Alarm Sounds

[brantley moats]

I have a 2006 Mercury Optimax 200hp. Yesterday while making the run a couple miles back to the ramp my alarm went off , it only sounded for a couple seconds but , I immediately came off plane and checked oil level and telltale hole on motor for water squirt and check water pressure which was at normal. Didn't notice anything unusual so gave it gas and took off again ,about a mile further sounded again for same time about 2 seconds. Same procedure as above. Stopped and read "alarm notes " this time. When i got within about 200 yards of ramp and came off plane did hear a beep,beep approximately 4 times. this sound was not near as loud as other alarm signals I had gotten.
My question is, since we have had a very recent change in the weather( we went from summer to fall in two days) ,got noticeably cold this week, could this have triggered moisture in tank? As in condensation?
I might add, motor has been maintained as in 300 hour tune up,water pump replaced ,filters etc. this summer.
I recently filled the tank to fuller than it has ever been, about 47 gallons in tank. Don't know why this would have affected anything.
Any clues, will be checking out motor on a hose this morning.
Brantley

 

[AirForce]

You never quite definitely defined the alarm sequence you got. Solid beeping (long continuous beep - solid alarm), 4 beeps etc.

LOW OIL LEVEL: The low oil level warning is activate when the remaining oil in the mounted oil resevoir tank drops below 50 fl. oz.... WARNING HORN EMITS A SERIES OF FOUR BEEPS.

ENGINE OVERHEAT: HORN SOUNDS CONTINUOUSLY

ENGINE OVERSPEED: INTERMITTENT BEEP until engine speed drops below MAXIMUM RPM.

ELECTRICAL SENSOR NOT FUNCTIONING: If the TPS, MAP, or CTS is not functioning, or is out of it's "pre-programmed diagnostic range", the warning horn will sound INTERMITTENTLY.

WATER IN FUEL WARNING: SERIES OF FOUR BEEPS.

These warnings were intended to be utilized with a "WARNING LIGHT GAUGE" (which provided additional information via lighted warning lights).

 

[brantley moats]

Thanks for the info, I read somewhere in these posts where toxic(I think) stated that a problem that occurs often with these motors is the low oil indicator in the tank ceases to work and gives this alarm. Well HE WAS RIGHT! , took it to the shop and that was it. Cost $301 at a certified Mercury dealer in Georgia. I saved the old tank , for what I don't know. It seems a health amount to pay for a faulty sensor but it is what it is. Glad to be back fishing.
Brantley

 

[Bandit725]

I just purchased a used Nitro NX750 with a 135 Optimax v6. I made a run in it consisting of about an hour without problems other than the steering was hard. Replaced steering cable and helm, rack n pinion, and steering was great. Made another run about the same time frame as the first but on the way back from the run, a continuous alarm sounded as long as I was above around 2500 RPM. I ordered a repair manual and read where it was due to overheating. I purchased a kit with the impeller and took the lower unit off. When I removed the older impeller I found that there was very little wear and that it looked almost as good as the new one. One of the seals had a tear in it. I replaced with all the new parts and have yet to try it on the water. I will try a back yard test first though. Would there be anything else that would cause the alarm to sound at 2000 RPM and higher other than a faulty impeller?

 

[firedog978]

Have you checked to see if the water intakes on lower unit are clogged or, partially clogged?
It's s/w common.

 

[Donald Prater]

When my did this it was because the water impeller was bad. Had to replace it and then had bass pro reset my computer on the motor took car of the problem.

 

[mglowery]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread for my first post, but I just had this high pitch alarm issue this weekend on 2004 Tracker. We were heading in for the day when it started. It was continuous - which from the above post would be overheating. The engine ran fine though. Ran it all the way to the camp and then again from the camp to the boat ramp. Alarm comes on as soon as you turn the key, before cranking. Even when I got the boat home several hours later, you turn the key to the right and the alarm sounds. Possible the alarm itself is broken?

 

[ditchpickle98]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread for my first post, but I just had this high pitch alarm issue this weekend on 2004 Tracker. We were heading in for the day when it started. It was continuous - which from the above post would be overheating. The engine ran fine though. Ran it all the way to the camp and then again from the camp to the boat ramp. Alarm comes on as soon as you turn the key, before cranking. Even when I got the boat home several hours later, you turn the key to the right and the alarm sounds. Possible the alarm itself is broken?

What's the outboard? If it's a Merc from around the same year as your boat, continuous tone means over heat, oil pressure level low, oil pump failure, or engine overspeed. Since it's happening all the time, we can eliminate the last one.

I've found that when I get an over heat warning, I have to start the boat again and let it cycle a few times before the tone shuts off. If it's an overheat warning you may need to run the engine for a second to get it to stop.

Other than that, look into the oil system. Oil pump or oil level. If oil levels are good, and the tone persists and everything else checks out, your oil pump is broken somehow.

 

[mglowery]

What's the outboard? If it's a Merc from around the same year as your boat, continuous tone means over heat, oil pressure level low, oil pump failure, or engine overspeed. Since it's happening all the time, we can eliminate the last one.

I've found that when I get an over heat warning, I have to start the boat again and let it cycle a few times before the tone shuts off. If it's an overheat warning you may need to run the engine for a second to get it to stop.

Other than that, look into the oil system. Oil pump or oil level. If oil levels are good, and the tone persists and everything else checks out, your oil pump is broken somehow.

It is a Merc from the same year. So the tone would be continuous even if you just turn the key to the right without cranking after the engine has been off for several hours? That's the part that was really throwing me off.

 

[birda40]

I have a 225 EFI , when I turn the key it sounds for a few seconds then stops, I start it after the tone. I was told it's supposed to do that it's the fuel pumping up to pressure.

 

[ditchpickle98]

It is a Merc from the same year. So the tone would be continuous even if you just turn the key to the right without cranking after the engine has been off for several hours? That's the part that was really throwing me off.

Yes, I believe so. It will tone until the engine turns on and then the computer should turn it off if there's no issues.

If the tone persists after starting the engine and letting it run for more than about 10 seconds, the issue isn't fixed and you need to diagnose what that is. The manual says it will only continuous tone for over heat, overspeed, or oil pressure, and since you say it's going off when the engine is cold it isn't the former two, so it sounds like an oil issue.

Is your tell tale fine (the steam of water that comes out of the outboard when it's on)? If that's going, from my understanding it would be basically impossible for it to be over heating.

 

[mglowery]

Yes, I believe so. It will tone until the engine turns on and then the computer should turn it off if there's no issues.

If the tone persists after starting the engine and letting it run for more than about 10 seconds, the issue isn't fixed and you need to diagnose what that is. The manual says it will only continuous tone for over heat, overspeed, or oil pressure, and since you say it's going off when the engine is cold it isn't the former two, so it sounds like an oil issue.

Is your tell tale fine (the steam of water that comes out of the outboard when it's on)? If that's going, from my understanding it would be basically impossible for it to be over heating.

yeah the water stream is good. likely to be oil issue, heading over to check levels shortly. thanks for the info!