VOLVO D4 (225 or other...) stalls

[rule the waves]

Hey everybody, maybe this has already been raised, but I seem to find more and more similar cases, so - I raise the issue (again): I have a VOLVO D4 225 - 150 engine hrs. Recently, the following occured several times - and then stayed away - for now : while (un)docking - so slow rev's - the engine suddenly stalls when shifting, mostly from reverse to forward. There is a long beep, afterwards a restart is no problem. But, there seems to be no trace (errorcode) left in the engine's computer (as verified by my technicians). On American fora, this problems emerges on regular bases, and most link it to moisture, ALTHOUGH THIS HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN IN ANY WAY ! Since the gear shifter is electrical (in my case) this seems à plausible answer, but it still remains a guess... Most boaters replace the shifter and the cable from the throttle lever, afterwards the problem stays away for some several hundred of hours. But, it comes back... The first time (I think in my present situation...) it appears to be quite random, but the experience of others prove it to get worse and more regular in time. Hence, it is a dangerous error, since it only occurs at low speed manuoevering in the harbour . Any ideas, clues ? THX, JAN

 

[rubberduck]

We had something like this, I think the error was shift actuator, fixed now but cant remember what they did.

 

[wakeup]

Hi RTW,

I had this problem 2 years ago with my D4 260hp. It would stall intermitently even after hours of running, always at low revs when manouvering in the marina. It would re-start immediately without problems but it would stall when coming in and out of gear. I had the electrical systems checked out as the theory was it was electrical.

It did turn out to be the gear change actuator was 'getting confused' with regard to the neutral reference or in gear point on the acutator and this immediately shut down the engine without a meanigful error code.

A new actuator cost I think £750 plus labour. Whilst the engineers were replacing by actuator they worked out what had cause it to become error prone and worn out. When they had disconnected the acutator form the gear linkage, they realised that the gear linkage was very stiff and was stiffer when the engine was warm, hence we saw this problem only after an hour or so of running time. The gear change linkage is push/pull cable arrangement that exits the engine bay through the leg apperture. When my boat was lifted and they took the leg off the engineers realised that this cable was being pinched at some point in the leg assembly. This was causing the extra strain that the gear change actuator was unable to overcome particularly when warm.

So, a new actuator fixed the problem along with careful re-fitting of the leg. Apparently this gear change linkage can be compromised each time the leg is removed and refitted for service if the engineers are not careful. So this problem can recurr if not properly monitored. There was also a small detail that could have contributed to the problem, the acutator sits inside aluminium box and shaft. There is a small access port above the linkage connection. Volvo provide a black sticker (yes a sticker for a hot engine bay) to go over this port to preven moisture settling on the linkage connector and potentially seeping back down the cable. This was missing on my faulty actuator. I don't know how much of a factor this was in my problem developing.

The installation guide for the actuator also has some very specific recommendations for installation regarding its attitdue and position to the linkage cable and leg. Mine was installed within the guidlines but would be worth you checking this also. I have run another 120 hours since this incident and not had a problem. You will notice how much smoother and quieter the gear change is (relatively) when you fit a new actuator and ensure that the gear change cable is free. I was given all sorts of theories like I didn't have a high enough rated engine battery delivery enough juice to the ECM and a lot of time was wasted trying to sort this problem especially as it could not be easilly recreated until the engine had really warmed up. I got some good Volvo guys in that sorted in the end though. Good luck.

 

[rule the waves]

@wake up: thank you very, very much - this is the first ever so comprehensive summary of what might be going on. Small (?) detail: my first error occured with a COLD engine, so when leaving the berth. But, I suspect the root cause to be the same. I'll look into it. Other hints or additional information remain very welcome.

 

[wakeup]

@wake up: thank you very, very much - this is the first ever so comprehensive summary of what might be going on. Small (?) detail: my first error occured with a COLD engine, so when leaving the berth. But, I suspect the root cause to be the same. I'll look into it. Other hints or additional information remain very welcome.

Yep this did not only happen when the engine was warm, it did occasionally happen when cold, but most of the time it would run fine until warm then it would happen every two or three attempts to change gear. I once had to turn the engine over about a dozen times when trying to berth to get her near enough to throw a rope. Good luck fixing it. Let us know if it was indeed something else as there are a lot of D4 and D6 owners on this forum?

 

[rule the waves]

We'll do just that