Diesel engine water alarm

Hi,
Is this what your chasing.
Engine Saver - Low Coolant Alarms
I've had one fitted for a couple of years now without drama. An easy install.

Cheers.

Hi Gordon. I looked at one of these for my Nissan some time back and was advised against them by my mechanic as they cause additional pressure on a finely tuned fuel system that is the crucial part of getting our modern diesels running and performing. Most modern factory fuel filters have a water trap and alarm built into them these days and I'd presume it's no different for the Paj. I don't know just how common picking up water tainted fuel is these days and have heard the odd case where a service stations tanks have been flooded and not just the odd bit of condensation here or there.

If you were seriously worried about the quality of the fuel, I'd recommend a $50 investment in a "Mr Funnel" fuel funnel and use that as you start to pump or fill, particularly from cans.

Mr Funnel

The link is to a small size, there is a larger size as well. Food for thought.

Cheers Mick

Hi Gordon,
This topic has been recently discussed on the 200 series forum at lcool.org feedback was positive & doesnt appear to be a problem with the CRD setup on the cruisers would imagine your Pajero would be OK. Great thing about this product it's Aussie made & developed

Hi Gordon
Fitted the engine saver a couple of years ago (easy installation) and it has performed trouble free and gives great peace of mind. Make sure whatever one you buy has both low water alarm and an overheat alarm. The low water fits in the top radiator hose and alarms when the water level drops. This will record any overnight leaks. Only problem I have encountered with this is a minor leaks from the "adaptor" which I now check the hose clamps every 6 months or so.
The temp alarm I have screwed on the back of the head (any bolt hole will do) and this measures block temperature and can be set to whatever temperature or sensitivity you want it to sound at. Even picks up the fact that you are climbing a slight rise it is so sensitive.
I consider it cheap insurance for motor protection and would not be without it now.

I too am considering the Waterwatch system for my engine. The OEM only has a small area to detect water and if there has been a lot of water put into the tank this swamped and the water gets into the system wrecking your injection pump and injectors.

No CRD (or other diesel) is immune. They can be detected by engine computers and cause fault lights but only because the fuel line is a bit small and causes increased pressure in the line eg 8mm line was used on a disco 4 which caused problems - switching to 10mm line fixed the problem.

Given the cost of repairs - most moden CRDs will in the area of $10K, a water trap/detection system like Waterwatch is cheap insurance.

There is a poster on here who has had water 3 times from a town garage and waterwatch has saved him.

Garry

Hi

For what it's worth I have also been thinking about the "Water Watch" system but had been put off by comments stating it can interfere with the fuel pressure.

Yesterday I was at a diesel fuel injection service regarding another matter and noticed they had one on the counter for display.

I had a discussion with the mechanic about some of the comments and he assured me that they were incorrect and that they did not interfere with the pressure on the CRD. He stated that they were a good insurance policy particularly if you were getting fuel from drums.

The cost to have one fitted was $890.

Let me clear something here......whoever is telling you that they restrict the flow of fuel etc clearly knows absolutely nothing about the product. Water Watch was specifically designed for that NOT to happen. There is only one occasion where I know that some issue of fuel restriction has happened and it was due to the person fitting it not using the correct hose size. I've now had a Water Watch fitted to my D40 Navara for >50000 kms and it has saved me from hugely expensive repairs on two occasions in the past 3 months. The first occasion was serious water contamination from a fuel load in Canberra (I signed a confidentiality agreement and this fuel company paid for the tank removal and flushing of the system upstream of the pump - to be fair they accepted my complaint without much ado.).
The second ocassion was again serious water contamination from a 140 ltr fill up I did at BP in Queanbeyan (Yass Rd) - I claimed but BP denied responsibility and there is nothing I could do about it. This episode cost me almost $700 to have the tank removed, flush etc.

So I reckon that Water Watch has save me big bucks - ie a pump, injectors, rail and labour would be in the order of $12-$15K - twice over in my case. So ask me is it worth the $500 purchase price................HELL YEAH!!!

I looked at the water watch system but decided against it as I could find no info on how well it would condense out water finely atomised in the fuel by the fuel pump. Also in the case of a lot of water being present by the time the alarm goes of (delayed) the water is already through the filters and into the common rail.

I opted for a Racor filter with water repellent filter membrane as it is guaranteed to stop 99.5% of any water.

Cheers
LeighW

Apparently its the emulsifyed water that is floating in the fuel that the water watch will detect as the standard sedimenter water trap only collects the water that drops to the bottom of the fuel. Common rail engines wont tolerate the emulsifyed water where as the older diesels could handle it.
Its worth doing a google on diesel fuel quality and common rail diesel. It appears the repair shops see a few a week. Of course there are a lot of common rail diesels about operating with few problems. While the cost of a water watch may make you a bit squeemish you will need plenty of stamina if the fuel system sees water and needs repair. The repair costs make the water watch worth considering for common rail diesel owners I believe only from what I have read.

Gordon

I fitted the Engine Saver, before our Cape York trip this yea, and it's brilliant.
Bit sensative but.

A slightly loose connection, at the sender unit, and the thing squeeled on and off toe 2 days, almost ripped the thing out. Glad I didn't.
Der me ... the thing is only doing what it's supposed to, detecting a break/disruption, in the curcuit it forms with the coolant.

A bloody good squeeze up, with a set of plyers, at the sender unit, and the problem was sorted.

Can seriously recomend one

Cheers
Bucky

Sorry Gordon
Penny just dropped
Can I use just off night shift, for an excuse ???
OR
My Irish heritage. ???

I did see one of those water watch filters, in line fuel/water separator, at Warragul Diesel injector service, earlier this year.

They should be standard fitting on all common rail diesels

Cheers.
Bucky