Fuel shut-off for Perkins 4-236

On my port engine, a Perkins 4-236, there is a bent wire connector which runs from a solenoid up to the fuel shut-off arm. In theory, pushing a button at the helm causes the solenoid to pull in, pulling the bent wire connector back, and shutting off the engine. I say in theory, because in practice it does not come far enough back to completely shut off the fuel, and the little bugger keeps chugging away. Have to give it credit, I suppose, except that I want to shut it off! So I have to pull the hatch back (Gulfstar 36) and get down there with a flashlight and find the little arm and pull it back myself. Annoying. And one time it was downright dangerous (badly overheated engine).

Any thoughts? Can the solenoid be adjusted?

John

Greetings,
" Can the solenoid be adjusted?" Can the wire be bent more?

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Can the wire be bent more?

Click to expand...

It does not seem to be a wire which easily lends itself to being bent. Of course that is a fall-back, but I was kind of hoping that there might be an adjustment to the solenoid to make it come back about another fraction of an inch.

Funny you should post this, because I was just shopping for a new solenoid for my Perkins 6.354. Mine is doing the same thing, but the solenoid on mine is worn out and weak (won't lift all the way.) Mine are available from a couple of different internet sites for around $50.

I'm not sure that mine are the same as yours? You might check with Flywrite, I think he has your engines and just changed one of his too.

Is the solenoid fully actuating, does it go all the way up? Try jumping a wire directly from the battery positive side to the contact on the solenoid, maybe you have a voltage drop from the dashboard switch.

Definitely want to get that fixed. .Good luck
Larry B

My Gulfstar 36 suffered this on the starboard engine. Tore the boot off the selenoid. Than had to improve wire a bit so the ram would stay in. Sprayed silicone lube on all moving parts . It works great. The rubber accordion was the problem.

John, I had a similar problem with my port 4.236. While I looked for a replacement, I strung a parachute cord from the ER door to the fuel cutoff bellcrank so I could activate the shutdown without climbing around the hot engine. It looked redneck, but it worked!

I found a replacement solenoid online for cheap and replaced it with the same results! (Sorry, I looked for the receipt but can't find the source right now.) Then I ran a new wire from the switch to the solenoid, it worked fine. So I took the new one off, threw it in the spare parts pile and reinstalled the old one with the new wire. It's still working great today.

You can temporarily run a wire from the switch directly to the solenoid just to test the concept. The ideas for lubing the old solenoid and bypassing the switch also make sense.

Edit: Another thought might be to shorten the cable by loosening the set screw, pull a bit of cable, and tighten the set screw. But if you do this, don't do what I did. I shortened it too much and the engine wouldn't start. Then I lengthened it a bit and the engine would start, but it wouldn't rev much past idle. Then I returned it to its original length and found the REAL problem.

Thanks, guys. Some good ideas there, and I will definitely try them out, beginning with just running a new wire.

John

Hey John.

I replaced that solenoid before you bought the boat, it is a slightly different shape/size than the old one. As I couldn't find a rod that would fit exactly, I "adjusted" the bend in the old rod, which was already sort of an s shape, if I remember correctly.

My guess is that the rod needs to be Adjusted again. Or perhaps you could have a rod machined? Try this guy in Crawfordville, I've used him a few times since I did that repair on your boat.

S&D Machine Shop
Dave Boudreau
850-926-8664

Hope all is good.
Doug

Dougcole said:

Hey John.

I replaced that solenoid before you bought the boat, it is a slightly different shape/size than the old one. As I couldn't find a rod that would fit exactly, I "adjusted" the bend in the old rod, which was already sort of an s shape, if I remember correctly.

My guess is that the rod needs to be Adjusted again. Or perhaps you could have a rod machined? Try this guy in Crawfordville, I've used him a few times since I did that repair on your boat.

S&D Machine Shop
Dave Boudreau
850-926-8664

Hope all is good.
Doug

Click to expand...

Thanks, Doug. That is probably it, then. Will try that. All is good.

So nice to have the PO on the forum helping.

FlyWright said:

So nice to have the PO on the forum helping.

Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth! I was listening to a guy at the marina the other day bragging about a used boat that he had just bought, and how he had beat the owner down to rock bottom price, and then demanded more concessions for little cosmetic things. Which may have been fine, I suppose, but I was thinking to myself: "Yes, and if you call that PO and ask for help on something about the boat which you cannot figure out, lots of luck in getting it." I much prefer to stay friends.

John

No problem. I don't think it is the wiring. More than likely the rod. Also check to make sure the little nuts on the ends of the rod haven't vibrated loose, that happens and it gets out of adjustment.