volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

Hi , I bought a Brand New Glastron DS205 with a Volvo Penta 5.0 l Gl Engine about 18 months ago and had it in storage in USA all this while. Got it shipped to Hong Kong recently and commissioned it 3 weeks ago.
a) Did the priming of the engine as per handbook and never revved it over 2500RPM. its done about 5 hours over 6 outings and performance was flawless till last weekend.
b) Recently engine made a shotgun type noise which we traced to the flame arrestor. Only happened when UNDER acceleration over 2000rpm. NOT in lower revs and not in Higher revs if in neutral.
c) 4 days ago we put 60 litres of clean fuel from a jerry can filled from a gas station and it did about 35 minutes after which it stalled.
d) We gave it a rest for about an hour but would not start after that.
e) Put another 30 litres of fuel and eventually started up (not sure it was only a fuel starvation issue)
and got us to the dock 20 minutes later.
f) put another 60 litres fuel the following day and opened the tank float to check it is 3/4 full. However this time she just wont start. ocassional backfire with traces of white smoke from flame arrestor after the bang noise.
g) checked fuel and spark and have both.
h) A friend suggested swapping the plugs as they are inverted in this engine and easily fouled??? Could the plugs be shoddy as it was in storage for 2 years. Anyone else have any experiences with a new engine/boat with 4 hours on it to guide me through the sequence of checks.
j) Does this type of engine have some electric cut off for fuel pump to cut out and if so under what conditions does it happen. I felt fuel pump is good but sometimes there is no fuel in the lines even with 3/4 tank full. I can only assume some safety cut off or a faulty/corroded relay.
k) Planning to drop the plugs today (we are 12 hrs ahead of USA) but would appreciate any other suggestions from more experienced Boaters on this forum.

Any other wear and tear items on an New engine that has been sitting for 2 years that I should look out for??.
Incidentally no overheating, great oil pressure, no water in engine oil, no coloured smoke from exhaust when underway buy just this niggling backfire and now a non starter. Hoping its just as simple as fouled plugs

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

Ayuh,... Sounds like it goin' Lean,... Lack of Fuel...

Have ya checked the fuel Filter for water,..??

Could be the plugs, but I doubt it...
Check the fuel Pressure....

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

will do today. does it simply involve removing the filter, draining and repriming the fuel lines. many tks

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

Replace the filter after you check it for water, don't just empty it and reinstall it or you will be putting dirt into the carb.

A friend suggested swapping the plugs as they are inverted in this engine and easily fouled???

Click to expand...

Inverted spark plugs??????? Never heard that one before, could you elaborate on how you invert a spark plug?

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

apparantely in this engine the plug has its threaded side facing up and the cable connector facing down. (not that I believe VP would make such a basic mistake in design)) . SO he thinks unburnt fuel/oil or maybe water etc settle on the base of the plug when cranking and not starting making it easier to foul than conventional setup where (plug is installed with threaded bit down and cable plugged from top.

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

veeru said:

apparantely in this engine the plug has its threaded side facing up and the cable connector facing down. (not that I believe VP would make such a basic mistake in design)) . SO he thinks unburnt fuel/oil or maybe water etc settle on the base of the plug when cranking and not starting making it easier to foul than conventional setup where (plug is installed with threaded bit down and cable plugged from top.

Click to expand...

Do us a favor, don't pay attention to your friend. You might listen to him, nod and smile, but don't go any further. He knows nothing of what he is talking about.

I would suggest you do a complete carb rebuild (properly cleaned and reassembled with new gaskets) along with new spark plugs, cap and rotor. make sure everything is set properly (including the timeing) and make sure the advance timing is per specs. It also wouldn't hurt to do a compression test too.

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

Thanks Don, removed the flame arrestor, put new plugs and still no joy. (Old plugs were filthy and charcoal black) getting spark, getting fuel in the lines prior to carb, can see the fuel squirting out of the carb like a fountain if put in fast idle and cranked.

tried the silly things as well like the emergency lanyard in case the switch inside is busted etc. One thing the mechanics did find was that one HT lead was put the wrong way even though the boat had been performing Ok till 2500RPM. MAybe this was the cause of the backfire/misfire.

VP Hong Kong have tentative agreed to see it next week and do a formal comissioning. HOPEFULLY

Re: volvo penta 5.0 l Gl Carburettor 2007 model

Problem SOLVED. I hope this helps other users of the same engine specially with Glastron Boats

Initially the Boat mechanic showed me ONE exposed plug on the HT lead and on cranking the engine it showed a spark. He convinced me to look for fuel related problems as he felt the electrics were fine. I had no joy after isolating all possibilities with fuel issues.
Today I started afresh and started with the electrics on a 1st hand basis..
When I conencted one HT cable at a time with 1 plug for various terminals of the distributor and I found the spark ERRATIC. In some positions there was NO spark. However Plug No 1 always gave a spark. So our 1st diagnosis was INCOMPLETE and MISLEADING.

Opened the Distributor cap and the inside was an absolute mess with bits of chopped PVC / black soot and copper dust.
Seems that during shipping the Engine Distributor Cap HIT THE Engine cover / transom. As a result the plate which holds the distt cap was bent on one side and the cap was sitting at an angle. The distributor rotor was askew by about 20 degrees. Something not visible from 1st look specially when the engine worked well for the 1st 4 hrs.
Since the engine was new the boat ran fine for 1st 4 hours. I Guess after 4 hours on the Engine the rotor and cap got worn out to a point of no return and eventually the rotor lock inside the spindle cracked and it was freewheeling. The alignment was so off that 2 of the terminals for the points inside have cuts 1-2 mm deep as a result of the rotor contact plate cutting through the points. Obviously the opposite end points were probably 3 mm apart and so no spark.
A simple straightening of the base plate with a new rotor and distt cap started up the boat in 1 go. Engine sounded really nice and sweet.
Thanks to all for their inputs. Looking forward to doing the next 15 hour run-in of the engine.