Fire the parts canon, sink diagnostics!

"I have changed, X,Y,Z, spent thousands and it still doesn't run right" , this is a common thread on many forums and it doesn't seem unique to boats. Look on social media, there are a lot of videos with the opening words "this engine/gearbox/electronic device comes to us from a customer who spent "X" at another workshop", I know sometimes its for views, but, a lot of it is quite true, there is a distinct lack of diagnostics, too much just fitting parts and hope the issue is resolved.

 Why does this happen?;

• The most common failed part is (insert part here) for that problem, so said part is changed and the problem persists, so more parts are changed to try and solve the problem.

• Lack of experience, perhaps a problem not encountered before or something a bit out of the ordinary, this is why we need experienced technicians who have had more than their share of strange repairs to show how to perform diagnostics.

• Time & money, rarely do odd issues crop up at convenient times, they tend to happen right in the middle of when the yard is at its busiest, parts suppliers are closed and, technicians and companies simply cannot keep going, trying tests, fitting and removing parts, the invoices just keep getting larger. 

Lack of forethought

Boatbuilders, boatowners and technicians at some point have all been guilty of this. Boatbuilders do not think enough about how certain parts of the boat or certain components will be able to be serviced or reached, they are not entirely to blame, consumer demand for more "stuff" in the same size package forces compromises.

Two prime examples of boatbuilders being lazy or boat designers not having a clue about the poor tech who has to wedge themselves into spaces and shapes that would make the contortionists of the Cirque De Solei proud, starter motors and bilge pumps.

Starter motors

They get replaced, they have a hard life in the bowels of the bilge, there are many times and, I'm not joking, it is easier, cheaper and faster to pull the engine out of the boat than to try and change the starter in situ. This tends to affect sterndrive motors more than anything, the boatbuilder has shoehorned in a Goliath of a motor into a space with barely any room, the poor tech simply cannot fit or, has to take so much of the boat and parts off the engine to gain access, that it is more prudent just to pull the motor. Whilst the motor is out it gives us a good chance to look at the sump (oil pan) and anything else that is normally inaccessible. It can sometimes be difficult, the customer needed a new starter motor, now has the motor out of the boat and is being recommended to change all sorts of other things in the process, it can look like that their bill is being run up.

Bilge pumps

Mission critical, but too often fitted where they are difficult to test or clean, often they same boats with the engines that barely fit,  Bilge pumps, the unsung hero of your boat. I have seen bilge pumps installed under motors in such a way that I can only imagine they were fitted before the motor because, if (and its a big if sometimes), you can release the pump from its base, there is not enough height to lift it clear, it hits the oil pan, good think that!

Boatowners, fix the current problem only, no other work to check out anything else other than fixing the problem at hand. If you are meticulous about maintenance perhaps this is understandable but if future problems can be avoided by a little work whilst the tech or boatowner is in there fixing something it makes sense.

My confession

I must ´fess up & spill the beans, I too have been guilty of getting carried away, only recently in fact. A hugely complicated boat, with many electronic modules that controlled all sorts of things that don´t really need electronic autonomy (that's a story for another post). There were emails back and forth to the manufacturer, umpteen sea trials, data logging, network checks, lots of time, in the end, the huge multi pin plug that had been inspected already was loose, I could not believe it, all it needed was pushing home a couple more millimeters and all was good. Got fooled into thinking it was fully home because the security screws were in place, they just were not tight enough to pull the plug into its socket.

When you hear hoof beats you think horses not zebras

It is easy to get carried away, its also easy to spend a lot of money of unnecessary parts and still be no further. It is easy to assume its always the same problem part, even after simple diagnostics.

There are a lot of videos online to help, they are of particular use to those who maintain and fix their own machines. One thing I would advise is rather than search for "how to change...….", look for "how to diagnose...…" By keeping the parts canon firmly in check you can save yourself a lot of money and time, also, it is incredibly rewarding to resolve an issue, especially when it turns out to be something simple.

Also, be aware of "professionals", let me explain, if you feel you are being ripped off or when you hear phrases such as "we´re just going to change these parts", or when you call them they throw all sorts of hypothesizes around without even seeing the problem, also, if they do not bombard you with questions, be suspicious, there will be times where the more experienced techs will say they are unable to help you, the really good ones will point you in the direction of someone who can.

Common diagnostics

Fuel pressure, very common on inboard and sterndrive gasoline motors, both at idle or keyswitch on and when testing the boat at sea, it can tell a technician much about what is or, just as importantly, what is not happening with fuel pumps, which are expensive to replace.

Fuel filters, both diesel and gas motors have fuel filtration, a simple test is to take a look at the fuel filters and often empty the contents out into a jar to see what they look like. Fuel filtration is critical to diesel function. Contaminated or old and stale gasoline is another reason for people replacing lots of parts before diagnosis of poor fuel.

Batteries, the number of problems caused by bad batteries or poor terminals is unreal, modern motors are sensitive to voltage, many problems that are declared as faulty sensors or calibration really have their origin in the batteries. Load tests, properly charging the batteries and ensuring all the terminals are clean and tight is easy.

Software updates, this is more and more common, the absolute first thing to check with modern engines is if there are any software updates available and install them, it will most likely require a dealer with the official program to do this. A lot of times, dealers receive circulars from manufacturers informing them of new updates available to cure various issues, some in fact can be recalls, this means that rather than just curing a problem, a recall has legal implications and usually relates to safety.

Scanning, the reluctance of some people to get a scan done, there will be a future post about what a diagnostic computer can and cannot do, but, especially with more modern motors and equipment, the very first thing is connect the diagnostic computer and perform a scan. The number of posts on forums where the first piece of advice is "get a scan" and still people don´t. What do you think the first thing most dealers will do, plug in the computer.

Continuity, amperage and voltage drop, a lot of which can be tested by someone with a simple digital multi meter, something electrical not working? Check he fuse and make sure said item is actually getting electricity to it and how much. With a little practice, this diagnostic test can tell you much more than you can imagine, the difficult part is getting to the cables to test them on some boats.

Sea trial, I am very lucky, I have sea trialed and get to sea trial a lot of boats, this is hugely important, someone who knows how a boat is meant to perform, sound, feel, can listen to the motor, not necessarily a boat captain or operator but someone with a lot of experience, an expert user if you will, we know how things work and more importantly, how they should work. I would not like to say how many issues have been fixed just by going for a sea trial, finding there is nothing wrong, operator error or lack of experience, its better to show someone how it works and how it should function than to chastise them for their errors.

These are just a few examples, compression, spark tests, alignments, listening with a mechanics stethoscope, are all common diagnostic tests, a savvy tech does not like to jump to conclusions and the diagnostic time may well cost more than any items replaced, but, it can keep the ball in the parts canon rather than lighting the fuse!

Conclusion

Diagnostics, that is the key, not just throwing parts and money away, most of us cannot afford to do that, we need to check and double check before replacement. Forums can be useful, so can social media groups, but again, often people read half the post or question and launch into all the parts to replace rather than check, perhaps they mean to check as its a common problem.

Seasoned pros, you can spot them, they will not jump to conclusions right away, they will probably have a very good idea but are reluctant to commit until they have diagnosed and checked, even though they know they're right, they're experienced enough to know strange things happen, especially on boats. Please do not be the boat owner who fires the parts canon liberally, be a smarter boater and, also, do not let yourself become the receiver of a parts canon looking invoice until it is very clear as to why all the parts were changed.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to follow me on social media.