[Public-List] More engine follies...

[Gordon Laco]

Hello gang - 

I¹ve just recovered from another engine folly.  This one¹s a classic.

Before going sailing last weekend, I went down to the boat to put ice in the
icebox.  While there I thought to myself ³what ho, Gord, why don¹t you put
the battery charger on for a few hours.²  When I connected it, I was shocked
to see it drawing the full ten amps of it¹s capacity...as if the batteries
were flat.   I said to myself as I walked away ³they can¹t be² and
concentrated on feeling clever and seamanlike for not only remembering to
put the ice aboard, but that it occurred to me to run a charge too.

We went away on our trip.  Not for the first time this season I noticed that
the ancient ammeter in the factory-original engine gauge panel was slightly
in the negative.  ³stuck again² I said to myself and thought no more about
it.   We didn¹t do a lot of motoring on this trip.

This evening, I went down to the boat to potter about fixing things, and
decided to have another go at the mystery of why the engine won¹t run on
Tank 2 anymore. (it gave up the habit last summer, and it wouldn¹t tonight
either)   I noticed that the idle is a bit low, so I jumped down into the
cabin, opened up the motor cover and gave the idle set screw a slight
turn... The revs came up a bit.  ³what a clever fellow am I² said myself to
myself.  

While down there, with the engine running, on a whim I flicked on the
voltmeter on the electrical panel.  Barely 12 volts were showing.  That got
my attention.  With the engine running it should be 13.5.   Maybe the
ammeter in the cockpit WASN¹T stuck.   I went up to the cockpit, shut off
the engine, then started it again while watching the ammeter- it jumped
negative while the engine was starting, then settled slightly negative as
before.  So it isn¹t stuck....but why no charge?  Oh no, cried I, the
alternator¹s shot.

I went down below again and looked at the top of the alternator pully ­ it
seemed fine spinning away; no wait, there¹s nothing on it and it¹s not
turning... There is no belt.

I found the belt in shreds under the engine; it had broken some time earlier
this summer.  I bought another one about an hour ago and put it on, and that
of course prompted the ammeter to behave properly.

Another problem solved.

Gord #426 Surprise

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