1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

[bobcinct]

Hi,

Yesterday I was cruising along at about 20 knots, and accidenty pulled the lanyard out of the safety kill switch. The engine shut down, and couldn't be restarted, even after a 1/2 hr wait, and a jump from sea tow.

I got the boat home, recharged the battery, and it still won't start. The engine turns, but it won't fire. I checked the spark at the input to the distributor, and it has spark, as does one spark plug cable that I checked. I checked them by attaching a spark plug to the wire, connecting the ground to the engines ground, and looking for a spark.

I replaced the fuel filter because it was due anyway, and it still didn't start up. I had some fogging oil, and sprayed it directly into the carburator, and it still doesn't turn over. I don't know if starting fluid would have been better?

Engine details: 1998 Volvo-Penta I/O, V8, 350ci/ 250hp on a 20' four winns horizon.
The distributor is the BID type.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[akwalker]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

I think I'd ring out the kill switch to make sure its working like it oughta, and didn't sustain any damage.

 

[thrasher]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

I would be 99% sure it's the kill switch. The engine worked fine before you pulled the kill switch.
Try measuring the two contacts on the back of the kill switch with a multimeter, you should have a big difference in resistance when the lanyard is attatched and when it isn't. Unfortunately I don't know if a kill switch has no resistance when the lanyard is on the switch or if it has zero resistance when the lanyard is missing from the switch. Just check that the kill switch behaves as a switch, ie closed circuit, open circuit with/without lanyard.

I think you will find you are either not replacing the lanyard correctly or the switch has gone bad from lack of use..
If it's like my kill switch, you pull the middle part of the switch out, and slide the lanyard clip underneath, preventing the middle part from going back down.

Gary

 

[180shabah]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

I don't know VP's, but if he is getting spark wouldn't that eliminate the kill switch?

 

[180shabah]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

? for OP

You have checked for spark, but have you verified that you have fuel at the carb?

 

[Don S]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

From 20 mph, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if a little water didn't get into the cylinders. Not enought to hydrolock the engine, just enough to keep the plugs wet.
Pull all the plugs, crank it over a bit and make sure the water is out of the cylinders. Dry the plugs (if they are wet) and try it again.
I've had several engines (not all Volvo) get water in them and not start untill the plugs were either replaced or drived off good. A propane torch will dry the plugs (Don't cook them, just dry them).

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

I believe the kill switch is operating ok, if I pull the lanyard I don't have any
power to the instrument panel or anything. As to fuel, I'll try try carb cleaner or starting fluid, I can't really see inside the carb well enough to verify fuel is getting in there, but I am sure the fuel/water separator refills after emtying.

I'll try Don's idea next, hopefully water getting in there can't cause more severe engine problems.

Thanks everyone.....
ugh, it's raining out this morning!

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

As to fuel, I'll try try carb cleaner or starting fluid, I can't really see inside the carb well enough to verify fuel is getting in there,

Nix the Starting Fluid,+ LOOK'n SEE if there's gas present in the Carb.......

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Bond-o
I'll look in the carburator, as soon as the rain stops. Maybe i'll be able to see inside better today since its quite cloudy out. Based on what happened, do you know of something that could cause a fuel problem? ( remember the problem started as a result of the kill switch being activated with the boat running at about 20 knots).

Bob

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Bond-o
I'll look in the carburator, as soon as the rain stops. Maybe i'll be able to see inside better today since its quite cloudy out. Based on what happened, do you know of something that could cause a fuel problem? ( remember the problem started as a result of the kill switch being activated with the boat running at about 20 knots).

Bob

A word to the wise.....
Don't let your engine sit there with water in it if that is the case & it very well may be as Don S suggests.....
A shutdown at 20 mph is a real good way to ingest water in your cylinders....
My advice is to go get wet & at least pull the plugs & spin the engine.....
I doubt you will want to trash your engine 'cuz ya didn't feel like getting wet.....

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

You guys are great, hands down. I really appreciate you taking the time to read these posts and give your replys.

Unfortunately there is water in the cylenders. The 4 plugs on the port side were a little wet, but the 3rd plug back on the starboard side had milky water run out when I removed the plug. The last one back had some water in it too.

I ran the engine thru a number of revolutions until I didn't see much water vapor/mist coming out. Should I just install new spark plugs and try to fire her up now? The plugs are due, the gap was about .030" greater than it is supposed to be, they should be .035".

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Don S]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Dry them off and get it running. May take a couple of times, but it should go.
Yes, you should have new plugs, but, close the gap on your present plugs to get it running.

How long has it been since you gave it a full tuneup????

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Don,

I cleaned, regapped, and dried the plugs, and after a few tries, she's purring like a kitten. I ran it for a few minutes with the earmuffs on, as its not good to run it too long that way. I was wondering if I should spray some fogging oil in the carb to lubricate and maybe remove any residual water in the cylinders? Could any damage have occured inside the engine due to the water being in there for two days?

I have owned the boat for 4 years, but have not done any tune ups to date. The previous owner said he had the boat fully maintained at the dealer were he bought it, so I assumed everything was pretty current. He wasn't a do it yourself type. I have replaced most of the hoses, the alternator, raw water pump, thermostat, trim tilt relay, all the fuses, all the belts, battery, etc. I have done more repairs to this I/O in 4 yrs than I did to my previous outboard motor (100hp Johnson) which I owned for 20 yrs! Needless to say my next boat will have an outboard engine!

The hours I've put on it are ridiculously low, I've used the boat 4 times this year, and about the same last year due to an injury my wife had. ( no, I didn't do it!) Thats why I haven't done a " tune up". I will do the plugs soon, should I run it in the water for a while first with the old plugs?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Bob C.

 

[Don S]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

I ran it for a few minutes with the earmuffs on, as its not good to run it too long that way.

You could run it for hours that way, it doesn't hurt anything.

Fogging oil won't hurt anything, but just running it will burn off any lingering moisture in the cylinders. I would also suggest you run it, warm up the oil and change the oil and filter incase any of the water seeped thru the rings and into the oil.

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Don,

You were right on again, I drained the oil and there was definitely water in the oil, it looked like chocolate milk. I changed the oil, ran the engine until warm and rechecked the oil level. I didn't see any signs of water on the dip stick.
Would you advise running the boat for a while, say a day or two on the water, and then replace the oil and filter again? I'm sure you can't drain it all out thru the dip stick tube, there must still be some water in there.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Don S]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Just to get this going in the right direction. A lot of milky oil did not happen because of your pulling the lanyard. You may have gotten some water in the cylinders and it may have gotten into the oil. But it wouldn't become milky till you ran if for a while. And by your discription you couldn't start it but you found milky oil.
I'm afraid you have other problems besides a little water in the cylinders from the lanyard pull. I could be wrong.
I would change the oil and filter. Use a couple of quarts of diesel fuel instead of oil and run the engine at idle for about 10 minutes. Change the oil and filter again. Then use new oil and filter. Run it for another 10 minutes and see what the oil looks like if it looks good, go for a test run. Make sure you know where the actual oil level is on the dipstick and go for a run and see what it does. If the oil level increases, you have a problem.

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Don,

I wasn't able to log in to iboats yesterday, I think the system was down.
Before I got your last post, I changed the oil and filter and ran it for about 10 minutes. Then saturday night I saw your last email. So Sunday morning I went out and ran it again in the yard for about 10 minutes. The oil on the dip stick looks clean, no sign of water mixing in with it. I don't know if this is evidence enough. I'm wondering if I should change the oil again, or take it to the lake for a 15 minute run, what do you think? Also forgot to mention that there was not a big difference in the ammount of oil I drained from what I would normally expect, about 6 qts.

 

[Don S]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Take it out and run it. Run it for a bit, stop and check the oil. Do this a few times and see how it looks. That's about all you can do unless you want to start doing pressure checks on the cooling system and maybe some leakdown tests.

 

[bobcinct]

Re: 1998 Volvo-Penta engine won't start after the kill switch was activated

Don,

I took the boat out today and ran it for about an hour, in 10 minute increments. I checked the oil after each run, and it looked good, no sign of water and no increase in volume on the dipstick. I took it home and replaced the oil and filter again while the engine was good and hot. I hope this will be the end to this problem! I'll change the oil again in a few weeks when I winterize it. Thanks agin for your help, greatly appreciated. I have a guy coming over to service the lower unit this week, lube the universal and check the alignment, a requirement on the Volvo penta's every few years, or less.

Take care,

Bob