THis weekend I resolved an issue with erratic glowplug heating on my CD27 Westerbeke W13. When depressing the ignition key to engage the glow plug solenoid, it could take 10 or more attempts to see the voltmeter drop, indicating current flowing to the glowplugs. Westerbeke identifies the glowplug solenoid as a "preheat solenoid". My boat is a 1984 and my W13 has approximately 950 hours on the clock. The ignition was occasionally flaky, so I replaced that item first, for $60, ouch. No improvement. Next I replaced the preheat solenoid, $34, ouch, and viola! Problem solved.
Dissasembled the solenoid and found that moisture had gotten inside, causing some oxide to build up on the spindle that rides in and out. It looked and felt like fine grit sand paper, preventing the solenoid from smooth operation. I could have cleaned it up and rivited it back together, but had purchased a new unit which I installed.
I post this because forum searches for "preheat solenoid" turned up no info. Hopefully this can be of help to other Westerbeke operators, which I believe share similar glowpug circuit components.
Glorious weekend weather!
Captain Craig
Brunswick, Maine
S/V Satu CD27 #272
Westerbeke Preheat Solenoid - Glowplug Not Heating
Moderator: Jim Walsh