The Genset Goes
|
Alongside
Fukuoka I managed to track down a new spark plug this morning at the local hardware store but, after I had replaced it, it made no difference, the genset still would not start. I can't say that I was terribly surprised. Once more I stripped the generator down, looking for something that might explain why it would not start. I could find nothing so I put it back together and tried to start it again. Still no sign of life. I was ready to give up and throw the thing into the rubbish as beyond economical repair. I must confess at this stage of the day I was getting quite upset with my situation. A new genset would be expensive and Sylph's current financial status is rather tight given the need for a new wind vane self steering unit. I decided to disassemble it one more time., this time stripping it back even further, unplugging and undoing everything that I could without actually dismantling the motor itself. I could still find no sign of what the problem might be, so I reassembled it with a view to putting it to one side and having a rest from the problem After it was all back together I of course attempted to start it and this time it coughed a bit, spluttered, and died; but the coughing and spluttering indicated that not all was lost. I fiddled around a bit more, adjusting the cholke and throttle, and bleeding the carburettor. It continued to cough and splutter but still would not start. The fuel by this stage was on the low side. I thought this might be a contributing factor. I went over to Justin's boat, borrowed some petrol, topped up the tank, bled the carburettor, and tried again. It cough, spluttered, and died. A couple of more pulls of the chord, a few more splutters, and on the fourth pull it roared into life. Hooray! I have been running it on and off for the remainder of the afternoon and so far so good. I still do not know what the actual problem was, which leads me to worry that it might be that I have not fixed it at all, and that there may be an intermittent fault that will continue to haunt me. However for now I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. Tomorrow I will be able to get back to working on the boat. I think I can safely put today on the plus side of the ledger. All is well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~ |