Volvo dph shift trouble

[julians]

Hi all,

I have a VP d4 260 with dph drive, today when coming into the mooring, I attempted to engage reverse,but the engine just stalled with a loud continuous beep. It had been working fine all day,but I hadn't used reverse. It started up again,and reverse selected fine,as did forward.

I read on here it could be a stiff gear select cable,or a faulty actuator. I also read that the cable could be stiff through growth at drive end,. I'm thinking this could be the cause as it's been 2 months since it was last used and now (after dislodging the growth maybe?) it seems to shift fine.

Any ideas on how to determine where the problem lies?

Thanks

 

[GrahamHR]

I feel your pain.

Old concept; lever to cable to outdrive. Used on hundreds of thousand of boats. It gets stiff, change cable.

Lets make a new stupid design; DPH/ DPR , an electronic signal from the lever to an expensive actuator that shifts a cable; if it gets stiff, cut off engine. DPH/ DPR; any excessive resistance, it stops engine at the worst possible time. Why ?

It can be nursed along ( but in my opinion it shouldn't need to be done). New actuator on mine under warranty. Not selecting reverse gear quickly helps. I'm going to fit a new shift cable this winter a TFXtreme one if I can get one. Maybe the DPH upper drive shift needs a lot of effort Maybe VP set the actuator load limit too low so it triggers an alarm too easily. " new actuator required sir; £££

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

To see if the cable is stiff, disconnect it from the actuator and try and operate it manually - should move freely. Check this soon though, because the actuators don't take much abuse and they are expensive to replace.

 

[julians]

Thanks both.

I'm going down to the boat this morning, so I'll take a look. Where abouts on the engine is the actuator located?

 

[mparrish]

Look for this - probably on the transom or hull sides in the engine bay somewhere.


Had both my cables replaced recently due to sticky old cable and it shutting the engine down due to actuator overload. Carp design again from Volvo.

 

[julians]

Thanks all, I've found the actuator. I disconnected to cable and moved it by hand,it's pretty stiff,but then I don't know what normal feels like. I guess it is sticking though hence the issue.

Never mind, this is the last boating day of the year for me,so this will just get added to the list of jobs to be done over winter

 

[GrahamHR]

Thanks all, I've found the actuator. I disconnected to cable and moved it by hand,it's pretty stiff,but then I don't know what normal feels like. I guess it is sticking though hence the issue.

Never mind, this is the last boating day of the year for me,so this will just get added to the list of jobs to be done over winter

Isn't it a stupid design concept though. Volvo Penta Europe ( Sweden) knew beforehand that shift cables get more obstructive with age/ use. Yet they specified an actuator than could just about cope with new cables. It'll be interesting to see what type my original 2009 cable is. I fitted a TFXtreme cable to a 2004 VP equipped boat I had, the improvement in shift quality was incredible, which is why I will look for one to replace the original on my DPH.

 

[Geoffs]

Hi Julians, I had exactly the same problem with my DPH. Turned out to be a stiff cable, I would say that's almost certainly your trouble. Mine lasted about 6 years, I think it prudent to replace every 5 years. It's not a huge cost when the boat is out of the water.

 

[julians]

Yeah,it's going to be replaced over the winter along with all the other substandard volvo parts that have failed ie steering rams and supercharger tensioner.