Perkins 6.354 fuel problems

I have had fuel problems the last 2 days after running about 2 hours. I changed the fuel filters yesterday and got back running right away.the fuel filter sdid not look to bad. Today I ran for about 2 hours at 1900 rpms and no problem and then about 1/2 mile from marina it shuts down again. Help help help !!

Stumped. Have you bled the system? One engine right?

What has changed in the last few days? New fuel? Maybe a rough passage that stirred up the fuel tank? Tank vent problems? If so, removing the tank cap will provide an immediate vent. (check for insects in the vent)

Yes bled the system when changing filters yesterday. It has single engine and ran for 2 hours toady at 1900 rpms then shut down again and it ran great during the two hrs. Could it be a hose collapsing?I had a similar problem with sailboat with westerbeke and it wound up being tight spiderweb in fuel tank vent.I have fuel in the filter but not up to the primary filter.















/. There is fuel in the filter but not up to the primary filter.I had a similar problem with sailboat with westwerbeke and it wound up being a spider web in the fuel tank vent. I did a ten hr trip last weekend with no problem.

Remove the fuel cap and see if it improves. If so, your venting is the culprit. A hose would collapse due to vacuum....aka inadequate venting.

Thanks FlyWright I have also noticed that I'm getting some fuel coming out of the vent tube. This boat has a total of five tanks and two of the tanks are close to the vent. I have not been running off of these tanks and I know they are full of fuel to the top.I haven't owned this boat very long and still learning all of the systems.All of the tanks are connected to this one vent.Do you think that fuel in the vent tube could stop tanks from venting. I can transfer some of this fuel to a lower tank.

"Ran for 2 hours at 1900" , at dockside out of gear or underway?

Marty Hall said:

Thanks FlyWright I have also noticed that I'm getting some fuel coming out of the vent tube. This boat has a total of five tanks and two of the tanks are close to the vent. I have not been running off of these tanks and I know they are full of fuel to the top.I haven't owned this boat very long and still learning all of the systems.All of the tanks are connected to this one vent.Do you think that fuel in the vent tube could stop tanks from venting. I can transfer some of this fuel to a lower tank.

Click to expand...

It sounds like you've ansered your own question. If fuel is filling the vent tube, it can't vent. I would equalize your tanks before I tried anything else.

Richard

underway

it is absolutely critical that the fuel being used must be returned to the tank from which it was drawn. With five tanks you must understand your fuel manifold system. Sit down and draw it out and make sure you know where the fuel is coming from and where its going.

Sorry, don't know if you know much about diesels but 20 - 30 times more fuel is drawn from the tank than the engine can use and the excess is sent back to the same tank.

If your tanks are filled to the brim, the agitaion of being underway will cause fuel in the vent line to froth and spit out the vent. The frothing fuel and engine cutting out are not necessarily related. Sort out the fuel system first and then we can have a shot at the engine quitting if that does not resolve the issue.

May have it . I had a tank valve open that I thought was full of fuel . The sight glass had a stained line at the top that made it look full. It was actually EMPTY.I must have been sucking air from the empty tank and running off another tank Too many tanks open. Thanks for all your help guys .

Sorry, don't know if you know much about diesels but 20 - 30 times more fuel is drawn from the tank than the engine can use and the excess is sent back to the same tank.

This is true only of SOME engines, A DD will return huge amounts of fuel, some Bosch style injection pumps will only return internal leakage , a cup an hour would be high.

Proper marine tank selection valves will move both intake and return at the same time.There are valves for 2 or 3 tank selections.

As a guess I would look for a valve in the vent system installed by the PO.

The sheene police get beserk over a 1/2 teaspoon of diesel on a tank fill, so many folks will turn off the vent while filling , and normalize the vent after departing the fuel dock.

Perhaps?