Water in Fuel - Can't Drain it

[Headlee]

2015 Cutwater 28. Yesterday I got the "Water in Fuel" message and headed back to the marina. No issue. Today I read the manual for the procedures to drain the water from the primary and secondary filters. The primary filter on mine has a plug at the bottom and not the valve as shown in the manual. I put a 14mm socket on it and could not budge it. Actually started turning the entire filter in the housing. So, on to the secondary filter. I removed the connector as shown in the manual and started unscrewing the bottom plug, but it would never come out. It would just spin. So, I put the connector back on. I figured I would start the engine to see if the message came back and it didn't. Hmm? Not sure if there is water in the fuel and I can't drain it or maybe a faulty connector. I know a lot has been written on this topic, but each thread seems to be a little unique. Any thoughts or wisdom would help. Thanks.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Sorry to read of your situation, some of the fuel filters are very difficult to get off. To help those reading tell us what engine you have so we can help you get to the bottom of this.

Jim

 

[Martin610]

Changing the fuel filters isn't too bad and its a good skill to have since they can clog up on you at very inconvenient times. I would change both filters. Primary fuel filter lifts out of housing, once the top is off. There is a lifting ring. Get large water pump wrench or similar to hold filter body if necessary to remove bottom plug. Put a container underneath to catch fuel that drains out. Replace the filter.

Apparently Volvo doesn't recommend you add fuel to the filter, but I do anyway. I think adding fuel makes bleeding, priming easier.

Secondary filter spins off once you disconnect sensor wire. Pour diesel into a container. Sensor itself may need very gentle persuasion with a wrench. Its plastic, don't get too physical. Screw sensor into the new filter and spin filter onto the housing. Re-attach to filter housing. Again, I add fresh diesel fuel to new filter. After re-attaching new filter there's a a nipple that you back off when priming/bleeding. Crack that open just a bit to let air out. Put a paper towel there to catch fuel. The pump is that round black knob you see there. You will see bubbles in the fuel at first as you pump, eventually you see just fuel and you can tighten nipple back up.

A common rail engine like the D4/D6 generally starts back up pretty easily.

You might have to get a new fuel sensor if the problem persists.

There are a bunch of videos on the fuel filter changing process, I think Ranger Tugs did one this spring. Those are really more helpful than reading for most people.

Good luck.

 

[knotflying]

Many times the water in fuel is caused by additives in the fuel. It is always good to make sure there is no water. I am not familiar with the Volvo filters and their drain. However you can always remove the filter and drain the fuel into a clear jar. Let it settle for a bit. If there is water in the fuel it will show up in the jar. While you are at it and the seperator can be removed, clean it out and make sure any sediment and crud is removed. The crud and such can at times cause your issue as well.

 

[Headlee]

Oh, yes. It is the Volvo D4. It appears I'm on the right track, but may need to remove the entire primary filter and put it in a vice to crack the plug loose. I'll also check out the video on the Ranger site. Thanks, folks.

 

[dclagett]

I have had the same problem for years on my D3. I was lucky in that my filters were able to be drained easily. Except for a season were we had significant hard rain I never found water in the fuel. So after this happening many times and many discussions with VOLVO mechanics I decided on a new approach. The approach was: when I got a water in fuel alarm (which happened every time I ran the boat) I would simply shut down the engine, clear the alarm and then restart the engine to see if the alarm would come back. The alarm never came back, so rather than drain the fuel, I just continued on my way. I felt that if there was water in the fuel the alarm would come back on immediately based on my understanding on how the water in fuel sensor works

Now here is the dumb part on my account. I finally got tired of shutting the engine down in the middle of a cruise. I remover the connector from the water in fuel sensor and sprayed both the connector and sensor with CRC. In over a year I have not had a water in fuel alarm return. I am an electrical engineer and should have tried CRC after the first occurrence. I guess I should say I was an electrical engineer.

Just to make sure I would suggest that you remove/drain the filters to make sure there is no water or debris. Also you may want to add a petcock to the primary filter. I added one to mine and helps with a quick drain to look at the fuel. Don't forget to use CRC.

The season I had water in the fuel was due to very hard rains which came in the fuel vent. My fuel vent is not on a vertical surface it is about 15 degrees off vertical. I found by removing the vent tubing from the back of the vent and running water down the transom simulating a hard rain, water would come into the vent. I solved the problem by adding a clam shell over top of the fuel vent.

I hope some of this helps a very frustrating problem.

 

[tlkenyon]

On my D3, I had to replace the entire primary because I could not get the plug out, even with the resources of a machine shop. The plug on mine is stainless and the filter body is aluminum. The machinist tells me this is a bad combination as the stainless galls when made up too tight. All he could do was to drill out the stainless plug and re-tap the filter body, but there were not guaranteed that would work, given the way the filter is built. I just went ahead and replaces the entire thing. Got a replacement RACOR fitted with the brass ball valve and plug on the bottom and a vacuum gauge on the top. The machinist said SS should NEVER be threaded into aluminum in this manner. I took his word for it....

TK

 

[BB marine]

The primary filter on mine has a plug at the bottom and not the valve as shown in the manual. I put a 14mm socket on it and could not budge it.

I'm not sure why there is not a petcock installed at the drain port of the 500 series Racor. The drain plug is tight the first time it is loosed. Has this ever been drained in the past? If not I would remove the plug. You may need to remove it fro the boat and Vise mount it for removal. I did this the first time I serviced my primary filter. I then installed a Racor filter housing petcock, it makes checking for water a breeze. The secondary filter drain/ sensor will unscrew and come out. I have found it needs to be unscrewed almost all the way before it will start to drain. Have a cup under it and drain some of the fuel before removing the filter. If you don't your going to have a mess. I drain the filter via the drain plug/sensor before removing the filter just to prevent a spill. Then remove the filter. I recommend purchasing a extra filter sensor gasket and sensor. Just for an emergency.
https://www.racorstore.com/pub/media/ca ... K19492.jpg
Racor Rk 19492 U.L.Listed Drain Valve For(Ma)

Things to have onboard when you get a water in fuel alarm.

absorbant pads
fuel catch container that will fit under the filter housings
spare primary filter element with oring and gasket.
spare secondary spin on filter
spare secondary water sensor
spare water sensor gasket

Things to do to help prevent a water in fuel alarm,
Drain and inspect primary filter every 100 hour or once a season. If water is present drain and inspect the secondary filter.
If water is present in the primary I would change the primary filter element.

As far as filling the filters. With common rail electric injectors FILTER clean fuel is required.By-passing the 2 micron filter by filling the filter via a clean container is a 50/50 for contamination. The systems are self bleeding so it is not necessary like old style mechanical fuel systems. It seems intuitive that filling the filters should be done before installing but not advised.Good Luck.

 

[Headlee]

Thanks. This is all very good info, especially the SS/aluminum issue and also using CRC. I may replace the whole RACOR with one that has a drain valve. Thanks folks.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

One thing I learned early on with VOLVO fuel filters is to unscrew the bracket that holds the dipstick in place and move it out of the way....makes taking fuel filters off a lot easier. In addition take the rear/back filter off first, which makes getting the forward filter off easier.

Jim

 

[Headlee]

Happy ending today. I was finally able to break the plug free on the primary water separator filter. I had to put all of my 160 pounds into it one last time and it finally budged. I was able to drain the primary filter and other than a little bit of solids in it, the fuel looked fine. No excess of water. Then, on to the secondary filter, where I was not able to completely unscrew the sensor, but unscrewed it enough that it dripped into the jar. Again, the fuel looked pretty good. Put it all back together, bled the system, fired it up and is fine. So, I'm not sure if the message "water in fuel" was a false positive or not, but at least I worked through the process, with advice from all of you, and am that much the wiser. Thanks!

 

[Martin610]

Brian, thanks for the input on filter clean fuel. I'll do it that way going forward. In fact, one time I changed the secondary and I didn't have any diesel with me. I just pumped fuel through, it really didn't take that long.

Great forum we have here.

 

[Automaticman865]

Just ran into the same water in fuel on my CW28. Also could not budge the bolt at the bottom of the drain but a good tip was passed on to me. Siphon the fuel out of the housing into a container. At least you will get low enough to clear a space below the filter. And after letting it all settle in a jar there was no water. I got 8 years out of this sensor and Volvo got 97 dollars.

Stuart

 

[davidr]

Seems the Volvo factory really torques the fuel filter and then engine heat seals it. Roche Harbor Marine wound up removing the bracket and taking it to the shop to loosen it. I had a false positive water in fuel warning. Removing and reinstalling the sensor resolved the warning.

 

[daveme]

Sorry to hear of this problem. Last oil change I had a brass spigot put on the primary filter. Now I can drain simply any amount of fuel and/or water out of the bottom of the Racor by twisting the lever. I bought the filter off the shelf in Seattle.

 

[sgeary]

The older Racor 500 primary fuel filters used to have a clear plastic bowl at the bottom of the filter that allowed you to see any water or debris. They also had a plastic spigot at the bottom of the filter that allowed water to be quickly drained. The new yacht construction codes do not allow any plastic parts in the fuel system that could melt in a fire and release fuel. Ranger Tugs and Cutwater boats are building to these newer standards and use only metal parts on the primary filter. As an owner, you can choose to retrofit the clear bowl and/or drain spigot if you choose to.