[C320-list] Oil Pressure Alarm

[Troy Dunn]

Ok, I tried liquid wrench on the connector and I still can't get the
connector off the pressure switch.  However, after hitting that connector
and tightening and untightening the screw a few times, I could no longer
get the switch to fail when the engine was off.   So, maybe I 'fixed' the
problem for now.   Or maybe it's a fluke.   Dunno, I'll come back to this
if/when it is a problem again.

On Friday, July 15, 2016, Troy Dunn <troutwarrior at gmail.com> wrote:

> Pat
>
> Yes, I had previously tried removing the wheel, but gave up thinking I
> might need a wheel puller.   Today I was able to get the wheel to slide on
> the arbor. So I think I'll be removing the wheel the next time I open the
> box.  Probably that will be this fall when I take apart the whole engine
> panel so I can repaint it, the paint is all buggered up and although it's
> only cosmetic...it bugs me that it looks so crappy.
>
> Warren
>
> I had to apply similar techniques to get the old alarm off.   There is
> only a switch on my Yanmar, no sender.  It actually looks like there is a
> spot to install a sender, and the wiring harness has a sender connector.
>
> So today I was able to check and confirmed that I have an intermittent
> pressure switch.   If I short out the switch side terminal to ground I get
> alarm and light.    At this point I'm a little stuck.  In order to replace
> the switch I need to disconnect the wire from the switch.  It is a ring
> terminal that appears to be badly corroded to the screw that holds it in.
> When I turn the screw the ring turns, and there isn't enough slack in the
> wire to allow it to spin.  I'm worried about cutting the wire and not
> having enough left to reconnect a new terminal.    I guess I could just use
> a butt connector but would like to avoid it.  Has anyone replaced their
> pressure switch on a Yanmar 3GM30?
>
>
>
> Troy and Kim Dunn
> Hull #514
>
>
>
> On Friday, July 15, 2016, Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','wupdike at hotmail.com');>> wrote:
>
>> This year I replaced the pedestal alarm. The original alarm worked
>> intermittently; but, more recently mostly didn't work. Yes, there are a lot
>> of wires on it, 7 in total, 3 on one terminal and 4 on the other (as I
>> remember.) Took a picture before disconnecting. I couldn't get the old
>> alarm out as the outside ring that screws on wouldn't turn. I had to resort
>> to cutting through it and forcing off with pliers. It was a bit of a pain
>> getting all those wires back on; but, once done it worked like a charm.
>>
>> As for engine mounted senders, different engines may have different
>> arrangements and types of senders. On our Perkins, from what I can tell,
>> there is a coolant temp sender (temp gage) and a separate over-temp sender
>> (LED and alarm.) There is only one sender for the oil pressure LED and
>> alarm (I think.) On some (Yanmar??) there may be an oil pressure sensor and
>> a separate sender. Be sure to dope out what you have. Also, some senders
>> may be always on or always off except when sending.
>>
>> Warren and Pattie Updike
>> 1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62
>> Middle River, Chesapeake Bay
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Troy Dunn [mailto:troutwarrior at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Monday, July 11, 2016 8:38 PM
>> To: C320-List at catalina320.com
>> Subject: [C320-list] Oil Pressure Alarm
>>
>> After extensive research on parts and reading through the various trials
>> and tribulations on this forum dealing with the intermittent oil pressure
>> alarm and whether or not having a working blower matters, I opted to
>> replace both the finicky alarm and the non functional blower switch, the
>> latter of which had corroded so badly it would not budge.
>>
>> Removing the panel is a fairly simple affair.  Just 6 screws and a little
>> bit of trickyness getting it away from the pod through the wheel.  I had
>> to
>> remove some sealant from the backside of the switch and alarm in order to
>> remove these two devices.   After confirming that the blower still works
>> by
>> connecting the two switch wires and briefly turning on the ignition, I
>> replaced the switch and problem 1 solved.
>>
>> I moved on to replacing the alarm.   A lot more wires here, so I got out
>> my
>> label maker just to ensure I put everything back where it belongs and also
>> to make use of that label maker since so far the only thing it has
>> been good for was labeling the locking clutches for all the running
>> rigging.   Five minutes later I turned the key in the ignition and
>> voila...nothing happened...grrrr...
>>
>> I moved on to get a good look at the pressure switch on the engine.   Down
>> below with the stairs lifted and the cover off now I'm staring at what
>> appears to be the pressure switch according to all the pictures I could
>> find on parts websites.  At the time it was not obvious to me that I could
>> simply pull off the wire from the spade connector.   I noticed some
>> corrosion on the ring side of the terminal where there is a screw.
>> Turning this screw does not seem to loosen the connector I might mention,
>> so I gave up on that approach, called it a day and went sailing instead of
>> messing around with an alarm that only works on half the Catalinas out
>> there anyway if the message boards are any indication.
>>
>> Leaving Havre De Grace usually entails a 30 minute motor down the channel,
>> but the winds were unusually cooperative on Sunday and once we had the
>> sails up, we cut the motor...and of course the new low pressure alarm was
>> screaming like a banshee.    I shut off the ignition and kept sailing.
>>
>> So now I'm re reading all the threads, kinda kicking myself because I know
>> the oil pressure light works, but I can't recall if it only works when the
>> alarm works or not.   My sense is that with an older engine, the switch
>> gets gunked up over time and doesn't operate correctly.   Then when you
>> run, the engine heats up and all that gunk becomes more viscous and then
>> when you shut down, the switch works.    So that's my running theory until
>> I can confirm that the light is only lit if the alarm is going off as
>> well.
>>   Kinda hoping this is the solution because nothing else makes much sense
>> that I can figure.  Also hoping that the pressure switch is above the
>> normal oil level in the engine when cool so it isn't a mess to replace.
>>
>> The only other 'repair' we worked on this weekend was confirming the oven
>> temperatures seem to be about right.   When the boat surveyed we could not
>> get the oven to light off.  A couple of weeks ago we got the oven working.
>> This weekend we confirmed the temperature must be about right by baking
>> cookies while running downwind up the Sassafrass at 6.5 kts. We burned the
>> bottoms on the first batch because we placed the tray directly on the
>> bottom of the oven.  Once we figured out that the tray would fit on the
>> rack...life was good.
>>
>> Troy and Kim Dunn
>> Hull #514   New name coming...got some ceremonies to deal with...graphics
>> arrived today
>> Tidewater Marina, Havre De Grace, MD
>>
>>
>>