Log entry for midday local time (St Lucia) – position 14deg 52.5’N; 42deg
49.7’W
Generator malfunction investigation
At about 9:30 local time while charging the batteries the generator
suddenly lost power and made ugly noises
Shutdown immediately, ventilated the engine room, waited while we had
breakfast and steered the yacht for a while and prevaricated a bit on what to do
next
So checked the tank diesel levels, and correct draw down tank
Checked the primary fuel filter bowl
Checked oil water belt tension etc
Gave it another run
Ok on idle, same noise occurred and loss of power when going onto
charge
Tightened a fuel hose clamp and tickled the manual injector pump a
bit
Started again – ran for extended period on idle and also revved up
successfully with no problem
Applied charging load, OK this time and ran for half an hour
Whew – dodged another bullet and problem seems to have cleared itself
Ship still bound for St Lucia on 175 degrees Magnetic