DHeckrotte
Guru
Dumb question for the day:
So, out for a joyride on Barnegat Bay, turning 1800 rpm and doing 8kts, calm waters and not much wind. Driving from the flybridge, so cannot watch gauges. After running perhaps an hour, the starboard engine temp alarm sounded. I went down to the helm position and the starboard engines' temp was about 235; the port was a little over 190. Starboard's oil pressure was lower than the port's. I throttled back to idle and put the trans in neutral, thinking that coolant flowing was a good thing. I opened up the floor and went back to see if the starboard had begun cooling down; but no perceptible change. Shut it down. Climbed down into the ER looking for guilty signs. None: coolant in the overflow, water in the strainer, alternator/pump belt intact, no coolant smell, no oil smell, no water or coolant spraying around.
Restarted the starboard engine, in neutral and at idle, and went to see if there was water coming out the exhaust. Can't see either side since the swim platform blocks the view and waves are dancing around.
Went back to the helm and see that the water temp is falling and the light/sounder are quiescent. Put in gear and gradually raise the RPM, temperature continues to drop. Back to 1800 RPM and the temperature drops to normal. Ran gradually up to 2000 and then 2200 RPM; temperature stays normal for the 10 remaining minutes to the Marina's entry channel. Oil pressure came back up to normal as the engine temp fell to normal.
What happened? Did I pick up a plastic bag on the external strainer which dropped off when I shut down?
So, out for a joyride on Barnegat Bay, turning 1800 rpm and doing 8kts, calm waters and not much wind. Driving from the flybridge, so cannot watch gauges. After running perhaps an hour, the starboard engine temp alarm sounded. I went down to the helm position and the starboard engines' temp was about 235; the port was a little over 190. Starboard's oil pressure was lower than the port's. I throttled back to idle and put the trans in neutral, thinking that coolant flowing was a good thing. I opened up the floor and went back to see if the starboard had begun cooling down; but no perceptible change. Shut it down. Climbed down into the ER looking for guilty signs. None: coolant in the overflow, water in the strainer, alternator/pump belt intact, no coolant smell, no oil smell, no water or coolant spraying around.
Restarted the starboard engine, in neutral and at idle, and went to see if there was water coming out the exhaust. Can't see either side since the swim platform blocks the view and waves are dancing around.
Went back to the helm and see that the water temp is falling and the light/sounder are quiescent. Put in gear and gradually raise the RPM, temperature continues to drop. Back to 1800 RPM and the temperature drops to normal. Ran gradually up to 2000 and then 2200 RPM; temperature stays normal for the 10 remaining minutes to the Marina's entry channel. Oil pressure came back up to normal as the engine temp fell to normal.
What happened? Did I pick up a plastic bag on the external strainer which dropped off when I shut down?