Shortly after Phil the engineer from Oxley marine arrived saying he had just received the job from RCR.... So the engineer just finishing was a little fib maybe....anyhow he had about thirty belts with him and after a little trial and error he found and fitted a nice new fan belt. £10 yep was charged, The belt from Halfords was just over £3.
We ran the engine for a couple of minutes an all was well so Phil set off, just as he was walking out of sight the charging alarm went off again. I gave him a blast on the air horn and he returned. Another cup of tea and a good fettle around the alternator Phil found a broken earth wire. I broke out my crimping set and he set to.... Sorted, charging then he left, when he was jut out of sight the alarm went off again so he was recalled with the air horn. He diagnosed a faulty rectifier and we agreed we would cruise on to Oxley marine near Autherly junction for him to remove the alternator and take it to be tested. He disconnected the alarm and off he went and we followed.
A dog rescue at Compton lock.... followed, that is a story, and we arrived at Oxley about 3pm. Phil set to and removed the alternator and set off to Wolverhampton to get it checked.
That is Phil's little 100 year old boat
The water here is very clear, due to being fed lots of nitrates from the two water works and there are lads of large carp..
An hour later he brought back a new alternator as he advised the old one was not charging properly. He kindly replaced all the connectors with new crimped ones and refitted it. We started up and all was well. We left it for a while and just as Phil came to collect his tools the charging alarm went of again! He was very resolute and declared he liked a challenge. He pulled wiring loomed and the alarm silenced.....a broken wire maybe? After about another hour he found a wire that had worn through the insulation and was shorting on the engine block. It must has been heating up just enough to expand and touch the block. A excellent find ..
He made good and ran the engine again and all was well. We exchanged thanks and set off for a late evening cruise to Coven for food and beer. An interesting day. The upside is RCR now have a parts included policy, they charge accordingly of course, but we got a new alternator and a good check on the wiring.
All in all an interesting but frustrating day. Just goes to show you can just assume you will make progress. Top marks to Phil from Oxley marine, I can't recommend him highly enough, he stuck at it where others would have given up.
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5 comments:
But did you need a new alternator if the problem was a shorting cable?
The engineer took it away to be tested and came back with a new one - he advised there was a fault, not sure if the shorting wire damaged the alternator. I think it was the wire that took the signal to the rev counter.
Glad you finally got it fixed, sounds like it was a bit of an epic!
Glad RCR came through as a member you often wonder if they would come good when you need them hope you have a trouble free trip from now on
Norwyn
Nb shell bell
sorry to see you have had some trouble. Thanks for following my blog! Also thanks for offer of grass cutting. I have been on to BW about it but as usual - no reply!
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