turbo chargers


Divergirl

Divergirl

Member
Hi All,

Going out the Hillsboro Inlet in Lighthouse Point Florida and the turbo chargers did not kick in at all. Nothing...full throttle and nothing kicked in. Anyone ever have this experience? I have 480 hp diesel Volvo Pentas on my 41 PC. Engines seemed to be running fine but no turbo kicking in.

"tanks"
Divergirl
 
Divergirl,
I don't have diesels in my 41 pc but am pretty familiar with turbo's, nitrous oxide and superchargers since I used to race and build drag cars. So when you were headed out, did you go from easy throttle to high throttle? if so, did you get some puff of black smoke? You couldn't hear the turbo's spoiling up? Have you tried to hand-turn the turbines? If not, that's the first thing I'd do and it only takes a few seconds.

Tim
 
Hi Tim,

Yes, we did go from easy, no wake speed, to high throttle and yes, there was a puff of black smoke. I chalked that up to the fact that the oil was just changed and perhaps it was a little overfill burning off but, I will try as you suggest. Let you know what happens!

"tanks,
Divergirl
 
Divergirl said:
Hi Tim,

Yes, we did go from easy, no wake speed, to high throttle and yes, there was a puff of black smoke. I chalked that up to the fact that the oil was just changed and perhaps it was a little overfill burning off but, I will try as you suggest. Let you know what happens!

"tanks,
Divergirl
Click to expand...

Divergirl,
When you said "Nothing kicked in" I'm assuming you are referring to the whistling noise from the turbo's? If so, that whistling is dependent upon a lot of variables: barometric pressure, percentage of load, humidity, demand of fuel, and lots more since we're talking about volumetric efficiency (which is why drag racers love and hate cold weather LOL). Cold weather brings in much dense (i.e. lower altitutde/thinner) air but also sometimes you end up overpowering the ground. Anyway.... back to our scheduled program ;-)

Please tell me about the rpm range you went from and to. Obviously you started at idle but how high rpm did you go up to? Did you hear any grinding or any unusual noises? Honestly, I don't think anything is wrong but that's my $.02 :)

-Tim
 
Hi Tim,

Yes, no turbo whistling noise however, no other strange noises either. A friend was driving so I did not look at the gauges but, he had the throttles all the way forward and although the boat was moving and was in a higher gear than that of idle, it was not performing like it should...which is going really fast.

"tanks",
Divergirl
 
Gotcha. If it were my boat, I would take it out again and try to repeat the symptoms and see what you get and go from there. My have been a fluke. But I'm pointing back to the turbo's and ensuring there are no exhaust leaks/turbo leaks ...... also have someone try to turn the turbines to see if the shafts have play and that the blades are all in good shape.

Divergirl said:
Hi Tim,

Yes, no turbo whistling noise however, no other strange noises either. A friend was driving so I did not look at the gauges but, he had the throttles all the way forward and although the boat was moving and was in a higher gear than that of idle, it was not performing like it should...which is going really fast.

"tanks",
Divergirl
Click to expand...
 
Divergirl said:
Hi Blown...what if there is an exhaust leak or, a turbo leak...whatever that might be?
Click to expand...

Sorry I wasn't more explicit ---- was rushing and had limited time on the net. If you have an inlet leak (i.e. air from your turbo), the boat would NOT be getting all that extra air being produced by your turbo. However, you'd likely hear something indicating an air leak.

I really think you should have someone look at your turbo's for good measure to make sure everything is a-ok. While they are there, they can make sure all the intake/exhaust hoses are connected very well.
 
Divergirl, what model is your VP diesels (example TAMD 41)?

Also when it was going full throttle was there any smoke continually seen?
 
Yes, AllDodge...TAMD 41, I believe. And yes, there was smoke. I did just have the oil changed so I thought it might be some burn off.
 
Fresh oil change will not create black smoke..... If the service person is overfilling the crankcase of the engine, "Punch him in the head"!!! A leak in the pressurized intake will make significant Noise as the air escapes. was one engine pushing black smoke under load? or both? Not enough information from your posts to intelligently assess the issue.
 
Was wondering if the smoke kept coming during WOT, guess not.
Your motor has an Electronic Diesel Control (EDC) module which compensates for the amount of fuel being injected based on the amount of air available. As Blown mentioned it could be the turbo is not spooling up but could also be other things.

Also this is a twin engine boat but there was no mentioned if both were turning the same rpm (both having trouble), or was it just one of them?
 
Glad to see others pitching in. Still don't think we have nearly enough information to accurately troubleshoot this issue. :(
 
Hi Divergirl. The engines are Tamd 74's. You and I have the same boats. I agree with blown when he says a leak but kind of rare to be on both sides. It's also rare that the turbos would go on both sides at the same time. If the boat ran as usual then there should be no problem. If the turbos were not functioning you would see a huge decline in performance. Go out again and see what happens let us know. Thanks.
 
Are you sure the turbos did not kick in? If they did not, you would have noticed a drastic drop in power and a heavy plume of black smoke.
 
All....yes, drastic decrease in power and black smoke from both engines. The engines themselves sounded normal and were functioning but my kick butt boat was not kicking butt like usual. I turned around and went back through the inlet and took the ICW south to my destination. Did not want to be on the open ocean without the power I was used to. I did call my boat guy and he stopped by my dock Saturday and asked all the same questions you all are asking but, he needs to schedule time with me to sea trial the boat...UGH!
 
REally strange. Maybe the problem is not your turbos. It sounds like bad or low fuel supply. Therefore not reving enough to spool the turbos up. Also, did you check your oil level. Did they fill them up to the right level?
 
Yep, bottom and running gear is cleaned by a diver (not me) once per month and she is hauled every 1 to 2 years for fresh anti-fouling paint. But, I am starting to think fuel problem because a friend who is doing some work, today...on Divergirl, just texted to say the fuel filters have a lot of gunk in them AND, he just changed them in December. However, I have not had fuel delivered in 1 year...tells you how much time I have had to use my boat so, if it was bad fuel there would have been problems a while back.
 
if it was bad fuel there would have been problems a while back.
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Not necessarily, it could have just taken that long because as you said "no extra fuel for a year". The filters have a large amount of surface area and depending on use, it could take some time. Might also have some allege growing in the take. I'm sure your mechanic will advise
 
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