No Start 2012 Volvo Penta 5.7Gi

[Eagle Spirit]

My engine and boat:

• 2012 Volvo Penta 5.7Gi c/w fresh water cooling
• 2012 Volvo Penta Sx Drive
• 1999 Seaswirl Striper 2300
• Single side-mount control, ignition switch (off, acc, on and start positions), kill switch and most of the dashboard electronics are original to the 1999 Striper
• Engine was installed in July 2012 and as of January 15, 2015 has run for about 300 hours.
• We live on an island that is 12miles away by ocean from the nearest vp dealer

My observations....

1. Pulled boat from water to do three below.
2. Was having some trouble with shifting into reverse ? the transmission would clunk clunk clunk
3. Engine was running.
4. Changed out fuel line from tank to fuel pump, siphoned fuel from tank (as there seemed to be a lot of water in the fuel filter/water separator ? I emptied three times), and replaced fuel line with new line from tank to fuel pump and a new filter....no start condition.
5. Checked for spark and yes there is spark.
6. Check fuel pressure at fuel pump by using a fuel pressure gauge and turning ignition switch to on position and could here pump working: low pressure side showed a psi of 15psi; at the rail (high pressure side) showed a psi of 56psi.
7. Engine cranks at the same speed as before, not any faster.
8. Seems that ignition switch is working a-ok because the fuel pump goes on like it always has, and I do see spark using a sparkplug style tool.
9. Seems like kill switch is working a-ok given that fuel pump does prime as it always has and there is spark.
10. So,
11. How to troubleshoot for:
    1. Sensors that might cause a no start condition
    2. Stop switches that might cause no start condition like an interrupt switch or such
    3. How to isolate engine in order to start and see it run
    4. Other....

Thanks in advance for any help.......

 

[Fun Times]

Hi there, welcome to iboats!

The low pressure fuel pump spec seems a bit too high at 15 psi as the specs are normally around 8 PSI +/- 4 PSI). The high pressure spec should be between 50 - 60 PSI.

In your testing's, you'll want to try pulling a few spark plugs to ensure they are not fuel soaked causing a no start.

 

[Eagle Spirit]

Thanks for your idea.
I think I will pull some plugs. I am also thinking that even though I saw spark, it may be to weak or not as rapid fire as it should be?????? Also, do you think that the plugs would become un-fuel fouled if left to sit for a couple of days?

 

[Fun Times]

Thanks for your idea.
I think I will pull some plugs. I am also thinking that even though I saw spark, it may be to weak or not as rapid fire as it should be??????

Yes it's a possibility. Also check that your RPM gauge is moving up to around 350-400 RPM during cranking.

Also, do you think that the plugs would become un-fuel fouled if left to sit for a couple of days?

Yes they could provided the injectors aren't allowing excessive fuel to flow through should you really have high fuel pressure even at cranking speed.

Please keep in mind that these are just theories as it could be a number of other things not allowing it to start.

Maybe take a video of it cranking over. Also during crank, try opening the throttle about 1/4 way to give the engine some extra air as you could have an idle air control problem as well.

Good luck.

 

[Eagle Spirit]

Troubleshooting sure seems about working through theories based on the experience of others, so thanks! I have a seloc manual for an older vp5.7 and it simply states that if the low pressure fuel pump is not operating at between 4-8psi then I should simply replace. WOW, at $800.00 for a new unit, and given other comments I have read about the VP fuel pump system I am looking to make sure that the low pressure side of this fuel pump is the reason for my no-start. So, once again thanks for the help. Any theories on what causes the low pressure side to develop a high pressure reading as noted? Thanks in advance.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

I dont know how much you cleared the fuel system from water contamination, but i can tell you with a clean fuel supply and a totally purged system it took almost ten minutes for my 4.3 to clear up and run decent. You totally drained the tank and did a visual check.....just small amount's of water will stop a efi system from working and you had a lot from the looks of thing's. Was this water seawater by chance?

There us a product called heet it will aid water clean up if there is still trace amounts.

 

[Eagle Spirit]

Hey thanks. I cannot say for sure that the fuel that made it through the water/fuel separator was clear of water, but the engine was running before I messed with what was working LOL. I am using a brand new portable boat tank with a hand primer in order to confirm that my fuel pump, and filter are getting clean fuel from the tank.

 

[Eagle Spirit]

Thanks to all who have contributed, as a follow-up, I pulled my controls to see if the neural safety switch was defective as I was getting cranking in fwd, neutral rev gear. Someone before had bypassed the switch, so I rewired and all works as it should. I have replaced the plugs as they were two years old, but still no start. Could the shift cutout switch (shift interrupter switch) be causing this no start condition? If not, then either I am not getting air, enough spark, or compression as my VP connection confirms that my fuel pressure at the low and rail side are within spec. Any thoughts????? Thanks in advance.

 

[Thalasso]

Thanks to all who have contributed, as a follow-up, I pulled my controls to see if the neural safety switch was defective as I was getting cranking in fwd, neutral rev gear. Someone before had bypassed the switch, so I rewired and all works as it should. I have replaced the plugs as they were two years old, but still no start. Could the shift cutout switch (shift interrupter switch) be causing this no start condition? If not, then either I am not getting air, enough spark, or compression as my VP connection confirms that my fuel pressure at the low and rail side are within spec. Any thoughts????? Thanks in advance.

Sure will. Should start if it's bypassed.

 

[bruceb58]

Since your engine doesn't have a shift cut out switch, it is not your problem.

 

[Eagle Spirit]

RESOLVED......Thanks to all for your help! The solution was the rotor and the distributor cap. The contacts inside the cap were corroded like how a battery gets, contacts all looked good after I cleaned them: light sanding, wd40, hair dryer for drying. Put everything back on and it works good. I am however just waiting to install new ones: cap and rotor for $172.00cdn. One clue that took me forever to confirm, was the quality of the spark and how rapid it was firing: not blue and once every second.

So my new "expert" advise for any who want to hear: yank the cap first if you have a no-start and do a visual inspection, takes only minutes.