TM 5-3895-363-13&P
14. TROUBLE SHOOTING
14.1
HAMMER WON’T START
NOTE: A difficulty not related to any mechanical problem is a lack of pile resistance — soft
ground. The trouble shooting of the pile hammer should be approached with the same logic as
would be utilized for a diesel engine.
SYMPTOM
OF
PROBABLE
TROUBLE
CAUSE
TEST
REMEDY
14.1.1
Black exhaust
Hammer flooded with
Remove lock nut (item
Replace buna cone
smoke, dead
fuel.
11 page 35) slide pump
(item 28 page 43) or
sound when
back away from
valve pressure spring
piston strikes
hammer, leaving fuel
(item 26 page 43)
impact block.
lines hooked up.
Clean combustion
FUEL
YES
chamber per 7.4 and
DRIPPING
NO
restart
FROM NOZZLE
14.1.2
Intermittent
Hammer flooded with
Remove locking screw
Drain fuel tank, clean
gray to white
contaminated fuel, from
(item 24 page 43) from
pipe joint filters (item
exhaust
water in tank, or rain.
fuel pump
17, page 35), and refill
smoke
with clean diesel fuel
WATER
YES
IN
NO
Clean combustion
LOCKING
chamber per 7.4 and
SCREW
restart
14.1.3
No smoke or
No fuel or too little.
Remove lock nut (item
Remove fuel pump per
little smoke
11 page 35) slide
section 10.4.9 check
pump back away from
fuel pump and regula-
hammer, leaving fuel
tion system per section
lines hooked up. Pull
8 and 11, repair.
on pump lever.
Check fuel output per
FUEL
YES
Section 11.3, repair and
SQUIRTING
NO
restart
OUT
NOZZLE
14.1.4
Piston hits
Compression too low.
Raise hammer so im-
Disassemble impact
impact block
pact block is capable of
block per Section 10.3.
with sharp
dropping out.
check piston rings per
noise but
10.4.4, inner cylinder
does not
Impact block
YES
end ring per 10.4.5,
rebound.
drops out
rubber ring per 10.4.6
and lower cylinder per
NO
10.4.8, replace.
Make a cold blow of
Disassemble piston per
hammer per Section
Section 10.3 check pis-
10.2.2
ton rings per 10.4.4, re-
place, reassemble and
Piston rebound
NO
restart.
8 times
22
