Slow throttle response
Printed From: myHanse.com
Category: Hints & Tips
Forum Name: 300 / 301
Forum Description: 300 & 301 Hints and Tips
URL: https://www.myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=10316
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 03:40
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Slow throttle response
Posted By: Rob-K
Subject: Slow throttle response
Date Posted: 15 June 2017 at 22:24
| I have a Hanse301 (wing keel) with 10HP Volvo MD2010-D. After the engine has been running for 20 minutes or so the throttle response is very slow. This is particularly alarming when maneuvering in a crowded marina because just when you want a good blast of reverse there is a delay of 30 or 40 seconds before the engine revs slowly increase. It doesn't happen when the engine has just stared. I have replaced the fuel filters and the fuel lift pump but the problem persists. Has anyone experienced anything similar and if so what was the cure? |
Replies:
Posted By: mjo
Date Posted: 16 June 2017 at 09:53
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Rob, maybe "Dieselpest". When Diesel reamins for longer time in the tank, bacterias are growing in there, result is a kind of sludge which blocks your fuel lines and the filters. Have a look in you pre-filter if you have one. The sludge you can see on the bottom of the tank. If so, you need to clean the whole system, filter all the diesel and replace filters and lines. Regards Martin |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 16 June 2017 at 20:36
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Martin, Thanks for the suggestion. The fuel looked clean when I was changing the filters but I'll have a closer look this weekend. Rob
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Posted By: Fendant
Date Posted: 17 June 2017 at 10:57
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Rob, it can't be Dieselpest, as this will clogg the filters completely and stop the engine. According to you description you have the roblem when the engine has warmed up. So I suspect, that you have a flawed fuel supply System which sucks i air. When you open the throttle the engine does not get immediately the full Diesel flow. I would check all Connections in the fuel line from tank to the cylinders, starting from the engine back to the tank. Happy Hunting ------------- Frank |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 17 July 2017 at 11:25
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I've occasionally followed the forum since buying my Hanse 301, Hobo, 5 years ago but I just had to join and reply having seen this post. I have had the identical problem with Hobo for about 5 years! i.e. Engine (MD2010-A) starts perfectly first time every time, runs fine but after running for say 15+ minutes I get this horrible delay when trying to throttle up, after previously throttling down. As you say it usually happens when you need some reverse when mooring! I have regularly changed all the filters including cleaning the crazy inline one in the connector to the fuel pump, and I fitted a new pre-filter. I was down at the boat last week and drained the fuel tank, took it out (it was immaculate and the fuel was clean), and I was just considering fitting a new lift pump, having discussed with the boatyard, but based on your experience I will hold off on that. I am sure as Fendant says, that it is a fuel supply problem but I just can't work out where it could be. I did wonder if there was some kind of reverse vacuum being created so that once throttled down it took a while when throttling up to overcome it but as far as I can tell the tank vent is clear so it should not be there. I'd also say that the power seems to decrease when running for a long time, 30+ mins, as the boat speed seems to slowly drop off.I'll check the fuel system for air leaks next time I am down but if you discover the solution please post! Alan ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Bitbaltic
Date Posted: 19 July 2017 at 22:27
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Completely off topic but isn't Hobo the 301 that did a UK circumnavigation about ten years ago, with a book written about it? https://fernhurstbooks.com/product/sailing-around-britain-2/ ------------- Hanse 301 'Karisma' | https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 20 July 2017 at 11:52
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I've been asked that before but looking at the ownership documentation I don't see Kim Sturgess as one of the previous owners so I'm guessing it is another boat. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Scotchmist
Date Posted: 20 July 2017 at 13:44
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Hi It seems to me the slow response and reduced power occurs after the engine has warmed up. I don't think an air leak in the fuel pipework/ filter casings or dirty diesel fuel will be the cause, because it would happen all the time. I think you should concentrate on those things about the engine which could change their behaviour when hot. I'm not a mechanic and suggest you ask one, but I would suspect overheating. An overwarm engine will seize but before it does, friction will increase. ------------- Andrew Scotch Mischief Dehler 38 by Hanse |
Posted By: samuel
Date Posted: 21 July 2017 at 07:37
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When it happens next time try opening the fuel cap. If you are getting an air blockage it may be causing the flow of fuel to become restricted although this should not happen if the fuel vent is clear. ( I know that you have said you have checked ) However, the fuel vent on some tanks is a pipe leading to the small terminal in the cockpit combing. If this pipe has a dip in it fuel can sit in the dip. This is noticed sometimes when filling as it can be forced out onto the deck as some owners have reported. Perhaps the pipe or the outlet is just full of dirt that moves about creating an intermittent fault. Is the outlet corroded? There is also a small filter inside some fuel pumps comprising a small gauze which owners are not always aware of ------------- Daydream Believer- Hanse 311- No GBR9917T- Bradwell Essex |
Posted By: High Time
Date Posted: 21 July 2017 at 11:32
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Does the problem only occur after motoring in a choppy sea or does it happen after warm up in a quiet berth? If the former, it could be dirt or swarf getting sucked into the fuel uptake pipe in the tank. A common source of such dirt is the swarf left in the tank from drilling a hole when a diesel heater (Eberspacher) is fitted. One further question, does the problem only happen when the engine is on load or does it also show when the gearbox is in neutral? ------------- Roger High Time (415 #038) |
Posted By: Bitbaltic
Date Posted: 21 July 2017 at 14:35
Sturgess makes it clear in the book that he borrowed, and did not own, the boat. Page 11: "Hobo's owner responded very positively to my very provocative phone call....to my great joy the loan of the boat was agreed". So my guess is that you quite possibly do have the boat. It was being kept at greenwich YC at the time, perhpas there is some documentation showing that. ------------- Hanse 301 'Karisma' | https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/ |
AlanL wrote:Posted By: sailingfree
Date Posted: 21 July 2017 at 16:45
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Hi Rob, I had a problem a few years ago and it turned out to be a combination of dirty fuel which had caused damage to the injectors, and the exhaust elbow which was almost completely blocked with soot. Like may other people, I only used my engine to leave the berth and return later, so the engine never warmed up properly. http://www.naiadhome.com/wordpress/woes-with-an-md2010/ Pete |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 21 July 2017 at 17:06
@Bitbaltic - in that case you may be correct as I think Hobo was previously at Greenwich YC. I must get the book  .@Samuel - I do get fuel coming out of the breather pipe when heeled over with a full tank so will do what you suggest next time. Regarding the gauze filter, that caused me lots of problems before I realised it existed and indeed initially it caused me problems with dirt getting stuck in it so I added a pre-filter to avoid that problem. @Hightime - my fuel and tank seem really clean, I even took a video of the inside when I emptied it. I also blew back through the output pipe to check it is clear. The problem still happens for me even if I try throttling up with the engine in neutral so not related to things like a stuck prop. @sailingfree - now you have me worried that I have problems with the injectors  I'm pretty sure it is not the exhaust elbow as I had that checked by an engineer. I also only use my engine to leave and return to the berth, including coming in and out of Portsmouth harbour, so I find a full tank at the start of the year lasts me almost the full summer. That made me wonder about dirty fuel or water in the fuel but did not seem to be the problem.Thanks everyone for the help and ideas! - @Rob-K - any luck from your side? ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Bitbaltic
Date Posted: 22 July 2017 at 23:30
It's only really worth it because the boat was a 301. Sturgess comes across as an essentially unlikeable character who thinks everyone he meets outside SE England is some kind of uppity peasant. He vanity published it in its first form, but it was then picked up by Fernhurst and I see they are currently reprinting it so it must be selling quite well. ------------- Hanse 301 'Karisma' | https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - https://sailingkarisma.wordpress.com/ |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 23 July 2017 at 11:16
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Hmm - just read the Amazon reviews - I see what you mean. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 24 July 2017 at 12:54
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Thanks for your comments and apologies for my late response. I've been sailing in N Brittany and the Channel Islands. The symptoms you describe are exactly what I experience on my boat. I'm now fairly sure that the problem is not fuel related as I've checked just about everything I can think of. So I now suspect the governor which I think could cause the symptoms if it is sticky or inadequately lubricated. I will investigate further and let you know if I have any success. Rob
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Posted By: anyway
Date Posted: 31 August 2017 at 08:26
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I'm mechanic and think there are only two possiblities: The breather pipe is not really open, even just just a bit or the exhaustpipe/system is to small or not really open, or clocked.
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Posted By: perry
Date Posted: 31 August 2017 at 20:10
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I read Kim Sturgess account of round GB trip in Hobo 'This Precious Isle' . And it inspired us to do the same. Kim didnt own Hobo but borrowed her, that explains why is is not on your previous owner list. You may find my wifes Blog of rounding GB this year at :-http://meandmypaintbox.blogspot.co.uk/ We are based in East Cowes and visit Gosport with our 301 Bloto: have seen your 301 in Haslar. On our trip we saw several other 301 s. PS we started 13th April, so you have to look backwards in the blog. ------------- Current Yacht Hanse 315 2007 Last Yacht Hanse 301 Round GB in 2017 |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 08 November 2017 at 06:45
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Do you have a folding or feathering prop. Could the problem be with the propeller? Andrew |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 08 November 2017 at 13:08
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I have a folding prop but the issue still occurs even when the engine is put into neutral and then I try to rev it. It still feels as if it is somehow a fuel flow issue. I did try opening the fuel filler cap the last time I had this happen to see if it was a vacuum problem but it made no difference. I may crack and get a Volvo dealer to look at it. @Rob-K, any progress from your perspective? Did you try looking at the Governor? Alan ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 08 November 2017 at 14:41
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I do have a folding prop but that is not the issue because there is a long delay (1 or even 2 minutes) before the revs increase. So far I have been living with the problem and trying to anticipate it by selecting reverse early when I approach a pontoon. It makes life more exciting!? Once the boat is laid up for the winter I will get the tools out and find out whats going on. With a bit of luck I hope to have an answer before spring....watch this space..
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Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 24 November 2017 at 15:49
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So I discussed this today with some of the guys at MarineTech in Gosport (who were very helpful) and just happened to have a similar engine in bits in their shed, including the governor. Having discussed all the symptoms, they seemed to think it must be a fuel problem of some sort. One thing that came out was that the pipes that I have in my fuel system are clear and apparently are actually water pipe!! These tend to go brittle and are dangerous, and one side effect may be that the seals around them could be poor, even when apparently fully tightened, such that as the engine heats up so we start to suck air. This could also explain what has felt like a drop off in performance over time when running with the engine. Rob-K, have you checked your fuel lines/connections? We did also discuss the governor as they had one apart and while there may be issues with the return spring they could not see that producing the effect I am seeing, and the other alternative of a weight being thrown shoudl be very obvious from the clatter when the engine is running. My next step is to replace all my fuel lines with some certified fuel pipe, check all the connections, service the engine with all new filters, and see if it still happens. But that won't be until next season now. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 10 July 2018 at 11:57
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Well I have had the engine fully professionally serviced, fuel lines replaced, removed the little mesh filter in the banjo pipe as I now have a pre-filter - and it still does exactly the same thing! Driving me crazy and slightly worrying in some situations. Rob-K have you made any progress in identifying the problem and fixing it? In other news, Hobo managed to win the Club class at the Portsmouth Regatta on June 9/10, and at the Round the Island Race (Isle of Wight) last Saturday we came 6th of 31 in class 6B (98/646 in ISC overall). We were also 4th of 28 Hanse yachts entered with MS Amlin Scotch Mist (Hanse 312) being the fastest so well done to them! It was a very difficult race with generally very light winds and almost half the fleet failed to finish.  Still trying to encourage anyone in the Solent to come racing at the Portsmouth Sailing Club Parhelion series races in Late Sept/Oct on Saturday mornings. No experience or handicap needed and very friendly on the water and back at the club.
------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 13 August 2018 at 17:04
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Good news - my engine problem appears to have been cured. However, I'm still not sure what the root cause was. I took the front casing off and checked the governor and throttle linkage but couldn't find anything wrong. I did however find a small amount of dirt/sludge in the primary fuel filter (even though this was changed last year. On reassembly the engine struggled to run at more than a tick-over and produced lots of smoke. At which point I lost patience and left it to the local Volvo Penta dealer to fix. They found dirt in the injection pump, cleaned it out and the engine has run sweetly ever since. I'm guessing that the dirt in the injection pump may have be as a result of my attempts to fix the problem. Cleaning the pump also appears to have cured the long standing throttle lag problem. I'm not sure that is going to help you resolve Hobo's problem Alan L. I'm happy to discuss it further by email or phone if you wish. Incidentally we also entered the Round The Island Race this year but retired as we struggled to reach Bembridge with no wind and more importantly we found that all the beer had gone warm.
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Posted By: Captain Cook
Date Posted: 13 August 2018 at 20:02
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In my post "inside the fuel tank" from May 8th 2017, you see strange items which were removed from my fuel hose between the engine and the diesel tank.  ------------- Freya H400 #27 (2006),2-cabin, 40HP 3JH4E, 3-blade Flexofold, Aries LiftUp Windvane, Exturn 300, Jefa DD1,Simrad NX40,Icom M603(VHF)+M802(SSB) |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 01 October 2018 at 18:29
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Hi Rob, Glad to hear you got your engine sorted! I'm still suffering and am about to try turning to a Volvo main agent. I know there is one in Port Solent but who was the one you dealt with? Was it in Chichester? It may be easier for me to get them to look at it as the symptoms are so similar and I could leave the boat in Chichester Marina. Hope you had a good summer sailing. If you get the chance you should come play in the PSC Autumn series races on a Saturday morning over by Portsmouth harbour as we have a very friendly group there and would be nice to see another 301 (as long you as you did not beat me  ).Thanks, Alan. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 02 October 2018 at 14:02
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Hi Alan, I used a company called Power Afloat who are Volvo Penta dealers and are based at Elkins boat yard in Christchurch. However I'm not sure that is going to be any use to you if your Hanse has a fin keel. Mine is shallow draft wing keel and so we can get in and out of Christchurch harbour OK but I think anything over 1.5m draft would be tricky. The only way I can make any sense of the symptoms is if there was dirt preventing free movement of the rack on the injection pump but as this only occured when the engine was hot it would have to have also been due to reduced clearance when at operating temperature. The rack mooved freely when cold but of course you can't check when its hot. Good luck. I hope you manage to get it sorted out. It's such a relief to get it fixed; I can now approach a pontoon without worrying if I can get reverse thrust when I need it! Regards Rob
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Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 23 September 2019 at 20:30
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So almost a year later and having had the fun (not!) of the engine going completely dead when coming into the marina after motoring in from abandoning the Round the Island Race, I decided this needed to be fixed one way or another. Having tried a bunch of things, the dealer finally agreed that it would be worth taking the injection pump out and getting it sent to Volvo and cleaned. And so far, albeit only on the evidence of a couple of trips, the problem seems to be fixed! It was great to pull into the marina and be able to use reverse to slow us down when I had a following tide and wind. And on the positive side the last few years have certainly forced me to learn how to handle the boat without relying on the engine which is no bad thing. Thanks Rob for the insights from your experience or we would probably still be scratching our heads. And thanks to everyone else for your ideas. P.S. Anyone in the Portsmouth area that fancies some fun racing, the PSC Parhelion autumn series has started and it would be great to have other Hanse yachts take part, all standards welcome! Racing on Saturdays at 10:15 outside Portsmouth Harbour and usually finished by 14:00. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |
Posted By: Rob-K
Date Posted: 23 September 2019 at 21:05
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I'm glad to hear you got it fixed. No more crashing the pontoons! Incidentally, we also retired again from the Round The Island Race this year but at least we got past Bembridge before timing out this time. I'm praying for a nice steady force 4 all the way round next year.. |
Posted By: andrush
Date Posted: 17 June 2020 at 20:14
| hi guys, so have the injector pump fix solved the problem? Now is new sesason and you must have experience again? |
Posted By: AlanL
Date Posted: 11 December 2020 at 16:24
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Did not spot this post earlier but for me the answer is a resounding YES! The engine is fine now and totally responsive. ------------- Hobo Hanse 301 GBR 2996L |