Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 04-11-2011, 09:42 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
7tiger7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 239
Runaway diesel?

Any one ever have a diesel engine run away on them? Did you find a way to shut it down, or did it run its course?
7tiger7 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2011, 09:51 PM   #2
Guru
 
rochepoint's Avatar
 
City: Sidney BC Canada
Vessel Name: RochePoint
Vessel Model: 1985 Cheer Men PT38 Sedan
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,744
RE: Runaway diesel?

We once had a small horizontal engine in one of our sailboats that ran away a couple times. The only way to stop it was to block the air intake, the problem turned out to be the fuel supply. The installation of an electric fuel pump cured it, seems when it wasn't getting enough fuel.
rochepoint is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2011, 09:52 PM   #3
Guru
 
Carey's Avatar
 
City: Bellingham, WA
Vessel Name: Happy Destiny
Vessel Model: Custom Lobster Yacht
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,101
RE: Runaway diesel?

Quote:
7tiger7 wrote:
Any one ever have a diesel engine run away on them? Did you find a way to shut it down, or did it run its course?
*No, but... I do know that the next thing you need to do is cut off the air supply. Rip off the air cleaner and shove a rag in it. That is, assuming the engine shutoff didn't work.

*
Carey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2011, 10:44 PM   #4
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 24
RE: Runaway diesel?

Don't put a rag to it if it's turbo'd, better a plywood (or any rigid flat material) cap that will choke off the air without drawing it in.
wescoaster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2011, 11:46 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
DCBD's Avatar
 
City: Sidney BC
Vessel Name: Our Island
Vessel Model: KK Manatee
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 202
RE: Runaway diesel?

Positive air shut-offs are available for most diesel engines for a couple of hundred bucks. It would save your engine (and boat) if you had a propane leak while underway if it was to get into your engine compartment. They're also a good anti-theft device. I wouldn't recommend a rag.
DCBD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 04:10 AM   #6
Guru
 
Tom.B's Avatar
 
City: Cary, NC
Vessel Name: Skinny Dippin'
Vessel Model: Navigator 4200 Classic
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,841
RE: Runaway diesel?

Nothing light! I worked at a dealership in the 80's and saw a runaway truck engine suck in a phonebook!
Tom.B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 04:39 AM   #7
Guru
 
jleonard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,037
RE: Runaway diesel?

My 1980 VW rabbit diesel would runaway often but only with the pedal down on the expressway. And trust me the added power was a good thing!

*
jleonard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 04:44 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
GarryP's Avatar
 
City: Homosassa River, FL
Vessel Name: Mango Mama
Vessel Model: Krogen Manatee 36
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 114
RE: Runaway diesel?

I had a runaway starter once. I was sailing offshore on a very quiet day just trying to keep the sails filled. Suddenly the starter powered up and kept grinding. I fiddled around trying to figure out what was going on and finally stopped it by turning off the main selector switch. It turned out that I had a slight coolant leak that slowly built up a streak of corrosion products that bridged across the terminals for the starter solenoid.
GarryP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 05:14 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
City: Maine
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 109
RE: Runaway diesel?

The fuel injection pump is the greatest cause of run away engine's. Check that out before the engine "daylights", or throws a piston through the block. I saw a Cat 3306 daylight at 4200rpm. Messy and extremely destructive.
Anthonyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 05:41 AM   #10
Doc
Guru
 
Doc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 508
RE: Runaway diesel?

The older Detroits had an emergency flapper that cut off the air. Remember the little remotely mounted pull gizmos? They had to be manually re cocked in the engine room.
Doc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 08:47 AM   #11
Guru
 
rwidman's Avatar
 
City: North Charleston, SC
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,870
RE: Runaway diesel?

I have oftern worried about a runaway engine. On mine, there is a solenoid that shuts off the fuel supply. That's not what would be called a "fail safe" system.

In theory, the fuel supply can be shut off manually but I haven't been able to identify the rod or lever I would need to push and it's on the side of the engine away from the hatch opening so I would have to climb around a rotating belt and pulleys. Not really a safe option.

My plan is to remove the air cleaner and block the opening but I don't really have a plan of what to block it with. I suppose a piece of plywood with a handle should be made and kept nearby.
rwidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 09:16 AM   #12
TF Site Team/Forum Founder
 
Baker's Avatar
 
City: League City, Tx
Vessel Name: Floatsome & Jetsome
Vessel Model: Meridian 411
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,332
RE: Runaway diesel?

rwidman, I know your plan is sincere. Now add the chaos of your engine turning 5000+RPMs screaming in the engine room. Do you think you are going to have the fortitude and concentration to remove the air cleaner and block it with something.....not to mention the hazard of the engine coming apart.

Also, fuel is not always the fuel source in a runaway situation. If the engine can somehow gets it's mouth on some crank case oil, that will do the trick also....or like someone else said, propane. Diesel engines LOVE propane. Propane is to diesel engines what nitrous oxide is to gasoline engines.
My wife's company's main clientele is sportfishermen. Detroit Diesel had just repowered(or rebuilt) one of their clients boats(12V) and her boss was one of the unfortunate ones to be on board for the sea trial. One of the engines ran away due to an improperly installed injection pump. There are not many things that are gonna stop a V12 engine from it's hunger for air while turning xxxxRPMs. The engine came apart. Luckily, no one was hurt and the structure of the boat was not harmed. The Detroit people held up there end of the bargain by taking care of all of the damage and clean up. He said the engine room was black and dripping with oil. To say he was frazzled when he got back to the office is an understatement.

I bought a boat from a guy that had a small Hunter Sailboat with a one cylinder Yanmar in it. There was a low clearance bridge between his house and the bay(Bay St. Louis, Ms.). He said he was able to "Tip" his boat(ie heal it over) and get a few more inches/feet of clearance. One time the tide was a little higher so he got his whole crew on the rail and was clearing the bridge. Well the crankcase oil somehow made it into the combustion chamber due to the tilting of the engine and it ran away. In his case, a rag would work and it did.

PS...there are "tipping services" along the Okiechobee Waterway for those pesky 5xft bridges...
Baker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 10:17 AM   #13
Guru
 
Phil Fill's Avatar
 
City: Everett Wa
Vessel Name: Eagle
Vessel Model: Roughwater 58 pilot house
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,919
RE: Runaway diesel?

The 671 almost was a run a way.* The seal between the fuel pump and the oil pan/sump failed so diesel was being pump straight into the oil pan.* If the diesel/oil mixture got high enough the engine would have run away.* Lucky, I check the oil every time I start it and noticed the oil level as about 1 to 2 inch higher than it should be?* The cause was the new low and ultra low sulfur diesel does damage older seals.* When we pump out the oil there was 7 gallons instead the not normal 5 gallons.*
*
The only good news is the diesel oil mixture clearned all the gunk out of the 671.* So if you have an older engines make sure you check the oil level for low and*HIGH levels.*
Phil Fill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 10:57 AM   #14
Guru
 
bobofthenorth's Avatar
 
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
RE: Runaway diesel?

As I understand it the problem on the 2-strokes is that some particular combination of events can lead the engine to run off its own oil sump.* I've never paid enough attention to the problem to understand it fully but the concept is that the engine draws air through the crankcase and picks up enough oil in the process to sustain combustion.* That's why Detroit incorporated the shutdown flapper but it doesn't exist on all 2-strokes.* My 8-92TA in my bus for example doesn't have one and I don't understand why not - perhaps because it is turboed.* I've never paid close enough attention to see whether that is the difference but I know from hard experience that a Detroit with the flapper tripped will either not start at all or will run like **** once it does start.
bobofthenorth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 01:40 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
7tiger7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 239
RE: Runaway diesel?

What about a wood plug, cut / shaped to fit into air intake for a tight fit? I have a turbo, and would think the turbo impeller would just shred the rag once it got sucked in.
Oh and I heard that if the engine sucks in halon, it will not shut it down, but will only combust the halon, and produce toxic exhaust...
7tiger7 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 02:02 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Bendit's Avatar
 
City: Auckland
Vessel Name: Pioneer
Vessel Model: Westcoaster 53 converted to pleasure
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 323
RE: Runaway diesel?

Haven't had a runaway, but a friend had a Yanmar 3GM in his yacht and, after partying too hard one night, (loud stereo = dead batteries) had to hand-crank it in the morning. It kicked back and fired up running backwards!

Blowing the exhaust through the air filter quickly filled the boat with fumes -* we all thought it was funny as a fight!
Bendit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 02:03 PM   #17
Guru
 
Phil Fill's Avatar
 
City: Everett Wa
Vessel Name: Eagle
Vessel Model: Roughwater 58 pilot house
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,919
RE: Runaway diesel?

Engines will combust halon, and the reason most of the new boats have an automatic shut down if the halon goes off.* Our insurance required we install an automatic shut down on the gen set as boaters tend to leave the running while away from the boat. **
Phil Fill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 02:07 PM   #18
Guru
 
skipperdude's Avatar
 
City: Whittier AK
Vessel Name: Apache II
Vessel Model: 1974 Donald Jones
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,147
RE: Runaway diesel?

Funny as a fight. Now that is a new one on me.

Can I use that.

*

SD

*
skipperdude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 02:59 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Bendit's Avatar
 
City: Auckland
Vessel Name: Pioneer
Vessel Model: Westcoaster 53 converted to pleasure
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 323
RE: Runaway diesel?

You're welcome - maybe it's antipodean.....
Bendit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2011, 03:20 PM   #20
Guru
 
skipperdude's Avatar
 
City: Whittier AK
Vessel Name: Apache II
Vessel Model: 1974 Donald Jones
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,147
RE: Runaway diesel?

Are you refering to the land mass *or the artists?

SD*
skipperdude is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Ford Lehman Runaway patzfan4eva Power Systems 63 12-04-2016 11:13 AM
Diesel vs. Gas Tony B Power Systems 19 09-11-2011 05:30 AM
Diesel in Acapulco, MX Larry M Fuel Check 2 01-23-2011 06:33 AM
Diesel Fuel KJ General Discussion 30 01-10-2011 03:02 PM
Low Sulfur Diesel, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel, and Bio Diesel Phil Fill General Discussion 5 11-14-2007 07:07 PM

» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:27 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012