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White smoke and dead batteries


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6 minutes ago, Robbo said:

The white smoke could be unburnt diesel caused by a injector problem.

what is the best way to check this? Once the rain stops in going to attempt to find the problem, again.

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13 minutes ago, purple8 said:

what is the best way to check this? Once the rain stops in going to attempt to find the problem, again.

If the white smoke is steam, it won't smell of anything much. If the white smoke is unburnt diesel, it will smell of .... diesel!

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12 hours ago, purple8 said:

that's the third mention of head gasket... Please stop your scaring me

 

This sounds a strong possibility to me as well.don't know about scaring you - if it were "only" head gasket it could be a lot less scary than some other possibilities!
 

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19 minutes ago, purple8 said:

what is the best way to check this? Once the rain stops in going to attempt to find the problem, again.

The other thing to bear in mind is that unburnt diesel smoke is likely to be worse when the engine is cold / first started. Steam from a faulty head gasket is more likely to be worse after the engine has heated up. Also, have a look at the engine oil (dipstick). If there is any hint of milkyness it also points to head gasket.

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Hear, hear!  What TB said.    Also if you have a sensitive hooter you might smell exhaust fumes emitting from the coolant filler, with the cap off and the engine running at normal temperature. You might even see streams of tiny bubbles in there. Both would indicate trouble in the head gasket area.

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44 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

But for the sake of 10 minutes please try my suggestion re loosening injector unions. If by some chance it turns out to be a sticking injector it would have saved you pulling the head off.

But they might be extraordinary boaters Tony.

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so... I am confused...

it took a lot of key turning before the engine would fire up, the glowplug lights wouldn't come on at first. Then after many attempts she burst into life. Running fine at first, no signs of any issues, as soon as I put into gear and pulled forward I got smoke, then back in to neutral it stopped, then in gear it started etc etc, after ten mins white smoke began and the engine changed note. Tapping coming from under the rocker cover it seems. I loosened each injector one by one, with no change in tone...

I then idled her for a moment before switching off.

then.... She wouldn't bloody start again. She's warm and not even trying to start, just clicking on the key turn.

so guessing the battery and isolator were never the problem.

back to no birds down I think... Gutted.

feel a mechanic call out maybe needed

btw dipstick and coolant are both clean

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2 minutes ago, purple8 said:

so... I am confused...

it took a lot of key turning before the engine would fire up, the glowplug lights wouldn't come on at first. Then after many attempts she burst into life. Running fine at first, no signs of any issues, as soon as I put into gear and pulled forward I got smoke, then back in to neutral it stopped, then in gear it started etc etc, after ten mins white smoke began and the engine changed note. Tapping coming from under the rocker cover it seems. I loosened each injector one by one, with no change in tone...

I then idled her for a moment before switching off.

then.... She wouldn't bloody start again. She's warm and not even trying to start, just clicking on the key turn.

so guessing the battery and isolator were never the problem.

back to no birds down I think... Gutted.

feel a mechanic call out maybe needed

First check all your battery terminals and engine -neg cable terminals and starter motor connections for cleanliness and tightness first. Also you might have a bunged up fuel filter stopping it starting. That should be a Mitsubishi engine and probably has an electric fuel pump. If it has there should be a wee cartrage filter in its base under a cap which is secured bayonet fashion. Very common for these to be fouled up as many folk don't know they're there.  You should hear the fuel pump whining with the ignition key turned on.

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On 06/06/2017 at 10:16, purple8 said:

so... I am confused...

it took a lot of key turning before the engine would fire up, the glowplug lights wouldn't come on at first. Then after many attempts she burst into life. Running fine at first, no signs of any issues, as soon as I put into gear and pulled forward I got smoke, then back in to neutral it stopped, then in gear it started etc etc,

 

What colour was the smoke at this stage?

 

On 06/06/2017 at 10:16, purple8 said:

then.... She wouldn't bloody start again. She's warm and not even trying to start, just clicking on the key turn.

so guessing the battery and isolator were never the problem.

 

Could you still turn the engine over (with difficulty) with the spanner at this point?

If yes then you have a completely separate electical fault. If you can't, then it looks to me as though the engine is partially seizing and the starter motor doesn't have the power to actually turn the engine over. This can sometimes happen with a seriously overheated engine in my experience. Let it cool for an hour and it turns over again.

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white smoke mike...

she's running again. Unsure how tbh...

no bubbles in header tank...

both fuel filters have been drained and re primed, they were my first thought... Water in fuel was my first test dew days back

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34 minutes ago, purple8 said:

 I loosened each injector one by one, with no change in tone...

I suspect you loosened the leak off pipe on the top of the injector, which merely returns excess fuel back to the tank. You need to loosen the nut on the pipe from the injector pump to each injector. This WILL cause the engine speed to drop and to run more roughly (unless it was already running roughly because the cylinder in question wasn't working).

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13 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

What colour was the smoke at this stage?

 

 

Could you still turn the engine over (with difficulty) with the spanner at this point?

If yes then you have a completely separate electical fault. If you can't, then it looks to me as though the engine is partially seizing and the starter motor doesn't have the power to actually turn the engine over. This can sometimes happen with a seriously overheated engine in my experience. Let it cool for an hour and it turns over again.

She said glow plugs light wouldn't come on, so I suggest it's definitely an electrical issue rather than partial seizure.

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On 06/06/2017 at 10:58, nicknorman said:

She said glow plugs light wouldn't come on, so I suggest it's definitely an electrical issue rather than partial seizure.

 

Ah yes, good point. Two separate problems then. The electrical one probably being a poor battery cable connection. Time to get the multimeter out!

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I joined rcr on the 4th when we first suspected a problem, need to wait 72hrs before I can call out... So I guess tomorro ill be ringing them. I have to put my hands up and say I'm lost.

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thanks for ur input mike! So strange how she ran fine with u here to see.

tomorro we will attempt a short cruise to crofton and possibly beyond and that is when we will be able to see how she behaves properly.

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If the Vetus M3 is like the M4.4x  then there is a relay which operates the starter solenoid.  On the M4s it is inside a black box on the back of the engine.  If the contacts on this are bad then it can give the same effect (clunk-click) as if the solenoid is sticking. 

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2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Well done Mike :)

So... could the intake have been blocked and the engine overheating?

 

Good point and quite possibly. There is no temp gauge on the control panel.

This thought didn't occur to me while I was there so I didn't ask if, during the smoke, the water from the exhaust continued issuing as normal or if it had stopped. Perhaps Purple8 can remember... or if not, taske careful note next time the fault presents itself.

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1 hour ago, dor said:

If the Vetus M3 is like the M4.4x  then there is a relay which operates the starter solenoid.  On the M4s it is inside a black box on the back of the engine.  If the contacts on this are bad then it can give the same effect (clunk-click) as if the solenoid is sticking. 

Yep, the 3.09 has that too. It also has the awful multipin connector at the back of the engine which suffers the same fate as all multipin connectors ;)

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18 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Good point and quite possibly. There is no temp gauge on the control panel.

This thought didn't occur to me while I was there so I didn't ask if, during the smoke, the water from the exhaust continued issuing as normal or if it had stopped. Perhaps Purple8 can remember... or if not, taske careful note next time the fault presents itself.

the water continues to pump from the exhaust smoke or no smoke... There seems no problem with the water intake impeller system...

 

1 hour ago, dor said:

If the Vetus M3 is like the M4.4x  then there is a relay which operates the starter solenoid.  On the M4s it is inside a black box on the back of the engine.  If the contacts on this are bad then it can give the same effect (clunk-click) as if the solenoid is sticking. 

on the rear of the engine there is a black relay, seems wired to solenoid and the starter system... Its wobbly in its housing, and I did actually remove this and blow it, then refit just prior to mike visiting. A likely candidate for the starting fault right there possibly...

 

my cruise tomorro should have some answers, hopefully not more questions.

hoping the wind dies down and the rain holds off

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6 minutes ago, purple8 said:

hoping the wind dies down and the rain holds off

The rain is supposed to ease but it's going to stay blustery for a few days according to tonight's forecast. 

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