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Old 11-15-2011, 12:05 PM
JimPendoley JimPendoley is offline
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Mystery Shutdown

Hi All,
So I'm anchored at a very remote protected spot in Northern New England getting ready to troubleshoot my A4. I started shutting down in boisterous conditions on a fair heel (20 degrees) while approaching the channel-I was motorsailing.

Symptoms were a sputtering shutdown. Before you say "dirty fuel or sediment stirred up" I have a racor fuel/water separator and add Stabil fuel stabilizer with every fill up. Key symptoms were an audible and soft "thunk" as though I'd hit a lobster pot and then a stuttering shutdown. Another key symptom is THE TACH stopped working. The engine would restart, run a minute or so and shut back down in a sputtering way. This happened a half dozen times. I finally flattened the boat out and got the engine started and ran in on lower power with out incident-but STILL NO TACH. No water in the bilge and prop seems to turn freely.

From reading other threads I am guessing intermittent coil failure or facet fuel pump failure. I have an Ignitor ignition and the fuel pump is wired with an oil pressure safety switch.
Any suggestions on simple diagnostic troubleshooting greatly appreciated as i am far away from help.
Thanks
Jim Pendoley
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