Hello all, I’m a new Catalina 30 owner (1990). On occasion I have a start issue on my Universal 25XP. I hold the glow plug 39 seconds, I hear the fuel pump clicking away, then I press the starter and nothing happens. No engine turn over. I repeat and the same occurs. I usually go below and verify I’m on “ALL” batteries (which I always am for start) and try again. Usually this time it turns over for a perfect start. Could the issue be the starter switch itself? Thanks-
Engine start issue
- Thread starter NYCatalina30
- Start date
This is a question/issue we deal with every day. Post it over on the official International Catalina 30 Association forum for the most complete troubleshooting tips.
https://groups.io/g/Catalina30
Ken
https://groups.io/g/Catalina30
Ken
Anything intermittent usually means it's a bad connection. Check the engine ground on the bell housing. Also check the wiring harness.
Or, hold the glow plug button, then release, then hit the start button, never both at the same time - too big an electrical drain.
Depending on how your electrical & battery switching system is set up, you shouldn't need both, ever, unless you are charging. See many of the posts here: Electrical Systems 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5977.0.html
You might be interested in these links:
Engines 101 - The BIGGEST & BEST collection of M25 Series Universal Engine Information on the Internet, plus some M35, too
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Diesel_Engine
Critical Upgrades http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.0.html
Or, hold the glow plug button, then release, then hit the start button, never both at the same time - too big an electrical drain.
Depending on how your electrical & battery switching system is set up, you shouldn't need both, ever, unless you are charging. See many of the posts here: Electrical Systems 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5977.0.html
You might be interested in these links:
Engines 101 - The BIGGEST & BEST collection of M25 Series Universal Engine Information on the Internet, plus some M35, too
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Diesel_Engine
Critical Upgrades http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.0.html
I'm going to to get a tattoo that says "it's always the ground" right on my wrist where a watch would normally go.
We just had a passage that was probably one of our worst. We have had worse weather and conditions but it was just uncomfortable. 3-8 foot seas on 2 second or less period. Wind and waves right on the nose. We motored for over 24 hours just trying to get through it the quickest. It was only 93 nm but with the conditions we had a hard time making more than 4 knots.
Then we were about 6 hours out and the engine died (happened twice before on the trip. I still have gunk in the tank. Been battling that since Irma.) But after bleeding the third time there was a pop and nothing on the engine worked. We furled out the headsail and started sailing. But the wind was dead out of the channel between Anguilla and St. Maarten, which is where we trying to go. So each tack covered 10-15 nm and only made 2 miles if that in forward progress.
I was getting thrown around and starting to get a little sea sick after several hours if messing with the engine. We hoisted the mainsail and sailed in. But we didn't get in until after 9:30 and had to anchor under sail.
The next two days I crawled all over the boat, often with two multimeters going trying to trace the issue. Voltage at the ignition key would drop to less than 1 volt on turning the key to run the fuel pump. Chased every connection between the control panel and the engine. Finally got to the grounds, cleaned up everything and sure enough that was it.
Sorry for the long story. Check the ground first unlike I did.
We just had a passage that was probably one of our worst. We have had worse weather and conditions but it was just uncomfortable. 3-8 foot seas on 2 second or less period. Wind and waves right on the nose. We motored for over 24 hours just trying to get through it the quickest. It was only 93 nm but with the conditions we had a hard time making more than 4 knots.
Then we were about 6 hours out and the engine died (happened twice before on the trip. I still have gunk in the tank. Been battling that since Irma.) But after bleeding the third time there was a pop and nothing on the engine worked. We furled out the headsail and started sailing. But the wind was dead out of the channel between Anguilla and St. Maarten, which is where we trying to go. So each tack covered 10-15 nm and only made 2 miles if that in forward progress.
I was getting thrown around and starting to get a little sea sick after several hours if messing with the engine. We hoisted the mainsail and sailed in. But we didn't get in until after 9:30 and had to anchor under sail.
The next two days I crawled all over the boat, often with two multimeters going trying to trace the issue. Voltage at the ignition key would drop to less than 1 volt on turning the key to run the fuel pump. Chased every connection between the control panel and the engine. Finally got to the grounds, cleaned up everything and sure enough that was it.
Sorry for the long story. Check the ground first unlike I did.
So practical perhaps it should be a requirement of every new boat owner. Maybe we could just give them a stick on until the clean all the grounds... Na... It would work for a while then they would have a problem and forget the Prime Directive - Check your Ground wires.
Good story Thanks JK. You may have learned a second lesson. You may not advance towards you upwind goal under the head sail alone on a sail boat. Too often raising the main seems so much of a hassle. Then main is actually an important sail to use. You struggling to get away from a lee shore on your motor alone? Raise your main (even if you reef it) and you will be surprised at how effective it will be.
If you hate to raise your main, then fix it. The main should be as easy to raise as the head sail.