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Iveco marine diesel electrical problem

iain crosbie

New member
I have an Iveco 4 cyl diesel engine driving a generator in my boat. This was fitted new about 5 years ago and it has proved to be (almost) reliable, very noisy and comes with an appalling paint job- almost all the original red paint has peeled off: obviously the motor wasn't cleaned or primed properly at the factory. As someone else on this forum has pointed out, the handbook is completely useless. There is a page of information telling you to be sure to change the anodes regularly, but it doesn't tell you where they are, and even the dealer doesn't know!
Now to the main problem- there is an alarm module (small black box) mounted behind the instrument panel, and this has failed in spectacular fashion 7 times for 1688 hours run. When it fails, always on start-up, it bursts into flames- fortunately it is in a position where I can see it and deal with it. You can then unplug it and start the engine, but without the automatic shut-down facility working. When the engine was supplied new it was supposed to have been 24 volt, but before it was despatched the dealer discovered it was 12 volt, and changed the starter and alternator etc. The yard that fitted the engine then damaged the wiring loom, but made up a new one by their fully qualified auto and marine electrician (now doing RNLI work, and used to make looms etc in a Volvo truck plant). Naturally Iveco said it was a faulty loom, so the yard bought a new one and fitted that, but no difference. On the next failure I got in an independent marine electrician to check everything and no fault was found.
I have e-mailed Iveco through their "contact us" address on a website, but they have not bothered to respond, so be warned if you are thinking about installing an Iveco motor- don't expect quality goods or service! Quite different from my good old Gardner 8L3B main engines, now in their 45th year, running like sewing machines, sipping fuel and almost silent.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has experienced this problem, as my dealer tells me I am the only one who suffers from it (but he always seems to carry a stock of the replacements!). What I think is really poor is the way this thing fails in a dangerous manner, surely it should be designed to fail safe?
 
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