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Volvo Penta 4.3GL Electrical Problems

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Yankiwi

New member
I am pretty good with mechanical things but when it comes to electrical issues, I am a complete moron.

I normally keep my boat in the garage but, last week, I left it outside, uncovered, and we had torrential rain. Since bringing the boat back inside I have a (perhaps) major electrical issue.....NOTHING works - accessories, starter, lights, bilge pump, radio, blower - NOTHING. I have removed and checked the battery - it's fine. I have a battery kill switch that is turned on.

I'm guessing there some bright person on this forum who is reading this and agreeing that I am indeed a complete electrical moron.

Any suggestions will me really appreciated.
 
Thanks, Curmudgeon.........

I am sooooo useless with electrical stuff that I'm not sure where to move after the battery. Another issue is that the engine compartment is VERY TIGHT and it is difficult to get into the components. Is there a master breaker that I should be checking? I have found a relay on the front of the engine but not sure how to test that.
 
Uncovered... with or without engine box closed? Uncovered not usually a problem if engine box closed. My powerboat was in the water about 2 miles from ground zero of hurricane Sandy with the canvas intentionally off. started right up.
House battery ( a size 24 dual purpose) that fed the 500 gph bilge pump was dead, but the main start battery that fed my 2000 Gph "backup" bilge pump while low, started my 5.7L Merc. Started on third crank.
 
sandkicker said:
Uncovered... with or without engine box closed? Uncovered not usually a problem if engine box closed. My powerboat was in the water about 2 miles from ground zero of hurricane Sandy with the canvas intentionally off. started right up.
House battery ( a size 24 dual purpose) that fed the 500 gph bilge pump was dead, but the main start battery that fed my 2000 Gph "backup" bilge pump while low, started my 5.7L Merc. Started on third crank.[

Sandkicker, thanks so much for you response. The fact that your boat survived such a huge storm leads me to believe that I may actually only have a small problem. The difficulty is finding the spot where the voltage stream is broken.

I see you have plenty big posts sonibwondercif you have any suggestions on where I should start to hunt down this problem.b

I am in a real time crunch to get this sorted out and I can't afford to have my local marine center track it down for me.

Any help I can get will be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Brett, find your engine model here and see if you can find a red button Cole Hersee re-setable circuit breaker located towards the front of your engine.

It will be similar to SEQ #7 in this schematic.
20163.jpg

Try pushing the red button as to re-set it.
Often a very hard push in needed!





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Thank you........

I found the red button - pushed as hard as I possibly could but it did not reset. I tested the voltage at the terminals and got nothing. There is definitely 12V at the battery. Should I replace the [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif]Cole Hersee?




[/FONT]
 
If you see 12 vdc power at one or the other Cole Hersee circuit breaker terminals, that would indicate that 12 vdc power is available.
What you want to see, would be 12 vdc power IN and OUT of the circuit breaker.

Questions:

Which MBSS is the boat equipped with? Perko, Cole Hersee, Bluesea, Guest, etc????

When the MBSS is switched as to "select" a battery bank, is the MBSS "common" terminal becoming energized?
When the MBSS is switched as to "select" a battery bank, is the starter motor solenoid "common" terminal becoming energized?

Follow the path of the 12 vdc current from each battery bank.... to the MBSS.... through the MBSS to the "common" cable.... from there to the starter motor.... and there to the engine harness.... and then lastly to the Hull Harness.

Use the ole tried and proven P of E.... (process of elimination)
When used methodically and systematically, the P of E won't let you down.


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