Volvo D4 Problem

[shanwick]

Just thought I'd ask the wider forum for their views on a small problem I have encountered with a Volvo D4-260 on my Sealing F37.

Having spent a trouble free 6 hour crossing to Corsica last week, we re-fueled and motored towards Elba only to encounter black smoke billowing from the port vent about 40 minutes into the trip. With immediate thoughts of fire, the left engine was shut down and an expeditious limp towards the previous port on the remaining engine.

Once safely at anchor in a shallow bay with the smoke and fumes dispersed I found the Start Booster and part of the engine wiring loom to be burnt with lots of other smoke damage throughout the compartment.

Whilst it's a fairly straightforward knuckle scraping job to replace the parts involved, the question is, what would cause such a fault? The Start Booster is a simple DC transformer, I doubt the loom could have chafed in that location and I don't have mice.

The parts should arrive in the next week or so but I'm loathed to spend over a thousand pounds to have the fault re-occur with possible disastrous consequences.

Any thoughts/ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[volvopaul]

Sounds just like typical Sealine wiring, in the past years I have been to so many boats of that make to find poor installation the cause of electrical failures on the engines, which of course do not carry warranty status.

 

[shanwick]

Thanks Paul.

For other D4 owners....... The replacement Voltage Converter (Start Booster) supplied at huge cost by Volvo now contains a modification to include a fuse. Having done some further digging I have found that several of these units have failed in a similar way hence the change to the design. I'd suggest that everyone checks both the Start Booster and attached wiring harness for heat damage and push Volvo for a replacement if necessary. I've attached a photo to aid identification.

Whilst no product recall has been released, the inclusion of a fuse in the revised unit would indicate that Volvo are aware of the fault and I have suggested they refund the cost of the parts and labour to prevent legal action.