What a Buzz-Kill ! Yanmar Mechanic Says . . .

[Sailor Vee]

Yipes...here I am in Marathon, FL about to head out for a month or two in the catamaran with the dogs and the little lady all ready to go and I called in the local Yanmar mechanic to check out the STOP engine problem I have been having on my YANMAR 4JH(3)HTE.

I have read all the relative post and threads and not seen this problem addressed before. (Yes I know my power has to be on...Yes I have replaced my stop or kill switch, yes I have power to and from the relay, as well as power to the wires into the internal mount solenoid and yes i have pulled the solenoid and it is working properly...clicking merrily away when the (Powered on) STOP button is pushed) But....the mechanic claims that my problem must be deeper and (I heard more expensive) I need to pull the pump and send it to a laboratory...that there is something wrong with the internal mechanism that shuts of the fuel flow inside the fuel pump ...since this appears to be about a $500 to $800 big bill for what I originally thought was just a bad $25 switch.....I thought I would get a second opinion from my community. Has anyone ever run across this before or do you have alternate ideas on what to try? I am just heading out using the manual lever to kill the engine for now so the rush is off...but the buzz is killed and I really would like to get it back.

Your ideas gratefully received and appreciated.

Sailor Vee.... off Sombrero Beach, Marathon FL

[GordMay]

Yanmar Service Bulletin (page 7):

YANMAR STOP CABLES
We would like to bring to your attention that the stop cables are not being lubricated periodically.
The stop cables are a steel cable with a steel jacket. In order to maintain the cable in good working order it is important to grease the cable periodically with a water proof grease.
This is done by loosening the locking screw in the barrel at the engine side of the cable. Pulling the inside cable out at the panel, take a water proof grease and generously coat the cable and shank.
When the cable
is reinserted, make certain the cable is pushed all the way in and the shut down arm is in the complete run position before locking the barrel screw back up.
Failure to lubricate the stop cables will result in:

CAUSE (A) CABLE RUSTED IN SHUT DOWN POSITION
RESULT (B) ENGINE WOULDN'T START

CAUSE (A) CABLE RUSTED IN FULL RUN POSITION
RESULT (B) ENGINE WOULDN'T SHUT DOWN

CAUSE (A) CABLE RUSTED IN PARTIAL RUN POSITION
RESULT (B) ENGINE WILL NOT REACH FULL RPM

CAUSE (A) CABLE RUSTED IN ANY POSITION AND FORCED OUT
RESULT (B) PANEL FACE WILL FRACTURE

If any questions, please contact the service department.

Here ➥ http://ldmarineservice.com/files/yanmar_bulletins.pdf

Good luck.

[daddle]

Sounds minor to me. Go sailing. Use the lever. Forget about it. Have a nice trip.

[velero]

Do you have a pull to stop wire or a push button to stop switch?? My push to stop did not work once and I was having a hard time trying to find out what the problem was. I knew that I could go down and pull the fuel pump lever if I needed to stop the engine. It turned out that my engine battery was low and the push to stop swithch was not working. Did you check the voltage at the push to stop button/engine battery?

[zeehag]

what gord and them say.. mine doesnt have a killswitch--i just idle down to kill and then key off after kills self. suicidal enginry.....

[Sailor Vee]

YANMAR STOP CABLES...thanks Gord...it would be great if it were that simple. There is no cable...it is an Electric activation signal to an internal mount Solenoid switch.

Yes I will just go sailing and have fun but somehow on a nice boat like this I hate to have to jury rig up a pull cord to kill my starboard engine...

Sailor Vee

[Sailor Vee]

"what gord and them say.. mine doesnt have a killswitch--i just idle down to kill and then key off after kills self. suicidal enginry....."

That would be nice... unfortunately the engine will just run at idle for days until the fuel runs out.....

[zeehag]

can ye install an electric kill switch like in race cars?? would be an option?? or is that not realistic in htis situation?? (just trying to get ye out sailing sooner-- seems my sailing soon has been speed bumped for a bitdammit....)

[Aussiesuede]

The Yanmar has a floating ground. The solenoid only closes the
negative side. There's a fair chance your problem is with the black relay
just forward of the gold solenoid.

Alternatively, as a temp solution if the relay isn't readily available - you can do as Zeehag suggests and mount a start button solenoid in place of the above relay. The button would have to be depressed while turning the start key to start. But depressing the button after turning the key off should stop the motor, since you've already determined the solenoid is operational.

In any event, check that relay.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Sailor Vee

on my YANMAR 4JH(3)HTE.

I have read all the relative post and threads and not seen this problem addressed before. (Yes I know my power has to be on...Yes I have replaced my stop or kill switch, yes I have power to and from the relay, as well as power to the wires into the internal mount solenoid and yes i have pulled the solenoid and it is working properly...clicking merrily away when the (Powered on) STOP button is pushed) But....the mechanic claims that my problem must be deeper and (I heard more expensive) I need to pull the pump and send it to a laboratory...that there is something wrong with the internal mechanism that shuts of the fuel flow inside the fuel pump ...since this appears to be about a $500 to $800 big bill for what I originally thought was just a bad $25 switch.....I thought I would get a second opinion from my community. Has anyone ever run across this before or do you have alternate ideas on what to try? I am just heading out using the manual lever to kill the engine for now so the rush is off...but the buzz is killed and I really would like to get it back.

Your ideas gratefully received and appreciated.

Sailor Vee.... off Sombrero Beach, Marathon FL

If you can stop the motor manually, then it has to be the solenoid. It may not be getting enough amps to close the fuel valve. Try a direct power to the solenoid right from the battery. If that works, you have a wiring/circuit problem. Maybe corrosion.

[capngeo]

I had an issue like that once and it turned out to be a bad ground on the engine itself. Its good maintenance to periodically remove all the connections, clean as appropriate and reinstall. I follow up with a little CRC goo to keep the elements (and wash water) out

[Charlie]

I would check all electrical connections. Also try a different mechanic. He might just need to make his boat payment

[Sailor Vee]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

If you can stop the motor manually, then it has to be the solenoid. It may not be getting enough amps to close the fuel valve. Try a direct power to the solenoid right from the battery. If that works, you have a wiring/circuit problem. Maybe corrosion.

Are you sure that is correct on this internal mounted solenoid? (I would Love for it to be so...) I can see that might be true on a normal externally mounted solenoid (one that activates the same kill lever as the one you manually manipulate)....however in this case the solenoid and the manual kill lever are separated by about 4 inches. and don't appear to be connected although they certainly might be internally. Several commenters have been concerned with adequate power to the solenoid however I watched the unit activate while it was out of the engine and it appeared to have full adequate power. Electricity however is a funny thing I like the idea of connecting a spare battery directly to the solenoid to see if it trips up the engine.

Thanks for the continuing saga.

Sailor Vee

[Sailor Vee]

Originally Posted by zeehag

can ye install an electric kill switch like in race cars?? would be an option?? or is that not realistic in htis situation?? (just trying to get ye out sailing sooner-- seems my sailing soon has been speed bumped for a bitdammit....)

Sorry you can't be out on the water. Thanks for the idea.

Sailor Vee

[Sailor Vee]

Originally Posted by capngeo

I had an issue like that once and it turned out to be a bad ground on the engine itself. Its good maintenance to periodically remove all the connections, clean as appropriate and reinstall. I follow up with a little CRC goo to keep the elements (and wash water) out

I will try that in the morning. Good sound advice.

Sailor Vee.