Nathan,
If your Admiral panel is like the one on an M3-20B, and I'd bet it is,
the oil pressure switch also provides electrical power to the fuel lift
pump, once the engine starts running. If your oil switch is not closed,
the fuel pumps stops. It may run for a few minutes on what's in the
fuel filter, but before long you'd know it. I'm guessing from the fact
that you ran after the alarm went off that it might not be the oil switch.
Neil Gallagher
Weatherly, 35-1
Glen Cove, NY
On 6/6/2019 10:24 PM, Nathan Post via CnC-List wrote:
Hello,
On the way back to the marina this evening the oil pressure alarm went off
after having motored about 10 minutes (and previously an hour earlier motored
20 minutes or so out). I have a Westerbeke 20B2 diesel in my boat. We have
the admiral style control panel so that has both the temperature and oil
pressure gauges as well as the alar buzzer. Everything looked normal on the
gauges with the oil pressure reading about 40 psi at 2500-2700 rpm (manual says
35 - 60 is normal so maybe slightly on the low side but still in range). The
same buzzer is connected to the over temperature alarm as well but temperature
also seemed fine and cooling water was flowing. I shut down the engine and
checked the oil level - which was just fine, right where it had been earlier in
the day at the full mark. Given that we were in the middle of the channel and
everything seemed to check out I ended up deciding to start her again and
motored the remaining 10 minutes or so back to the marina (with the buzz
er going the whole time). The oil pressure stayed at 40 psi until I slowed her
to an idle at which point it dropped to 25-30 psi. I think that is pretty
typical. According the the manual the buzzer should sound at below 10 psi as
it does when you first start the engine.
My question is: Do I assume that the sending switch for the oil pressure alarm
is faulty and order a replacement? Is there anything else I should check or
verify to ensure that the oil pump is in fact working correctly and the oil is
getting distributed through the engine? Is there another part I should look
into that could be causing this behavior?
Thanks!
Nathan Post
S/V Wisper
1981 C&C34
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