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ME784

Electronic Control Engine FIVA valve Trouble

Technical Committee
Ship type Bulker
Date of Completion 2011/2012
Navigation route
Damaged machinery
Category Main Engine
Name FIVA valve
Type
Maker
Date of trouble Dec.,2013

1. The summary of the trouble

When the engine speed was changed remotely from dead slow astern to slow astern, No. 6 cylinders alarm
on the main engine control panel came on and the main engine slowed down. A subsequent inspection
revealed that this cylinders fuel injector and exhaust valve were not functioning. The electrical line
connecting the FIVA valve and the sensor was checked at this point, but no abnormal condition was found.
Later, the FIVA valve was replaced and the main engine was started again, and the engine restored its
normal operation. The following alarm was observed: CCU-6 Illegal ELFI/FIVA Position-slow down,
which indicated that the main engine failed because of the FIVA valve failure.

2. The summary of the FIVA valve

The replaced FIVA valve was sent ashore to its manufacturer for inspection. It was found that too much oil
was leaking from the pilot valve. When the leakage becomes too much, stable control of the FIVA valve
becomes difficult, and eventually the valve can stop operating as commanded. It is also possible that some
foreign object jammed the valve, leading to the loss of control. An inspection of the cleaning solution after
washing the inner surface of the pilot valve suggested that the operating oil had deteriorated since it
contained a large amount of brown impurities. According to the manufacturer, deteriorated operating oil
can shorten the life of hydraulic devices including the FIVA valve.
The increased amount of oil leaking from the pilot valve appears to have been caused by the damaged
(worn) edge parts on the spool and the sleeve window. Since the sections exposed to the operating oil flow
had changed in color and sludge was found, one can estimate that the condition of the operating oil was not
optimal. Furthermore, the damage (wear) was observed in every place where the spool and sleeve window
were in contact, which suggests that some hard, small foreign objects were formed in the operating oil and
they caused the wear when flowing through the space between the spool and sleeve.

3. Countermeasures

The LO Sump Tank was cleaned and the LO was renewed. A new filter was installed in the drain line of
the operating oil back-wash filter. Possible additional counter measures are being discussed.

(Reference
FIVA VALVEFuel Injection and Valve Actuation Control Valve
Electromagnetic hydraulic valve used in the electronic control engine, controls timing and amount of fuel
injection and the driving timing of the exhaust valve,

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The Marine Engineer Dec. 2014
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FIVA Valve

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The Marine Engineer Dec. 2014
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The Marine Engineer Dec. 2014