Electrical Problem

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David435

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Hi All
Crossing from Chichester to St. Peter's Port, Guernsey yesterday in our Princess 435 we had an issue with our instruments. The rev counter, on the starboard engine started to show lower revs than we were actually doing, the temperature gauge went right over maximum along with the oil pressure gauge and the voltmeter showed zero. After a quick assessment we decided to continue as we were fairly certain it was all linked and could be sorted in Guernsey. The engines are Volvo Penta TAMD61A and would appreciate any advice if it is something I could fix or would need to engage a marine electrical engineer. If an engineer is required are there any recommendations.
Thanks a lot.
 
Last edited:
David435 said:
Hi All
Crossing from Chichester to St. Peter's Port, Guernsey yesterday in our Princess 435 we had an issue with our instruments. The rev counter, on the starboard engine started to show lower revs than we were actually doing, the temperature gauge went right over maximum along with the oil pressure gauge and the voltmeter showed zero. After a quick assessment we decided to continue as we were fairly certain it was all linked and could be sorted in Guernsey. The engines are Volvo Penta TAMD61A and would appreciate any advice if it is something I could fix or would need to engage a marine electrical engineer. If an engineer is required are there any recommendations.
Thanks a lot.
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I've had similar issues in the past, on each occasion it was either a bad earth or another dodgy electrical connection... the difficult part is finding which one, start by looking for a common earth. Good luck with it.
 
longjohnsilver said:
I've had similar issues in the past, on each occasion it was either a bad earth or another dodgy electrical connection... the difficult part is finding which one, start by looking for a common earth. Good luck with it.
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or if you know what you are doing disconnect the existing earth and set up a new one.
clean the contacts, various sprays for this.
 
longjohnsilver said:
I've had similar issues in the past, on each occasion it was either a bad earth or another dodgy electrical connection... the difficult part is finding which one, start by looking for a common earth. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

+100%
Common to both fly and wheelbox ? Always worth 10 mins just eyeballing everything visible and for the adventurous checking anything a bit green or with a "crust" around it.
Further down the bilge the more likely corrosion from damp salty moisture. ?
Simple to slack off a suspect nut or two,wiggle and retighten.
If fly instruments only remove inspection panel and check common earthing on instrument casings
If no luck then pick up the phone ?
 
Hi all
Thanks for all your input, it is greatly appreciated. I thought originally that it was an earthing problem but couldn't understand what the common link was. The flybridge only has a rev counter repeater which mirrored the revs in the main cabin. On the basis of the information received it would appear the earth strap/link to the engine block to be the first port of call as I would assume the earth to the alternator would come from the same source. If that is the case does anyone know where this strap/link is situated as a cursory glance isn't making it obvious.
 
Hi all
There is an electrical box on the front of the TAMD61A engines where the electrical loom from the instrument panel connects to its respective engine. There should be a locking collar that securely fixes the plugs together to maintain a permanent contact. In my case the locking collar was missing and the plug had worked just loose enough to affect the instruments. The engineer just pushed the plug in and fixed them together with some electrical tape. My only saving grace is that it took him an hour to find it as it wasn't immediately obvious. If anybody else gets the same symptoms just make sure all the plugs are pushed in to their limit. This could save you an unnecessary expense.
 
david435 said:
hi all
there is an electrical box on the front of the tamd61a engines where the electrical loom from the instrument panel connects to its respective engine. There should be a locking collar that securely fixes the plugs together to maintain a permanent contact. In my case the locking collar was missing and the plug had worked just loose enough to affect the instruments. The engineer just pushed the plug in and fixed them together with some electrical tape. My only saving grace is that it took him an hour to find it as it wasn't immediately obvious. If anybody else gets the same symptoms just make sure all the plugs are pushed in to their limit. This could save you an unnecessary expense.
Click to expand...
electrical tape will fail in time try tie wraps or some thing to hold together
 
If that had happened to our old fords, then the drive belt would be found in the bilge. Cos when that goes we have no rev counter, no water pumped, and consequent high temps, and low oil pressure. To continue results in a "cooked" engine. You appear to have been very lucky.
 
omega2 said:
If that had happened to our old fords, then the drive belt would be found in the bilge. Cos when that goes we have no rev counter, no water pumped, and consequent high temps, and low oil pressure. To continue results in a "cooked" engine. You appear to have been very lucky.
Click to expand...
One of the 61a's greatest design features is a fully gear driven accessory system. Raw water pump, fresh water pump and cam all gear driven. The only belt drives the alternator, which worst case you don't need as the engine is fully mechanical once started.
 
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