawler and could not go more than a mile or so before bleeding off a quart of water in the racor- i must have done this a dozen times before it cleared out mostly- the fuel there can be very bad- I think i bought it at Foxtown?

[klem]

It definitely sounds like a fuel problem so you need to start at the tank and work all the way to the injectors checking to make sure that you have fuel. Are you sure that you actually have fuel in the tank? I have been aboard more than 1 boat where the fuel gauge was poorly calibrated and the boat was actually out of fuel. Next, see whether you have fuel after your lift pump. Then check before and after your IP. Are you sure that you don't have the fuel shutoff either with a manual shutoff or the shutoff on the engine?

To loose your fuel prime, something had to happen. The possible causes are no fuel in the tank, a blockage in the fuel system, a major leak after the LP, or an air leak before the LP. Plugged fuel filters are almost always noticed first when the engine still idles fine but has no power. Given that you were idling the engine, this is unlikely unless it was really rough or something large plugged the system. If the system is plugged, it will result in fuel starvation, but no air will be introduced. I would be very hesitant to unscrew any fuel filters pre lift pump because it will make it a lot harder to get the fuel system primed. If there is a major fuel line leak after the lift pump, you should be able to visually see the fuel flowing out. If there is an air leak before the lift pump, this is much harder to diagnose as you likely won't be able to see anything.

Check the simple stuff first like fuel in the tank and shutoffs. Good luck.

[countrybimm]

well i have fuel pressure past the fuel filter.its to the injector fuel pump.so its not like a clogged line or anything.we have also checked the engine kill switch and the cable is working fine.ive manually tried moving it at the engine both ways.tomorrow we sail to nassau, time for the professionals to look at it.at this point im ready to use it as a mooring ball overnight and attach my dinghy outboard to the back of the boat.

[rover88]

I'm way outta my league here, but something similar happened to a friend recently. Check each end of every inch of the fuel line for a small crack or break that could be letting air into the system. His was and almost microscopic crack at one end in the line and the fix was much easier than the diagnostics.

[klem]

When you crack a line at the inlet to the IP, do you get a good solid stream of fuel or is there any air bubbles in it? If there are any air bubbles, you have an air leak as suggested by rover88.

If the fuel coming into the pump has good flow and no air, try cracking a line at the outlet of the pump and cranking with the engine at full throttle and see whether you get fuel there. It is very rare to have a catastrophic problem in an IP.

Good luck.

[pandora]

We had the engine died in the Gulfstream when crossing from Florida to Bahamas.
After going step-by-step checking the fuel delivery system while drifting North in the Gulfsteam in about an our we found broken pickup tube in the fuel tank.