Vetus control panel compatible with an old Bukh DV20?

[joe@greystones]

Hi there

I have recently acquired an 1985 Westerly Merlin with it's original Bukh DV20 engine still installed and still running well..i think.

I have zero boat maintenance experience and have taken this on as a project. I have begun the long journey to refurbish her, starting with the removal of the old headlining and the updating of the electrical wiring/switch panel/engine control panel.

The existing wiring to/from the engine/ is to a VETUS MPA34 control panel which was installed by the previous owner.

The start switch and stop solenoid work, the rpm gauge gives an expected reading of about 1000 rpm at idle, but the battery voltage, engine temperature and oil pressure gauges show nothing.

The wiring behind is like a heap of spaghetti....and difficult for an amateur like me to decipher (even with the aid of the original wiring diagrams)...but it appears that some of the wires have been cut or connected to nothing in particular.

I would love to understand what wire does what so that I might begine to understand if it has been wired correctly and/or is giving the correct values and warnings.

Could it be the case that this equipment was simply incompatible with the engine in the first place and unable to read values from the engine temperature sensor, oil pressure sensor?


Any suggestions of where/who I should turn to? Is it simply a case of getting a marine engineer to examine it for me and show me whats what? Hate to give up. Anyone wired up something similar?

Regards

Joe Daly

 

[davidmh]

Google For the DV 20 wiring diagram. there is the downloadable manual on the Bukh UK website and there is a diagram of the Bukh wiring on a Merlin in the Westerly owners club.

David MH

 

[Stemar]

I suspect the warning lights haven't been connected. Look for the switches on the engine - something like this

That's an oil pressure switch, but the water temp will be similar. Oil pressure will be in the engine block and water temp in the head, usually.

If nothing's connected, there's your problem. If there is a wire, trace it back to the spaghetti and see if you can connect it.

 

[Neeves]

Welcome to the Forum

Persevere - I cannot help but in almost every situation - a picture is worth 1,000 words and most people have a phone .... with a camera. I think there is or was a restriction on new members posting pictures (but maybe it was accessing PMs) - be patient.

Jonathan

 

[joe@greystones]

Thanks very much for pointing out where i need to start.

I downloaded the wiring diagrams and it has taken me a week (and a magnifying glass!) to try to make sense of it. (Thank you Davidmh)

At your suggestion Stemar, I found the sensors and found that many are no longer connected to the engine panel wiring looms due to

1. connections have become loose and rusty or
2. some have simply snapped or have been cut

This doesn't surprise me as the panel was "trimmed" and ultimately wedged into the cockpit recess and was/is no longer sealed/watertight (picture below is the panel removed for examination)



One particular wire, a brown one, and according to the Vetus MPA34 wiring diagram is for the oil pressure switch. It appears to have been cut exactly between the PCB and the wiring loom.

I just started the engine and made good the brown wire connection and immediately the oil pressure light illuminated and the buzzer sounded.

Now I am wondering, was the wire cut deliberately to stop the annoying buzzer/light warning. This might have prompted a few questions by me when I went to view and ultimately purchased the boat....

or had the previous owner simply diagnosed a faulty oil pressure switch and didn't have the time/desire to replace it...

or maybe the connection simply sheared in the poor installation job.?

The oil level seems ok in the engine and it has operated over 20 hours since I purchased it but there is evidence of a small leak under the engine...i'm not sure is it oil or a mixture of oil/diesel
or something spitting/dripping from elsewhere.

I suppose there is a way to test if the oil pressure switch is faulty or do I have bigger problems than just confusing wiring!

 

[joe@greystones]

Also, I suspect these type of connectors aren't exactly suitable for a marine environment?

These are located in the "engine bay" and are what are presently connecting the engine wiring (from starter, stop solenoid, alternator, oil pressure switch & water temperature switch) to the control panel wiring looms.

There is no fuse on the starter solenoid line (BOTTOM WHITE) to the engine control panel? The westerly wiring schematics seem to suggest a 40 amp fuse should be fitted...am i correct that this needs to be addressed?

The power for the depth gauge has been bumped/hotwired from the started circuit...(see below...its the red wire connected in with the white starter line and returned via the pink line which ends up connected to the black wire going to the ground/negative battery connection). I would have thought this might not be the best idea

Methinks a winter rewiring and tidy-up job is the very least I should be thinking.

 

[Stemar]

The official answer is, no they aren't, but you'll find them on many - probably most boats. The practical answer is that the cheap ones from B&Q and their ilk that stick to a magnet and have plated steel screws should be avoided like that guy in the bar who never buys his round. Good ones, and a decent chandlery will have them are OK in dry places, but not in a damp bilge.