It has been a while since the last update and quite a bit has happened, although it happened slowly.
During May we got the casing back on the engine, gave the trailer a service (greased the jockey wheel, checked for corrosion etc), fitted the seats and got everything ready for the first outing of the year, which was to be on the 29th of May.
We launched the boat without incident and I followed along in the Bombard.
Almost immediately we had an alarm going off. We were vexed most mightily. After all our work and we have the same alarm we had before. We rafted up with me across the stern in the Bombard and lifted the hood of the engine. Temperature measurements were taken and the engine was deffo NOT overheating.
You may recall, dear reader, that in the past I mentioned the presence of two temperature sensors. One is for the cylinder head temperature which the ECU uses to measure the absolute temperature of the engine, and the other is located in the exhaust manifold and is used by the ECU to calculate rate-of-change - how fast the engine is heating up. The fault is coming from this second sensor. Empirical measurements have shown us that there is not a problem with either the temperature or the rate of change - rather that the ECU is miss-reporting something. This is most likely to be a dodgy sensor or perhaps a sketchy plug on the wiring loom.
The decision was taken to remove the sensor from the engine and tuck it under the plastic cover where the ECU is located. Quite frankly this was a “sod it” decision based on the fact that we were already out on the water, were planning on staying within the harbour and had a second boat (mine) which could provide aid if needed.
Having removed the sensor the engine ran perfectly for the rest of the day, not missing a beat.
We checked that the ECU was sending power to the pump (it was) and that the pump runs if you apply power to it (it didn’t).
High pressure fuel pump had failed. Rats.
Before anyone says “that’s what happens when you remove a sensor” I wish to point out that the fuel pump failed due to failure of a mechanical component within the pump - so nothing to do with the electronics.
We ordered a new pump from Suzuki and the next week we fitted it. This required the removal of the inlet manifold and high pressure fuel system, so it took a hour or so to do.
Good news is it all works fine now!
Last Sunday we took the boat out again. It was a glorious day. I followed along in the Bombard Aerotec (@sonny1, that was the boat you saw me in).
We went out to Old Harry rocks, cruising at an easy 15 knots, before returning and anchoring behind Brownsea Island
