Is There a Diesel Mechanic in the Audience?

[Nordicthug]

There are very few things I cannot build or repair as regards wooden boats up to and including Power Scows. (At least I could when I was younger, stronger, and didn't have so many problems associated with advancing age and arthritis. \Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine !)

That said, my ignorance of things diesel is encylopedic. I have recently purchased a 30' Garden designed sport fisherman of 1948 vintage. While there are some issues of deferred repairs, the hull and house are basically sound.

The reason I post is I need a good diesel man to help me get the engine sorted out and started. I also need some instruction in the care and feeding of a Perkins 6-354.

A further note. My boat was one of those practically free craigslist boats we see from time to time and only set me back $1500.00. Bargains, you see, can be had. An even better deal if I can get the (^&%###*&) engine started and running.

Who do you in the Greater Puget Sound area know of who meets the need?

Gerry N.

[Ron Carter]

No help on the mechanic. Was just thinking sometimes free is too expensive. Was given a boat trailer a couple of years ago. By the time I got it into reliable shape I was within $50 of the cost of the same trailer new and out all of the labor involved. Hope you fare better with the boat. For what it's worth, the Perkins 6-354 was at one time the most common diesel engine in the world. Someone should be able to help you.

[Nordicthug]

I agree that free can be expensive. BUT. I have over thirty five years of professional experience in wood boat construction and repair. So no secrets for me to find the hard way. I have also long since passed the starry eyed "I can save this lovely old hulk, I just know I can" stage.

The price I paid reflected the fact that while the engine looks good, it wouldn't start.

I just need a good diesel guy to help me out.

If the engine proves incorrigible, I have options, as funding is not an insurmountable problem.

Gerry N.

[redbopeep]

Having been raised by a diesel mechanic dad to fix any engine I own myself (he didn't trust a soul to work on his stuff), I can tell you that trouble-shooting isn't that bad and working on diesels is easier than working on your car engine.

You probably want to do a couple things to make life easier--buy a good book on diesel marine engines--Nigel Caulder has a basic one out there that's pretty good.

If you want a forum where there's good info about diesel engines go to boatdiesel.com. You can read for free but have to pay a membership fee (min about $30/year as I recall) to ask questions. Responses are good if you do decide to pay for a membership.

I know nothing at all about YOUR engine...the following is just what comes to mind quickly

Assuming your electrical system suits you fine and that you're getting the impression the generator or alternator is doing its job and assuming the fuel is bad, the injectors and fuel system need cleaning and flushing---

Before flushing injectors or bothering with getting new ones, see if you can move the pistons by using a socket on the bolt through the flywheel--if the engine is locked up, you won't be able to turn it over manually with this method. If it turns manually, then its worth moving onto the fuel system...assuming gravity feed but that lines are likely to be clogged up with gunk. You don't want that gunk in your engine. Also, assume raw water cooling with some sort of water lift? You don't want to be trying to start the engine again and again without knowing what you're doing with the raw water pump--you can end up with water in the engine if you don't have the ability to drain the water from the exhaust. Well, get a copy of Calder's book on mech/elect or the one on diesel engines and then you'll be set to trouble shoot on your own.

Probably none too helpful, but...
Best of luck to you!

[donald branscom]

I have been a mechanic most of my life.

Here is what i would do.
First i would see if there are ANY previous records.
Then If there is a engine hour meter you need to start a little book and write this history down because time is money and any decent mechanic is going to need to know this information to help you without wasting time. Find out how long it was sitting if possible.

NEXT uncover the engine and if it is filthy, start cleaning it up.
a rag and some engine cleaner etc,.etc. Get it clean so when it does start you will be able to see any leaks.
Also when any mechanic comes to see the boat HE will not spend time trying to clean something to check up on it, NO mechanic wants to come see a filthy engine.

Now the next part is to make sure to replace any fuel filters so if it does start up it will not ingest water, or dirt or old fuel and foul the injectors. Let the mechanic bleed/drain any fuel lines.

The next thing is to make sure the batteries are charged up and in good order so when a mechanic comes to see it his time will not be wasted while trying to charge batteries.

Make sure the exhaust is not clogged up.
Make sure it has new air filters.

Drain the oil and put in fresh oil. You do not want to pay a mechanic to change oil if you do not have to.

When all that is done it is time to hit the start button and see if it will turn over. BUT ONLY AFTER YOU OR THE MECHANIC HAVE DRAINED THE OLD FUEL FROM THE LINES.

OK it turns over but don't run down the batteries just a little turning over. OR WAIT UNTILL THE MECHANIC IS READY TO TURN IT OVER.
Let the mechanic investigate fresh water cooling or antifreeze and anodes.

NOw is the time to call the mechanic over and tell him what you have done, and the history that you could find out. You will have saved yourself a LOT OF MONEY.

[redbopeep]

I have been a mechanic most of my life.

Here is what i would do.
First i would see if there are ANY previous records.
Then If there is a engine hour meter you need to start a little book and write this history down because time is money and any decent mechanic is going to need to know this information to help you without wasting time. Find out how long it was sitting if possible.

NEXT uncover the engine and if it is filthy, start cleaning it up.
a rag and some engine cleaner etc,.etc. Get it clean so when it does start you will be able to see any leaks.
Also when any mechanic comes to see the boat HE will not spend time trying to clean something to check up on it, NO mechanic wants to come see a filthy engine.

Now the next part is to make sure to replace any fuel filters so if it does start up it will not ingest water, or dirt or old fuel and foul the injectors. Let the mechanic bleed/drain any fuel lines.

The next thing is to make sure the batteries are charged up and in good order so when a mechanic comes to see it his time will not be wasted while trying to charge batteries.

Make sure the exhaust is not clogged up.
Make sure it has new air filters.

Drain the oil and put in fresh oil. You do not want to pay a mechanic to change oil if you do not have to.

When all that is done it is time to hit the start button and see if it will turn over. BUT ONLY AFTER YOU OR THE MECHANIC HAVE DRAINED THE OLD FUEL FROM THE LINES.

OK it turns over but don't run down the batteries just a little turning over. OR WAIT UNTILL THE MECHANIC IS READY TO TURN IT OVER.
Let the mechanic investigate fresh water cooling or antifreeze and anodes.

NOw is the time to call the mechanic over and tell him what you have done, and the history that you could find out. You will have saved yourself a LOT OF MONEY.


That's a great run-down of getting an old engine (that you know works ) running, but he should start with seeing if he can manually turn the engine--if he can't, he's spending a lot of money in filters, oil, etc to prep for that mechanic to come over and look-see. He needs to learn a bit about diesel engines before even starting pumping out the oil and cleaning things up.

[Todd D]

As stated above, diesels are simpler than gas engines. Basically there are just a couple of things to consider if the engine is mechanically sound - fuel and air.

As others have said, the first thing you want to do is make sure the fuel and fuel system are clean. The easiest way to do that is to replace the fuel lines and filters and use new clean fuel. When you change fuel filters, fill any canisters or housings with clean fuel to minimuze air in the system. Rather than go to the trouble of replacing the fuel in the tank, just put the fuel line into a jerry can of clean fuel. After you do that you want to bleed the fuel system. A diesel won't start or run if there is air in the fuel lines. I don't know about your engine, but most have either an electric fuel pump or a small hand pump for bleeding the fuel lines. If you have an electric fuel pump, all you have to do it turn it on and let it run for a few minutes. That will pump clean fuel through the system and purge any air. If you don't have either an electric pump or a hand pump, then an outboard squeeze bulb in the fuel line after the first fuel filter works well to pump clean fuel through the system. A hundred squeezes or so should do the job. In the worst case, you will have to crack the fuel line at each injector while cranking to get the last of the air out.

When you have a clean fuel system, you are ready to crank her over. If you got all the air out of the fuel system and the compression is OK, the engine should fire up in 30 seconds at the most. If the engine doesn't start, then you have other problems to deal with.

TD

[Elcoholic]

I converted to diesels a few years ago. I learned a lot of things the hard way. Here is my advice...worth twice what you're paying for it:

If you have a 24v starter, get two hot batteries in parallel and try to turn it over, fuel off, or better yet, disconnected. If you have a 12v starter, use 24v anyway. It won't hurt it for a brief test and will spin it like mad. (I did this for an entire season before I had the starters redone for 24v!)

If it won't turn over, I'd pull the engine and have at it in the shop.

If it will turn over, it will most likely run so.....

Hang a small fuel tank (like from an outboard) over the engine and gravity-feed clean fuel directly into the fuel pump. Hit it. It should start within 3 seconds. If not, spray ether into the air intake as you try it again...once.

If it starts, immediately shut it off and then do everything you should in the way of cleaning, changing the oil and installing new fuel, oil and air filters.

Restart it, CHECK OIL PRESSURE, check to insure that water is coming out of your exhaust and then take it up to about 1000 rpm's for a few minutes and to let it warm up. While at 1,000 rpm's, visually check for leaks...water, exhaust, oil, etc. Then, crank it up for maybe 15-20 seconds to it's governed rpm to blow out the carbon.

That ought to do it. Only thing left is sea trials. Take along a tow rope.

Good Luck !

[Nordicthug]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions guys, much appreciated. As it happens one of my feelers panned out (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) and I now have the services of a well thought of Perkins mechanic. He's given me a list of things to do before he gets to my boat, likely before the week is out.

Among these tasks are:

Clean up the engine as best I can. (done)

Have as much as possible of the engine's history availble. (done)

Ensure the batteries are in good condition and fully charged (done)

He's ID'd the model and will have new filters and whatever other parts and supplies he deems necessary with him.

I'll keep this thread updated.

Gerry

[donald branscom]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions guys, much appreciated. As it happens one of my feelers panned out (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) and I now have the services of a well thought of Perkins mechanic. He's given me a list of things to do before he gets to my boat, likely before the week is out.

Among these tasks are:

Clean up the engine as best I can. (done)

Have as much as possible of the engine's history availble. (done)

Ensure the batteries are in good condition and fully charged (done)

He's ID'd the model and will have new filters and whatever other parts and supplies he deems necessary with him.

I'll keep this thread updated.

Gerry

Thanks for keeping us up dated.

[Bob Adams]

Easy on the either. My prefered way of using it is to spray some on a rag then hold the rag in front of the air intake.

[schlaboatnic]

Gerry, Can you PM the mechanics contact info? I have a couple of 6-354's in my trawler and would like to get a name of someone here that can work on them. So far I have been able to all the general maintenance stuff myself as these are very easy engines to work on. I also have the Perkins manual on a disc if you need a copy.

[willmarsh3]

FYI, I took a 2 day boat diesel seminar. I got to see what the inside of the diesel engine looks like, how it works, what fuel algae looks like, what various maladies look like and how to detect them early, and so forth. I got lots of good tidbits of information on how to take care of it. I think the $250 cost for the seminar was a good investment. I can't remember the name of the outfit I took the course from but a google search should turn up some good ones in your area though. Also the boat stores sometimes hold short seminars which are free or low cost and also very useful.

[Nordicthug]

The diesel guy came and did some of his magick on my engine. To no avail. Not time and effort wasted, though. He rolled the engine over by hand to his satisfaction, saying the compression felt good, checked the fuel in my tanks, pronouncing it in good condition and fit for use, then tried to get the engine to turn over with the start motor. All we got was a clicking noise as though the battery was dead. He had to get back to work, so a dead battery stopped him in his tracks.

He told me "no charge," can you believe that? He spent an entire morning and didn't charge me for it. We stood around a while chewing the fat then he headed off to his next job.

I was disappointed, but oh, well. I disconnected the pos. lead on the big battery and put a portable charger on it at 10 amps.

All this occured on 17th of Dec. On the 22nd, a friend and I went down to the boat to see what we could do to get 'er started. The meter on the battery charger was at minimum, indicating a full charge, so Darrel and I decided to give 'er a go. We reconnected the Pos. lead, clipped on a remote start switch and crossing all our fingers, squoze the trigger.

Clik, Clik, Clik................SHITE ! !

Now what? Battery's full, the starter's been rebuilt by one of the best shops in the Pac. N.W. and still it acts as if the got-dammit battery's dead.

Darrel had noticed the negatory lead jumping like a shocked frog when I hit the start switch. So I hit the remote switch again. Clicking and jumping, clicking and jumping. Neither one of us had ever seen anything like that before and it was bit scary. We decided simply to take a couple of good flashlights, then unholstering our sidearms, went looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary, ANYTHING ! Tracks, hairs stuck on things, scat, bits of bone from small children, anything. That jumping lead could only mean trolls or demons. God, how I hate trolls and demons.

After a few minutes of careful inspection, Darrel noticed the dipstick tube, a length of 1/2" copper tubing, was touching the field armature terminal on the starter. I handed him my largest screwdriver for a pry bar and he pried the tube clear about 1/4". He climbed out of the engine compartment, and resignedly, I hit the switch one more time.

HOLY CRAP ! ! ! The engine rolled over.

Just like it is supposed to.

All the current from the Shiny. New. Fully Charged. 4-D battery had been going directly to ground.

We rolled the engine for about 20 seconds, getting white vapor out of the exhaust, but not starting the engine. Darrel hit the starter again and I sprayed WD-40 into the intake. The engine roared to life for about a second, then rolled to a stop. So. She'll run, but not on her own fuel. We tried twice more with the same result, the engine runs as long as we spray WD-40 into the air intake.

With a major step forward under our belts, and darkness hard upon us we checked out the bilge pump to be sure it was working, saw to the mooring lines, locked up and went home. I'll call Clyde, the diesel guru after Christmas to ask what he suggests. Most likely something simple. That dip tube shorting to the field terminal was weird. I've purchased a foot of 1/2' fuel hose to cover that tube with as its too hard to re-route and needs insulating. I think that should do it. I'm readin and re-reading Calder's book on amateur diesel mechanics to see what I can do before I talk with Clyde again.

I'll need to find a Shaman to do a troll and demon cure too, no sense taking foolish chances.

Getting an old, neglected boat like this all shined up and lovely again is gonna be fun.

Anyone know what Perkins serial # N8136647 signifies? I can't find anything.

Gerry

[SV Papillon]

sounds like the next step from where you are is to bleed your fuel sytem. The easiest way is to pick up a little tick pump with its own pressure switch and plumb it inline with a bypass and valve. An automotive store should have one just make sure its for diesel. The bypass isn't nessesary if you are going to use the pump when running. If you only want to have it to prime the sytem then you can open the bypass valve and shut the pump off to get more life out of it, your call.

Jake

Be leary about putting too much wd40 in the engine. Our bergen guy says its a no no, same as eather it doesn't lube anything and is bad for the cylinders and rings.

Once you get it to run you can do a simple check on your injectors by cracking the fuel line on each and listening, you should get the same change in sound from each. If one is stuck you will get non change.

[Gary E]

The easiest way is to pick up a little tick pump with its own pressure switch



I imagine a lot of people know what gear pumps are.. as well as piston pumps, and centrifugal impeller pumps
but exactly what is a TICK pump?
amd what do you want the pressure switch to do?

[oakman]

Can he really be that much of a guru if he declared the battery dead without putting a meter on it?

Good for you for finding the problem yourself.

O

[schlaboatnic]

Nordicthug:
The Perkins website has a link for deciphering the serial number to get year of manufacture, type, HP, factory, etc.
Although, I just did a check and it appears that it currently is not fucntioning.
The best upgrade I have done to my engines is to add a block heater. For under $100 it is by far the best improvement that I have done.

[SV Papillon]

I imagine a lot of people know what gear pumps are.. as well as piston pumps, and centrifugal impeller pumps
but exactly what is a TICK pump?
amd what do you want the pressure switch to do?

That would be the diaphram tick type:)
The pressure switch lets it turn off when its up to pressure as in priming fuel system before the engine is started. I turn mine on let it run till it shuts off then start the engine and open the bypass valve, then shut off the pump. I think it's a jabsco but am not sure.

Jake

[lofting4fun]

Looks really good..nice job

[paladin]

Contact Mack Boring....at one time they were the Perkins dealers/reps in the U.S. and held one and 2 day classes/seminars on the engines. Now they handle Yanmar.....and at one time John Deere/Northern Lights.....they may have some of the old training manuals around. Mine have been passed on to others.

[SV Papillon]

manual (http://www.datamanuals.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_28)

Jake

[Nordicthug]

Can he really be that much of a guru if he declared the battery dead without putting a meter on it?

Good for you for finding the problem yourself.

O

Well, you had to be there. All the symptoms of a flat battery were present. Neither of us had a heavy duty load tester, and the VOM read 11.95 V. (It took Darrel and I two more trips before we discovered that dip tube hiding there in the dark, surreptitiously playing hanky panky with the field armature terminal.) So Clyde just said to disconnect the main battery and put a charger on it for 30 or 36 hours then we'll try again. Even professionals with many years of experience aren't perfect.

A story.

Thirty or so years ago we had a customer, Danny, who brought his boat, a 58' Limit Seiner into MARCO every spring for bottom paint and minor repairs. For about fifteen years, he had a leak, apparently through the shaft log. Every year Danny insisted he knew exactly where the leak was and what to do about it. He had us drill into the planking at an angle and slowly pump Barbatia grease into the spline in the shaft log. Every year the leak would stop for a few months. This went on until I got curious about something. Danny was adamant that we not waste his money zincing his stern bearing. It had a cutless bearing so there was no electrical connection to the shaft, so obviously no necessity of a zinc, which could conceivably catch his web, tearing it.

The last time I drilled and pumped grease into Danny's boat, I noticed wet plugs over a few plank fastenings. I decided to do some exploring. I took an awl and dug out the cement over half a dozen plank fastenings near the stern bearing, then, using the awl, pried on the nails. They moved, which is NOT good. I pried several clear out with just the awl. What I got resembled nothing so much as a large carpet tack about 1" long, clean grey steel, very pointed. I kept pulling these out until I got about 6' out from the stern bearing in all directions where I finally struck sound fastenings.

When Danny got back, I showed him the dozen or so nails I'd pulled and asked if he'd like to check all the fastenings within 6' or a bit more of the stern bearing. He set to work, pulling all of 'em. I went to the Yard Store and got a bucket of 3 1/4' hot dip galvanized boat nails then renailed the stern of Danny's boat within that 6' of the stern post. He then relented and allowed me to install a 3x12 zinc on the stern post, binding it to the stern bearing with 8ga copper wire. End of problem. We got a call from Danny about four years later, to let us know the leak had not reappeard and saying thank you.

Now what kind of Guru was I not to find that leak in ten years? I'd been doing repairs on limit seiners for over 25 years at that time and was considered competent enough to testify about things pertaining to wooden boats in Court.

Gerry

[Nordicthug]

I went down to the boat today with Darrel, my neighbor to give starting the engine one more try. Clyde, my mechanic told me to play the flame from a propane torch into the air intake to warm things up, kind of like a faux Thermo-Start.

I lit the torch and played the flame in like Clyde wanted and after three or four minutes we gave the starter a flick. Rolled over about three times and fired up. The engine ran for a few seconds then died again. We sat there scratching our heads, then I noticed the bleed fitting on the distributor pump. I fished out a small socket, then another until I got one that fit. I loosened the fitting and had Darrel operate the manual handle on the lift pump a few times. Diesel spurted out with each flick of the pump handle, then some air bubbles. Darrel flicked the handle several more times until I got clear diesel oil. I shut the bleeder fitting and snugged it down, then wiped off the spilled diesel oil. I fired up the torch, pointing the flame into the intake once again and Darrel hit the starter. The engine rolled over one or two times and roared to life. Darrel backed off the throttle, then opened it up until it sounded like 800 to 1000 rpms. The tachometer wasn't working, so he popped it out of its hole in the dash to find that it is electronic. Where in hades does it get a signal from on a diesel engine with no ignition system? Another nasty bump in my awkward climp up the learning curve.

We let the engine run at a fast idle while checking for leaks (none) and making sure there was good water flow out the exhaust (there was).

No 12v from the alternator, either, so we started chasing wires down to see where they went while we waited for the engine to warm up. I found the external voltage regulator and saw goo running out of it. After the engine had run for long enough to warm up to the marks on the gages, we shut it down. I took the voltage regulator off its mounting board and saw it was fried. I unhooked it and put it in a plastic bag to go home. A trip to NAPA in the morning should turn up a replacement. I hope.

Darrel said he drove a diesel truck once that had an electronic tachometer that went nuts, then simply didn't work when the truck had alternator problems, Perhaps with a new volt. reg. the tach. might work again, who knows? Anyway getting the engine running made my day.

Thanks to all you guys with all your helpful suggestions.

Gerry

[Oscarvan]

Classic diesel fuel line bleed proceedings, with desired result. Cool.

If you have a 24v starter, get two hot batteries in parallel and try to turn it over

Wouldn't that be in series?

[Gary Bergman]

Northern tool sells a tach that comes with a pickup, so I'm thinking of putting one on my elderly Perkins. As far as parts, should you need any, Trans Atlantic Diesel has sent me parts when no one else could. Also British Marine in Alameda,Ca. Don't give up, they're great motors

[Nordicthug]

I took the old regulator to the NAPA store near me. It took them all of five minutes to find a duplicate. Seems my regulator is the same as the one in a '99 Mercedes ML 320. $69.63 with the governor's mordida. I pick it up Wed. afternoon. Next engine project is a block heater. Another learning curve to climb.

Gerry

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Tacho may run off the alternator output. Dont replace it until you check the problem was with the voltage regulator.
You might also have fried your alternator diodes if the VR is kaput. If things still dont work, take the alternator off and take it, the regulator and tacho to an auto electrician.

[Canoeyawl]

There are a several ways to operate an electric tach.
One as mentioned is a pick up from the alternator.
Another more accurate way is with a magnetic pick-up that “counts” the flywheel ring gear teeth as they go past it. These magnetic pick-ups can get haywire by metallic bits (from the starter) getting lodged across the pick-up contacts.
There are also cam sensors that operate in a similar manner.
Basically any rotating part that can produce a signal for a magnetic pick-up can be used.

[Nordicthug]

First: "Happy New Year !!"

"Basically any rotating part that can produce a signal for a magnetic pick-up can be used."

I'm learning that. As there's an electronic tach already in place, and no wires going anywhere obvious, (they disappear into the wire loom,) I'm coming to the conclusion that the signal is probably taken from the alternator. There's also a mechanical tach fitting on the end of the distributor pump shaft that I can fall back on if all else fails.

It wonders me one other thing. How do I know that the tach reading is accurate? All I can be certain of is that it is a reading. It seems to me that alternator speed is a function of the drive to driven pulley size ratio. I suppose I might be able to rent, borrow, or steal a machinist's tachometer so I can compare the dash tachometer reading to actual engine speed.

Not to borrow trouble, but how does one go about "regulating" the tachometer if it and a machinist's tach disagree?

Far too many questions for a half breed Norvegian on New Year's Day.

Somewhat confused ol',

"Yerry"

[Canoeyawl]

The engine speed is mechanically rpm governed at high idle and low idle and under load, so the actual rpm number is not to critical as long as the high and low idle speeds are set correctly. These are set up on a bench to prevent lugging or overspeed and difficult to change, so this is not generally a concern.

Testing the tach…

I have a timing light with an attachment for diesel engines that senses the “pulse” from an individual injector and converts it to an electronic rpm readout and a flash to read the timing mark. This is one way to do it.
The same timing light can be set as a variable strobe to measure rpm on any rotating object. This is a common feature on a conventional “dial-back” automotive timing light.
A handheld rotating Stewart-Warner tach is also very good. Your service man should have this tool in his truck.

Electronic tachs are usually programmable internally, but you will need the specific instructions for your unit.
If the tach drive is electronic via the alternator the pulley size becomes critical. You must retain the original pulley.

[SV Papillon]

If you go to mcmastercarr.com and do a search for tachometer, they have several handheld tachs around $200 and up. You can get them with a cone contact head or a non contact that uses a piece of reflective tape. I have used several of the ones they sell for checking electric motor, pump and conveyor speeds. They are pretty handy as you can check the speed on just about anything and get rpm FPM etc. Check the speed on your alternator to make sure it has the right pulley etc. $200 is a bit but it's a good tool.

Jake

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Tiny Tach

http://www.tinytach.com/tinytach/diesel.php

[Nordicthug]

For those of you whose eyes still don't roll back at my updates, I have replaced the regulator ($69.63) and now the alternator is working fine. Still no response from the Tachometer, which seems to be an inexpensive (read: Cheap) automotive unit. The Motorola alternator has so many electrical leads coming out of it that it almost looks like its covered with multicolored fur.

I'm seriously considering making up an eight or ten foot test lead from the "Sender" lug on the tach, then probing the forest of leads on the alternator. The alternative (pun not intended) is simply to buy a cheap automotive tach and install that. The old "Testing by replacement ploy".

I've ordered a handheld machinist's laser tachometer priced at $24.00 shipped. If it works at all it should be helpful in matching the tach reading to the actual engine speed.

New fuses in the Waste Marine battery charger / monitor system have it functioning as designed. That's a relief, as I wasn't looking forward to the expense of replacing that $y$tem.

Oh, yeah, don't want to forget................a big, hearty, deeply felt, THANK YOU ! !for all the suggestions from you very helpful lot. All are very much appreciated. And some implemented.

Gerry N.