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Volvo Penta MD22 doesnt start

Volvia

New member
Hi, new here and from Sweden, the country of Volvo :)

I have a problem with my MD22. We have only disconnected the batteries to charge them at home, and now the engine wont start. There is only a small click sound from a relay in the engine room, thats all. A pre-heating lamp glows when the key is in third position (start) but the engine and the startmotor is totally dead. The engine started perfectly the whole summer, so its very strange. Does anyone know what this can be?? The MD22 is based on a Perkins 50 as far as I understand. Its quite urgent as we have to run glycol through the cooling system due to the coming winter.

Please help :) thanks

Kind regards / Jens
 
They were charged the day before, we even tried with another battery. I received an answer from a swedish forum, and this guy told me to check for corrosion/bad connection all the way from the batteries to the startmotor/solenoid. I read that the electrical system is a bit weak on the MD22, and corrosion can sometimes be a problem.

Thanks, more tips are welcome!
 
Lets assume U have not shorted anything taking the bat out and U replaced the bat correctly.
Lets also assume U need to trouble shoot this situation so you are not stranded on the water next yr.
Using a small hammer, carefully hit the case of the starter to see if it energizes. Next tap the solenoid.
If it works, then I would remove and have it shop checked or rebuilt later. If it doesn't help, then suggest
you remove and have it rebuilt locally. Hopefully it is not jammed on the flywheel, and if it is then loosening
and hitting the case might help. Do not overlook the ground when checking the connections.
If you had time and expertise you could check the draw, etc in place, but U need this fixed fast. Good luck
 
Please do not smack your starter with a hammer. If it is a "Permanent Magnet" Starter you will damage it.
Did you load test the batteries? You said you tried another battery, was this a new battery or an old battery and why did you have to charge the batteries to begin with.
Get yourself a digital volt.ohm meter and check all the cables after you install a known good battery.
 
Thanks Chris .... agree no smacking. Note I use the words small and careful. Stuck, or dirty starters respond
well to light taps, but again lets also assume the obvious with the bat and connections which Volvia covered.
 
The engine worked great the whole summer with at least two weeks between the starts. I find it strange that when we lift the boat upon land, and took home the batteries for two weeks (to charge them fully for the winter), then the motor after that does not start. There are fuses which can blow if we by accident shorted the poles, but I don´t think we did, there should have been a spark. Regarding the load test, no we did not, will try to. I can also say that the voltmeter in the panel shows 12V before starting, and a bit over 10V when trying to start, so obviously there is something that loads down the batteries. Can be bad connections with oxide somewhere in the chain. We purchased the boat (a Saga 27) from Stockholm, where they have almost sweetwater. Now the boat is situated on the west coast with lots of salt, so the sudden change of salt-level in the climate can be a problem and a cause. I will come back with more info soon.

Thanks for now!
 
The motor is working ok again. It was a problem with corrosion on the battery poles/connection. No really oxide was seen but still it was enough for the motor not to start.

Thanks for the answers.
 
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