My Generator is dead. It blew its head gasket. I just picked up some gasket material at Autozone from which to fashion a new head gasket. The material is gasket material, but not specified as head gasket material, so we'll see. I'm also ordering a couple new head gaskets from the generator distributor.
So anyway, I now have next to no electricity on the boat. (I'm at the St. Augustine library charging my laptop.) And you thought conditions on the boat were basic before. When the sun goes down now, it's lights out. And I've been doing a lot of reading. I've been reading some food book Amy left behind, and a catamaran book that someone gave me at my marina in Baltimore.
Also, my outboard is dead. So I will be spending at least a few days in the lovely town of St. Augustine. I've diagnosed the problem as weak spark. Actually, no spark. Although, I have determined that some voltage is coming through to the plugs.
I've become quite good at reading electrical diagrams. I could give you a pretty good electrical tour of my outboard. But although I know the names of all the stuff, I'm not sure exactly what they do, or how they work. For example, there is some dohicky called a rectifier. And the manual refers to something called a C.D. unit. I think it's a distributor, but I'm not sure.
Coming into St. Augustine in rough weather, without an engine was an adventure. Anyone who has navigated the inlet will tell you that it's not easy under the best conditions. It's narrow and guarded by shoals. The boat and I entered the inlet on a jib and a prayer, and not much else. The one thing I had going for me was a rising tide to help carry me in. If the tide had been going against me, there's a good chance Split Decision would be grounded on one of those shoals, and I'd be writing you from a cheap motel room.
I'm working on an account of the passage from Port Canaveral. I promise it soon.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
On a Jib and a Prayer
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9 comments:
Scott,
So glad to hear you are ok. We were a bit concerned when we did not hear from you again. Now we understand. Looks like you have your share of woes and stuck in St. Augustine again. We have missed your lively stories, photos & boatcam. Hope all gets fixed ok and that you are back on your way again and we get to read about your latest exploits. I guess you had your share of April Fool's Day! Take Care,
Rose
Hello,
My name is Lou and I have been following your travels for some time. I am also a Gemini owner 105Mc. I am a electronics guy and hope I can help you with your no spark issue.
The rectifier takes the ac current from under the flywheel stator coils and rectifies it (turns it into dc current) to charge your battery and power your CD unit. The CD unit (no silly, not the one you listen too) stands for Capacitive Discharge. This unit takes the dc current from the rectifier and signals from another coil under the flywheel and provides current to operate the ignition coil. Think of the cd unit as points on an older vehicle. It needs to know when the piston is at top dead center (tdc) to fire the spark plug. That is what the other coil does under the flywheel. Some motors have 3 coils under the flywheel. 1 would be for powering the cd unit, another for charging the battery (usually through the rectifier box), and the timing coil to tell the cd unit when to fire the ignition coil.
By looking at the motor schematic you can figure which coil does what by where it goes. Start by checking all the coils resistance with an ohmmeter (including the ignition coil), hopefully your service manual will give you the resistance of each one. Maybe you will get lucky and just find a bad electrical connection. Most outboard repair shops (not being too keen in electronics) will just substitute either the cd unit or rectifier to save time and not pull the flywheel off. Most of the time the coils under the flywheel are not the problem, the electronics are. Ignition coils go bad frequently on outboards, and sometimes take the CD box out as well. Don't be surprised if you have 2 things wrong. Trying to charge a weak battery with an outboard motor (if your motor charges your battery, not all do), will eventually overheat and burn out the rectifier unit. Even though it is called a rectifier, that unit also contains the voltage regulator for the battery charging circuit.
If you have a cell number, I can call you and try to talk you through the repair. Good Luck, Louie
Sorry to read about the breakdowns - and it's not like you're overflowing with backup equipment.
Because you'd been 'off the air' for so long I figured that you must either be having more Vista problems - or were lost at sea. Well - no - just kidding about the lost at sea part.
After an experience like that it's really amazing to think about how it must have been for the early explorers who never had any of this tech stuff like engines, lights, navigation gear, radio, etc. etc. Furthermore, their boats often would just barely make way going upwind. How did they do it? !!
I'm not very knowledgeable about engine repair but I know that salty air can really be hard on the electrical aspects (why so many sailboats are equipped with electric-free diesels). Sometimes a washdown & clean up of all the electrical components and connections will help. Also, believe it or not, the ignition wires themselves can sometimes become defective such that they appear OK but don't conduct properly.
I look forward to the full story of your passage.
Hey guys,
I cut a homemade head gasket and it lasted all of twenty minutes before burning up. The good thing is that it confirmed that the only thing wrong with the generator is the head gasket. In fact, I can now run it with the choke completely open, now that I've cleaned the carb so many times (that was the first thing I attacked when in wouldn't start this time). New gaskets are on their way, but won't arrive for two days. I called too late for them to overnight tonight. I ordered two of them.
Lou, I have a cell, but would prefer not to post the number on the internet. I read your comments quickly, because I don't want to be on the computer using the batteries too long. I'm going to attack the outboard electronics tomorrow. I'll get in contact with you if I need help and when I have more battery power for my cellphone and computer. I assume you are on the gemini yahoo group, so if I need help, I'll post a message here and there. But any case, glad to have you aboard and thanks for the offer of help.
Ross, I should have at least an account of the first day's passage posted tomorrow. I'll go to a cafe or someplace where I can plug in. I have written some notes about the passage, so that I'll remember what I want to talk about. It's always easier to write about the experience when it's fresh.
Rose, thanks for the best wishes. I turned on the gps and webcam for a few minutes so that hopefully my position is updated and there are some fresh images.
OK, signing off now so that I don't use up all of my laptop battery power.
Oh, and Lou, my outboard does not charge the batteries. It has a magneto. But I'm just learning about this stuff. Hopefully, I'll be able to swap out the CD unit or rectifier, if I can find the parts. It's an old engine. FYI, it's a Tohatsu two cycle 40hp. Model is M40C. I'm pretty sure the manual is online if you are interested. I'm using a hard copy I have aboard.
Glad to see you survived and have such good consulting expertise for your electronics problems (Lou). Looking forward to hear more about your adventures.
Scott,
I found an owners manual for your motor on the Tohatsu web site. All models of that motor have a flywheel magneto and should have been charging your battery all along. Your motor has a separate charging coil just for ignition, so even with the rectifier burned out you would still have the ignition working. I would consider replacing the rectifier in the future to help charge your battery (check the 15 amp fuse also).
After reviewing your manual, first place I would look for is issues with the stop switch. I am not sure if your stop switch is in the forward controls (key switch) or at the motor. Some motors even have both wired up at the same time. In either model the switch SHORTS out the ignition when the switch is OFF. So to test the switch or wiring, disconnect the brown and blue wires from the switch, and then see if you have spark. I have seen these switches get corrosion inside and short out the ignition. You may want to do this at the motor as well, in case the wiring from the forward controls (if you have them) is shorting out. Just remember it is the opposite of what you think, when the switch is OFF it is actually ON (contacts closed), again think of the switch as shorting out the ignition when the key is off.
The manual is not a service manual, so there is no resistance or trouble shooting info. Other then the stop switch and wiring, most likely the trouble would be #1 ignition coil #2 cd box. A marine mechanic familiar with your motor, could most likely tell you which one of those fails routinely on your engine. It is unlikely the coils under the flywheel are bad, but certainly possible. Usually they die from physical damage, (a piece of a broken flywheel key or some other junk gets under there and damages the coils). Sometimes the wiring going to those coils breaks under the insulation from vibration. So only 3 items (not counting the stop switch) could give you an ignition issue. I am sure you already tried new plugs. 2 strokes are notorious for carbon shorting out the plugs ( I guess you know that with how many times you have had your generator apart :)
From the gem yahoo group, my user name is KA2PFL and you can click my name and send your cell number, privately by email if you need to. I will be available after 3:00 pm tomorrow, and till 9 tonight.
Good Luck, Louie
Hey Cap.
Sounds like being back on the Yar and the engine would die and we would sail back to the dock, If the winds were right.
Glad your on lifes vacation and your gettin some good info to fix your problems. ARRRRRRRRRR_______
By the way "50" has now sat on my shoulder -man am I old ...not
I quit work for good and I am going out on my own. Maybe I'll come down and jump on the boat for awhile .... April Fools ... I can't quit right now - still stuck on Gibson Island.
Good luck - O.S.
Old Salty, happy belated bday! We have to celebrate our decade bdays when I get back. Wish you had been on the boat with me. Could have used your McGuevering skills.
Louie, engine's running. It was just corroded spark plug boots. I am still interested in talking with you about getting the engine to charge the batteries, if that's possible. I'll take a look at the manual and see if I can give you more info about the engine. Sounds like you were only able to find the owner's manual online. I have the service manual which had the info about ohms resistance and a bunch of other stuff. Again, thanks for your help and encouragement.
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