2003 380 Sundancer questions

[cthronson]

I am new to this list, and have a couple of questions for the experts:

1. My engines are 8.1 Horizons. The port engine was overheating, which was traced to salt buildup in the seawater side of the cooling system. In reading the owner's manual, there is a procedure for "Flushing the Power Package." I haven't done that before, and am wondering how many out there do this "after each outing" as recommended, and what the do's and don'ts are for this process.

2. The generator is a 7.0 kW, and runs fine, except when I first start up the water heater. Then the generator sputters and stutters, like it is overloaded. I turn off every other circuit, and it doesn't seem to help. If I "prewarm" the heater on shore power, it seems to be much better. I am wonder ing if there is something wrong with the water heater core to be apparently drawing so much current. If I needed to replace the water heater core, how do I get to it and how big a deal is it?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

BTW, the list looks great and it is nice to find an Internet home for my boat and I.

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

Welcome to the board. :grin:

 

[brian thomas]

I don't know what brand of generator you have but I have seen many many kohlers do that and with a fresh set of spark plugs the problem goes completely away. Give it a try, it only costs $5 and they don't last very long.

 

[osd9]

I haven't had any Overheating problems with my 8.1s so I can't offer any assistance there.....hopefully others will.....

As for the HWH/Genie issue. Does it only happen when the HWH kicks in, or is it when other large loads kick in also....like the AC units?

It doesn't make sense, to me anyway, that it would work fine if you preheat the water from shore power. My reasoning is that the HWH is either ON or OFF. No more, No less of a current draw if the water is cold or warm. Note your AC Current draw when on Shore power, and then again when on genie. There may be a loose or corroded genie connection casuing a high resistance and causing High current draw. Are you warming up the Genie sufficiently before you turn on the HWH?

If you have to change the HWH, it is a BEAR to get to if you have the electric midcabin sofa.

Oh....and welcome to CSR.....post more info on your boat and where you boat.....more folks might be able to help....

 

[ylwjacket]

I had the same exact problem on my port engine at about 80 hours. When it overheated, I burned up the exhaust hose, which was very expensive to replace.

The tech came out, and completely disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the risers, manifolds, and heat exchangers, only to still not be able to quite find the problem. I know he spent about 16 hours in the bilge, and they charged me for about 10, because they felt bad that they hadn't found the problem. He did note that there was quite a bit of rust for a new boat.

They suspected maybe a crab had crawled in and died, or something had been ingested and plugged it all up. When I called BS on that, they agreed there wasn't any good explanation.

They asked if I had been flushing the engines. I told them I had looked all over and could not find an inlet, so I figured it wasn't required.

So, I asked about that flushing mechanism. The flushing port is inaccessible, and is under the engine. There is no way to physically get to it to do that. If I remember correctly, I read that in the manual as well, and looked all over and could not find the connection. The tech finally pointed to where it would be, if I could get to it.

They said they had built in remote flushing connections on several 380's, and could do so if I wanted. Essentially, it was a couple of garden hose connections in the transom, with a drain, to connect a hose to and flush the engines. This was all connected to the flush ports on the engines.

I forget the cost, but not cheap (like $1200 maybe). They also said it was a factory option, which I had not heard of.

After all that, and about a $1000 bill for a non-fix, they decided to blame the problem on premature corrosion, and replaced all of the above under the Merc factory warranty. While they were at it, they replaced starboard as well.

After paying 1k for the non-fix, and having everything else replaced, I wasn't in the mood to pay for a remote flushing option.

For the next 2 years, it was fine.