starting engine

plittman · #1 (**permalink**) 07-29-2008

I have a 1998 PSC with a 3jh2 yanmar engine. While at dock in St. Martin I experienced difficulty starting the engine. It had not be used for several weeks. It turned over fine and after several attempts it finally started. This did not happen again and never happened before. Any ideas?
Phil Littman

erps · #2 (**permalink**) 07-29-2008

Intermitent problems are the hardest to figure out. Does it have a "kill cable" to shut off the engine? (diesel). If so, maybe the kill cable was still slightly in the stop position, shutting the fuel off at the injector pump.

LittleWingCA · #3 (**permalink**) 07-29-2008

Have you checked any of the following:

Dirty primary fuel filter?
Dirty secondary fuel filter?
Water / Moisture in the fuel?
Bacterial growth in the fuel tank?
Loose fuel hose clamps that might allow air into the lines?
Dirty Injectors?

There could be a lot of reasons. What is the history of your engine maintenance program, and did you recently do anything new like add new fuel to the tank or change climates where bacterial growth in the tank could have started?