Sail Drive Moisture

[No Worries]

All

I am in the north east not that it should make a difference but last night in the dark, wet and cold rain I ventured out to the marina to check on my R21-EC. Once out there I found that my house battery had drained as I did not have the shore power plugged in all the way. No Worries - I plugged her in and the battery is charged again, etc. No harm done and the battery checks out ok.

However I started up my Yanmar 30 HP to do some operational checks and my Sail Drive alarm stayed on but extremely faint in both the brightness and level of sound produced. I attributed this to condensation and after letting the engine come up to temp, the light on the control panel slowly diminished and went away and the sound level of the alarm also diminished and went away. Neither were very bright or loud to begin with.

The questions of the day are; Is this something that I can expect to see ocassionally ? Do I have a Sail Drive seal problem or am I correct to assume this may just be condensation ? Our temperatures have been fluctuating by up to 30 degrees here recently between morning low and daytime highs along with alot of moisture in the air. And of course my boat sits in what... WATER !!! 🙂 Just curious. What say you Andrew at Ranger ? :?:

 

[rt11002003]

No Worries,

We don't have a saildrive on our R-21 ECs. Since that engine panel is located to my right side and behind me I don't get to see it much; can't remember what warning devices we have. Wonder what the saildrive warning is?

Gene

 

[rt11002003]

I went to the Yanmar website and took a look at the engine panel. It shows the saildrive warning device.

I assume the wiring harness includes the saildrive alarm components; I've noticed a couple of unattached wires on the harness. Probably it's a moisture/temperature change issue, as you were saying. I'll bet the alarms went away as the engine warmed up.

Since we don't have the saildrive with our engines, you surely can't have a problem with it.

Gene

 

[SlackwaterJack]

A sail drive is sorta like an outdrive that is mounted on the bottom of a sail boat. It has a resemblance to what it would look like if someone dropped an outboard motor through the bottom of the boat.
basically the diesel engine is coupled to a transmission that has the output shaft at 90 deg. and goes through the bottom of the boat. the big hole in the bottom has a large seal that is prone to leaking and is almost impossible to inspect. a moisture sensor is therefore placed in the seal to warn that there is a leak and that you should do something sooner rather than later.
because the panel is universal there is a buzzer for this sensor in the panel but the harness doesn't connect to the non-existant saildrive. the open connector is probably bridged by sone condensation/frost and that is where the warning came from...find the empty plug dry it out and fill contacts with silcone.

 

[No Worries]

Thanks everyone,

That does make me feel better for sure. I whipped out my engine manual and it showed which lights went with which alarms last night and the manual interchanges the Marine Gear with the Sail Drive as far as generic alarms and mechanical's go.

I went out to No Worries again today and ran her up with the same results. After about 5 - 7 minutes at about 1500 - 2000 RPM the light and alarm went away.

I am going to assume that the connector giving the false alarm is in the engine box somewhere because that is the only place getting heat from the engine so I'll go out tomorrow and try to isolate the connector needing to be dried and siliconed.

Thanks again good people.

Carl N.

 

[rt11002003]

Carl,

Look on the right (starboard) side of the engine above the oil filter. I seem to recall an empty plug on the harness around that area. Could be what you're looking for.

Gene

 

[No Worries]

Thanks all for the fantastic information and Gene for your great memory and the thoughtfulness shown in answering me on this topic.

I went to No Worries today and found the unused connector for the nonexistent Sail Drive Seal sensor. :mrgreen:

It was nicely wire tied against the wiring harness so slack wire would not be problematic. It is located aft of the engine and almost dead center atop the Marine Gear housing.

While I did not have time today to silicone it I will make it a point some evening this week.

Warm regards and sincere thanks,

Carl

 

[Levitation]

Carl,
You could simply try giving that connector a squirt of WD40 - which is the problem for which WD40 was created (it is not a lubricant, folks)

denny-o

 

[No Worries]

Thanks Denny-O

That is exactly what I did on my way home last night. Bought a can 🙂 WD-40 is my friend. 🙂

 

[rt11002003]

Carl,

I had TUGLET out for a couple of hours yesterday. As I was leaving my sailing club I met Richard in his R-25, NIXE. We chatted for a while and then went our separate ways. He's got his boat on a hydrohoist just across the bay from where we live and where my sailing club is located. I'd seen that beautiful green R-25 around for several months and this was my first chance to talk with him and find out we're practically neighbors, live less than a half mile apart.

I specifically checked my boat to see if the sail drive moisture alarm was doing anything. We've been having variable weather, temp, water and sunshine. I had nothing on my alarm.

WD-40 is a miracle product. I must have 5 or 6 cans around the garage. I think they're breeding. 🙂 I wonder why I thought WD-40 was developed to clean the AR15, AR16 and M16? :?

Gene

 

[No Worries]

That is too funny Gene 🙂

I have a can in my truck, 2 in the garage, 1 in the shed, 1 on my workbench in my basement and of course the newest member to my little clan of can's :lol: is the one I bought for No Worries. hmmmmmm... a stock purchase may be in order eh' :mrgreen: