Volvo Penta D6 EVC-C issue

[sfleron]

Hi All

We just purchased a Bavaria 37 HT form 2009 with a pair of D6-330. We went on seatrial last Thursday and everything was just running smoothly. Went to pick it up and sail it home the day after, and here she would not start PT engine.

We managed to wiggle cables and stuff and got no errors and started to get home. 5 days later we arrived at our harbor and had engine issue on PT every day. Had a VP mechanic on board with Vodia tool to check and it was clear that the data link cable between HCU and PCU was bad – he had a test cable with him and connecting that things worked. We took the one out that apparently was faulty and tested it… there were no errors at all, connected it back, auto calibrated and no problems.

3 hours later we wanted to start as wind had slowed down and same error again, wiggling cables, auto calibrating and managed to get on the move….

So now back safe in harbor I went to test what is going on… here is what I found:

Swopped cabled from SB to PT PCU and also at the HCU to see if I could move the failure to the SB engine – no luck at all, still the same.

Took the main power fromswitch engines, waited 3 mins and repowered… error still there:

FMI 164
SID 253
FMI 9

And

MID 164
PSID 218
FMI 9

These indicate error in comm betheen HCU and PCU.

Did auto calibration and got:

MID 164
SID 253
FMI9

And
MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 12

Last one indicates that configuration is lost

I then reseated the large connector on the PCU – that gave me a new set of errors:

MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 14

And
MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 12

These indicate that comm is good but config is lost… so I auto calibrated again and all errors were gone – I could start engine and had full control.
I shut everything down and took the main switch again, waited 3 minutes and repowered – then the issue was back.
I could suspect the PCU, but reseating the large connector (X3)on the PCU seems to do something, so wondering if there could be something else that makes the PCU fail on startup…
When I got the first set of errors I notice that the tilt sensor showed 56, no light in neutral, engine would not start with error “Engine in gear unable to start”.
Strangely we found (during 4 days of sailing) that one the error is gone everything works perfectly throughout the trip – but when we power off the error comes back. Again reseating seems to do something good…

I also notice that the actuator is no moved when applying ignition when the error is there.

Would you have any ideas of what to look for?

Thank you all

BR Soren - Denmark

 

[Andyroonot]

Hi All

We just purchased a Bavaria 37 HT form 2009 with a pair of D6-330. We went on seatrial last Thursday and everything was just running smoothly. Went to pick it up and sail it home the day after, and here she would not start PT engine.

We managed to wiggle cables and stuff and got no errors and started to get home. 5 days later we arrived at our harbor and had engine issue on PT every day. Had a VP mechanic on board with Vodia tool to check and it was clear that the data link cable between HCU and PCU was bad – he had a test cable with him and connecting that things worked. We took the one out that apparently was faulty and tested it… there were no errors at all, connected it back, auto calibrated and no problems.

3 hours later we wanted to start as wind had slowed down and same error again, wiggling cables, auto calibrating and managed to get on the move….

So now back safe in harbor I went to test what is going on… here is what I found:

Swopped cabled from SB to PT PCU and also at the HCU to see if I could move the failure to the SB engine – no luck at all, still the same.

Took the main power fromswitch engines, waited 3 mins and repowered… error still there:

FMI 164
SID 253
FMI 9

And

MID 164
PSID 218
FMI 9

These indicate error in comm betheen HCU and PCU.

Did auto calibration and got:

MID 164
SID 253
FMI9

And
MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 12

Last one indicates that configuration is lost

I then reseated the large connector on the PCU – that gave me a new set of errors:

MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 14

And
MID 164
PSID 99
FMI 12

These indicate that comm is good but config is lost… so I auto calibrated again and all errors were gone – I could start engine and had full control.
I shut everything down and took the main switch again, waited 3 minutes and repowered – then the issue was back.
I could suspect the PCU, but reseating the large connector (X3)on the PCU seems to do something, so wondering if there could be something else that makes the PCU fail on startup…
When I got the first set of errors I notice that the tilt sensor showed 56, no light in neutral, engine would not start with error “Engine in gear unable to start”.
Strangely we found (during 4 days of sailing) that one the error is gone everything works perfectly throughout the trip – but when we power off the error comes back. Again reseating seems to do something good…

I also notice that the actuator is no moved when applying ignition when the error is there.

Would you have any ideas of what to look for?

Thank you all

BR Soren - Denmark

What is your engine serial number?

 

[sfleron]

Hi Andyroonot

Thanks for getting back to me.

The serial is 2006034744.
I have watched some of Ted's video's and are suspecting the Key Ignition signal and will test that, I look forward to hear your thoughts.

Thank you very much

BR Soren - Denmark

 

[sfleron]

Hi Andyroonot
Any update? I'm really keen to get the issue resolved - any info at all will be very much appreciated.
BR Soren

 

[Andyroonot]

Hi Andyroonot
Any update? I'm really keen to get the issue resolved - any info at all will be very much appreciated.
BR Soren

The reason I asked about your serial number was because there was a generation of control units that had a manufacturing issue, and one common problem they had was thinking the system was in gear. But your engine does not have that hardware, so it’s not as simple as that.

As you can resolve the issue by disconnecting the PCU plug it sounds like it could be that unit or the HCU at fault. When it happens, can you try leaving the ignition switch on and just turning the battery off and back on? I’ve had a few issues with HCU’s not working after you’ve switched the ignition off and back on.

Have you tried swapping control units from side to side, or just the cables?

 

[sfleron]

Hey Andyroonot
That is really strange - that is excactly what the error is when trying to start the engine... it will not start because it think it is in gear...
Really great info thanks a million. I will run and test tomorrow. I wiggled the X3 connector and that sometimes helped. Today I tried and nothing got the engine started.

I'm not sure I can swop the PCU's they are programmed with serial numbers (as I hear it), do you think I could swop the HCU (Easy done - I can move cables in the engineering bay). I noticed that the LED on the PCU is not flashisng, so really seems the PCU is not getting the ignition on from the HCU, so it sound really plausible that the HCU may be the issue.

Thanks a lot for getting back to me... any thoughts is very very much appreciated.
BR Soren

 

[sfleron]

Hi Andyroonot
When you ask men to swop the control units is that the HCU's? and will that work? I mean are they not programmet with serial number?
Will give it a try for sure - thank a lot.

BR Soren

 

[Andyroonot]

Hi Andyroonot
When you ask men to swop the control units is that the HCU's? and will that work? I mean are they not programmet with serial number?
Will give it a try for sure - thank a lot.

BR Soren

You'll get fault codes for mismatched chassis ID's, but by swapping Datalink cables you've been getting these faults anyway. You will need to autoconfigure the system once you've swapped them and again when you swap them back, but it should hopefully help narrow the fault down. I'd swap the HCU and see how that behaves after an autoconfigure & lever calibration, then if that doesn't make it swap side, put it back to original and swap the PCU's and see what happens

 

[sfleron]

Hi Andyroonot
Thank you very much for great info.
so today I swopped the HCU's error followed engine, so pointing to PCU.
Swopped data link cables between PCU's, error stayed on Port engine.
Swopped PCU's on the 2 engines... now it gets interesting... this did not move the error, but removed the error... so suddenly no errors. When I swopped the PCU's I also calibrated throttles as everything had changed. No errors at all (except for MID 187, PSID 231 FMI 2, serialnumbers are swopped so not happy). So I swopped them back so everything was like when we bought it, and we had no errors...
To be sure I let the engine run for 10 mins to get som heat, then shut engine off and turned off all circuit breakers... waited 5 mins and repowered... engine started again without any errors at all.

So at this point it looks like a recalibration of the throttles fixed it all... I will be out working for the next couple of day so can not test, but will test again thursday evening...

Could that really be it?

BR Soren

 

[sfleron]

Hi again
Really bad day. Went to the boat and turned on the main switches - turned ignition on SB engine and same errors came back... I autocalibrated, calibrated throttles (which made a difference the other day), but same error... trim at 56 SB not showing voltage on batteries, unable to start (engine in gear)...
I think I need to check for ignition power on the datalink cable pin 5 to see if the HCU is actually waking up the PCU.
Again today I noticed when turning on SB main power switch the actuator moved, it did not when turning on main power switch for PT engine... is that a clue?
Went through this to get wiser:
Volvo Penta ECU to PCU CAN 1 Diagnostics - YouTube
and it sounds like the ignition is not waking the PCU.
Any thoughts?
BR Soren

 

[Andyroonot]

If it’s getting worse/more frequent then it’s possibly a good thing, as it means if you swap a component to the other engine you’ve got more chance of the problem showing up on that side as well & proving the fault
Presumably today was done with the control units still back to where they should be?
If you want to prove the HCU is sending the signal to wake up then just swap the Datalink at the HCUs and see if the other engine works normally.
Given your previous comments I’d say it sounds like the PCU, as this is responsible for gear shifting & storing things like the trim position, so if faulty, will give you the symptoms you are getting
Can you get a Dealer with Vodia access onboard? If you can then you can swap the PCUs again and get the chassis ID overwritten so those faults don’t trigger & you can leave the PCUs swapped. If the issue then moves sides after a bit of use you’ve found the problem

 

[sfleron]

Dear Andyroonot
Thank you very much for you answer... Good point.. I suspect PCU.. again when I turned on the main power it did not move the actuator...
However I'm wondering if it could be something else not making the PCU start? When I had the Volvo technician on board he picked up another PCU, which did the same error... so he suspected cable.
I have tested cable since then and all is good... what worries me is that it seems like I can wiggle cables and make it go away, so wondering how really to test this. Tech also had Vodia tool with him... he immediately said that PCU was dead, but again, changing PCU did not change anything...
I'm thinking maybe a sensor (trim, Actuator) sends back a bad signal making PCU not responding correctly to HCU?

Not knowing how this works, but seems plausible... any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

BR Soren

 

[Andyroonot]

Dear Andyroonot
Thank you very much for you answer... Good point.. I suspect PCU.. again when I turned on the main power it did not move the actuator...
However I'm wondering if it could be something else not making the PCU start? When I had the Volvo technician on board he picked up another PCU, which did the same error... so he suspected cable.
I have tested cable since then and all is good... what worries me is that it seems like I can wiggle cables and make it go away, so wondering how really to test this. Tech also had Vodia tool with him... he immediately said that PCU was dead, but again, changing PCU did not change anything...
I'm thinking maybe a sensor (trim, Actuator) sends back a bad signal making PCU not responding correctly to HCU?

Not knowing how this works, but seems plausible... any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

BR Soren

Did the spare PCU that was fitted have an autoconfiguration completed to let it know it had an actuator connected to it?

I’d still be tempted to swap the PCU’s and programme them for each engine, then you can test it over a few days/trips and know for certain if it’s that or not

 

[sfleron]

Dear Andyroonot
Yes when we swopped the PCU we did autoconfig... however it was not programmed as the error was the same...
Error indicated that there was no com betweem HCU and PCU, so the tech wanted to change the datalink cable... when we did this it worked... but 3 hours later we could not start again. so the error is intermittend... only common thing is that when power has been taken off then things don't start right when power is turned on...
The idea of changing the PCU's, reprogram and see what happens is a really good idea.

Thank you very much. will find a Vodia tech and let you know...

BR Soren

 

[Andyroonot]

Dear Andyroonot
Yes when we swopped the PCU we did autoconfig... however it was not programmed as the error was the same...
Error indicated that there was no com betweem HCU and PCU, so the tech wanted to change the datalink cable... when we did this it worked... but 3 hours later we could not start again. so the error is intermittend... only common thing is that when power has been taken off then things don't start right when power is turned on...
The idea of changing the PCU's, reprogram and see what happens is a really good idea.

Thank you very much. will find a Vodia tech and let you know...

BR Soren

When you are next onboard, switch it all on as normal.
Switch off the battery at the isolator switch rather than the ignition, and then switch it back on & see if it all powers up as normal. Do this a few times if it works normally
Then switch it off using the ignition, and then switch back on and see if the fault then occurs

 

[sfleron]

Will do tomorrow. From all the trial I still think it is something between the PCU and the engine, or simply the ignigition signal from the HCU.
Will update you very soon
BR Soren

 

[jrudge]

Given this was a new to you boat I would be inclined to call the dealers in the area you bought the boat. It is quite likely that the last owner had this issue and tried to get it fixed. So you may find out more.

Next in the U.K. - your rules may vary - goods from even a private seller must be as described. So if your investigation above finds the local Volvo dealer has looked at the issue before and the seller described it as " in full working order " or other such terms like " no faults " and they knew it had a fault then even a private seller is not in the clear.

 

[sfleron]

Dear jrudge
That is a very good point. Seller was there the first day when we bought the boat to help out, and has been very helpful troubleshooting along the way, so I'm confident that we will have this fixed together in a good manner. But really good point, thank you very much for reading and sharing.
BR Soren

 

[sfleron]

We had the technician on board today to test things out, and it turns out to be the PCU which is dead, so need to replace.

Will keep you updated.

BR Soren

 

[sfleron]

Sorry to say - no update... Seller is hiding and are not willing to communicate - really a shame :-( less than 12 hours after we did seatrial, and on deliverydate. Have written several times on telephone text and email, and no response.

So sad .-(