TECHNICAL

BULLETIN
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy
Engine section Engine type Ref. Date Issue Document No. Page
21 Starting air system W20 WFI–S 14-Nov-2012 01 2021T023 1(3)+1

Air starter re-engagement

Engine type This bulletin concerns WÄRTSILÄ® 20 engines manufactured until June
2011 and Auxpac 20 engines manufactured until January 2012.
General Gear rim damage can occur if the air starter is engaged before the bendix is
completely standing still. This phenomenon is independent of starter type
(TDI 45MA or 50P).
A typical situation when damage to the flywheel gear rim can occur is when
the air starter is re-engaged before the pinion wheel is fully stopped. This
can happen when blowing or when starting the engine locally. As a result
2 - 3 teeth (sometimes more) might get chipped on the gear rim.

Fig. 1 Typical re-engagement damage.

Solution To prevent re-engaging the air starter when the bendix is still spinning a
timer can be installed. The timer will prevent unintentional re-engaging of
the air starter for 30 seconds after the previous start attempt. This ensures
that the air starter bendix have stopped rotating before another start attempt
is made.
WÄRTSILÄ® 20 engines manufactured from July 2011 and Auxpac 20
engines manufactured from January 2012 have the same function
integrated and are thus not covered by this letter.

Recommendation It is recommended that the solution with the timer as described above is
installed to prevent re-engagement damage on the flywheel gear rim. See
the instructions on the next page.

Wärtsilä Finland Oy P.O. Box 252 (Tarhaajantie 2) Telecop. +358 10 709 1847 Tel. +358 10 709 0000 Business ID 0773744-3
Services, Vaasa FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 1380 Registered Office: Vaasa
Wärtsilä Finland Oy P.O. Box 50 (Stålarminkatu 45) Telecop. +358 10 709 3279 Tel. +358 10 709 0000
Services, Turku FIN-20811 Turku, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 3410
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Technical Bulletin
Issue Document No. Page
01 2021T023 2(3)+1

Instructions Fit the timer in the cabinet on the engine by drilling a hole and fastening it
with a screw and lock nut. The electrical connections are to be made
according to the attached wiring diagram.

Fig. 2 Example of a timer installed in a SPEMOS cabinet

Fig. 3 Example of a timer installed in a UNIC cabinet

Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Technical Bulletin
Issue Document No. Page
01 2021T023 3(3)+1

Ordering Contact your closest Wärtsilä Services Network. When ordering, please
specify the engine serial number and part number.

Ref. type Part No. Description Qty

W20 PAAF135076 Air starter re-engagement set 1

Letter distribution Wärtsilä Services Network and operators/owners of engines concerned.

Letter validity Until further notice.
Enclosure Wiring diagram DAAF021685, 1 page.

2012 Wärtsilä Finland Oy – All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, graphic, photocopying,
recording, taping or other information retrieval systems) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Wärtsilä Finland Oy
makes no representation, warranty (express or implied) in this publication and assumes no responsibility for the correctness, errors or
omissions for information contained herein. Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.
Unless otherwise expressly set forth, no recommendation contained in this document is to be construed as provided due to a
defect in the engine, but merely as an improvement of the engine and/or the maintenance procedures relating thereto. Any actions
by the owner/operator as a result of the recommendations are not covered under any warranty provided by Wärtsilä and such
actions will thus be at the owners/operators own cost and expense.
NO LIABILITY WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, IS ASSUMED WITH RESPECT TO THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. THIS PUBLICATION IS CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES
ONLY.
UNIC CABINET ENGINE CABLING

START SOLENOID
MCM K321 CV321
RTFRO 2 x 1.5 mm²
3 1 Black 1.5 mm² 2
MCM-1-X35-1 Blue 1.5 mm² 2+
MCM-1-X35-2 2 2 1 1-

X_CV321
DIN 43650

SPEMOS
SPEMOS K321
7 PART OF CABLE C
70 3 1
98 X20 2

WECS
RM K321
RTFRO 2 x 1.5 mm²
3 2 2 1.5 mm²
R23 1 1.5 mm²
R24 2 1

DAAF021685 -