Difficulty starting 3270 Motor Yacht in Cold Weather

[fxvielander]

Hello, I’m trying my hand at taking my 1985 3270MY out in colder temperatures (around freezing) and finding she’s not starting. The engines are 110 hp Hino diesels (no turbo) and the battery is a group 27 dual cycle new battery that is rated at 650 CCA. The problem is the starter only turns over the starter say 5 times slowly and then is drained (won’t turn over again and voltage drops low (in the low 11s as I recall). The batteries are on a charger and plugged into shore power all the time. The only other battery is a deep cycle group 27 house battery.

Should this configuration be enough to start the engines in cold weather? I’ve got a Westerbeake generator of more recent vintage that starts without a problem but realize that is a much less massive engine. Thanks!

[MacPhid]

The group 27 battery should be enough to start the engines even around freezing, assuming the battery is reasonably new and at it's rated capacity. If it is older, or weak, the preheat required to start the engine in those temperatures will drain the batteries ability to then crank the engine. No more than 30 seconds on the preheat button! If you have difficulties still, I would first have the battery tested. If you plan to continue to use the boat at freezing temperatures, I'd be tempted to install a new group 31 battery for the start circuit.

James

[Nauti_Mike]

Are you measuring the voltage at the batteries? How old are the batteries? They may be to old to achieve full charge even though they are on a charger. What is the temperature where you are at?

[fxvielander]

Thanks for the two good responses here. It’s a new battery I’ve only just installed and so far I’ve only been measuring voltage at the panel via a little cigarette lighter 12 volt plug in voltmeter. Temapature when trying to stat has been around freezing.

I’ll next start testing the voltage at the battery, as well as checking the battery using a load tester I recently purchased for this purpose. I’ll also check the battery cable connections and clean them thoroughly... Easy things first...! I’ll also consider a group 31 battery, but it sounds like I should be getting better performance from my new group 27 battery.

[Ray_Stec]

The cold temperatures will thicken the engine oil making it harder to turn the engine over. Diesel engines require a decent crank spin speed to light up, so if it is cranking too slow, it may not start. A single start battery may not be enough. Most diesel trucks have two batteries to give that extra capacity under cold weather conditions. Synthetic engine oil does not thicken under cold conditions and would be better if you plan on doing cold weather operation.

[bobofthenorth]

Everything has to be "right" for a diesel to light off in cooler weather. Two things happen as the temperature drops - the battery capacity goes down and the work it is asked to do (turning the engine over) goes up. Clean battery connections and cables in perfect condition with no corrosion on the terminals both become important at lower temperatures to make sure that every bit of energy in the battery is making it to the starter. Lower viscosity oil is really important. 40 weight oil will really thicken up at colder temperatures. A single Group 27 seems marginal to me. If you can warm the engine room that will make a huge difference - even a 100 watt bulb in there would likely help but a cube heater overnight would make a huge difference. If you can't warm the engine room then warming the battery will also help.

[Nauti_Mike]

The few diesels I have worked with were set up with dual batteries and block heaters. Since diesels require compression to lite off the engine needs to spin at a fast turn over rate.

Cold temps mean thick oil and fuel so a heater really helps.

[706jim]

Many years ago, we had a 330 cubic inch Graymarine gasoline engine with a 6 volt starter. If the batteries were right up to scratch, it would start. Otherwise, a combination of physical cranking (with a handle!) plus the starter was required to get it to go. The eventual solution was to connect the two 6 volt batteries in series and run the 6 volt starter from 12 volts. This did the trick and the starter never did fail even after 20 seasons of use. I'm not saying that you would want to go this route with your diesels, but it is a possibility; maybe 3 golf carts in series to give 18 volts and a bit more boost in the cold weather.

[diveguy]

On your battery switch panel there should be a little lever to bridge your house battery and start battery. You could turn that on and try starting you engines. If it fires right up you know your start battery is weak. Make sure you turn it back to the off position once the engines start.

[aknurse]

Many years ago, we had a 330 cubic inch Graymarine gasoline engine with a 6 volt starter. If the batteries were right up to scratch, it would start. Otherwise, a combination of physical cranking (with a handle!) plus the starter was required to get it to go. The eventual solution was to connect the two 6 volt batteries in series and run the 6 volt starter from 12 volts. This did the trick and the starter never did fail even after 20 seasons of use. I'm not saying that you would want to go this route with your diesels, but it is a possibility; maybe 3 golf carts in series to give 18 volts and a bit more boost in the cold weather.

NO this is bad advice.

[706jim]

NO this is bad advice.

Not if you run a Greymarine!

[Chief_Alen]

If this were a tractor say i would recommended a blowtorch into the intake. Boat maybe not.

You should install ether a oil heater ( goes down the dipstick tube ) or a block heater, pad under the engine.

[88fourwinns]

Not really familiar with the diesels but I agree a gp 27 dual purpose battery would be marginal starting a diesel in close to freezing temps. They have less CCA's than a starting battery to start with, even in good shape. I think you need to make sure your battery cable terminals are free of corrosion, the connections are tight and I'd also switch to a lighter weight oil (check the manufacturer's recommendation for proper vis at these temps). On my old OMC 4.3 I run a pair of gp 27s dual purpose batteries and Merc 25/40 oil. It will start fine down to 40*F even on one batt, but a diesel has much higher compression than any gas engine. Take a look at what size batteries they have in a diesel truck (ie Ram 2500, Ford Powerstroke or GM Duramax) that will give you an idea what you might need in those temps.