beep continues after engine is running

R

richsbca

New Member
Jan 30, 2010
18
Ojai and Santa Barbara
Boat Info
1989 160 bow rider
Engines
100hp Mercury outboard
Ok, when I turn the key to the on position I get a solid 'beep' sounding one right ofter the other. I crank and start the engine and the engine is running, but still getting the same 'beep' pattern. Sounds similar to the beep that sounds if you leave your key in the ignition of your car with the the door open. Anyone ever seen this before?
 
Could it be a depthfinder alarm?

Other than that, I'm sorry, I really don't know without looking in a manual. By chance, do you have your manual? If not, I think you can get one through Merc's site... or at least I thought you used to be able to.
 
Isn't the beep for low oil pressure? When the engine is off, key in the on position, the beep is present. When you start the engine and oil pressure comes up, the beep disappears.

Could it be a bad sending unit? Do you have oil pressure according tot he gauge?

Doug
 
We'll need some more info about the outboard. Year, make, and model would help.

That's almost certainly an audible warning alarm. Could be low oil pressure. Could be water in the gas. Could be a whole host of other things. Depends on the outboard. There are normally different combinations of visual and/or audible codes that correspond to different problems.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Could it be a depthfinder alarm?

Other than that, I'm sorry, I really don't know without looking in a manual. By chance, do you have your manual? If not, I think you can get one through Merc's site... or at least I thought you used to be able to.
Click to expand...


Got the manual from searay.com (first thing I did) but didn't see anything about the beep. Could be I just haven't looked hard enough yet.

Do they come standard with a depth alarm? I think I did see something about the depth alarm, but not much info in the manual...
 
jhild said:
We'll need some more info about the outboard. Year, make, and model would help.

That's almost certainly an audible warning alarm. Could be low oil pressure. Could be water in the gas. Could be a whole host of other things. Depends on the outboard. There are normally different combinations of visual and/or audible codes that correspond to different problems.
Click to expand...


Sorry about that, it's an 89 160 bow rider with 100hp outboard merc.
 
douglee25 said:
Isn't the beep for low oil pressure? When the engine is off, key in the on position, the beep is present. When you start the engine and oil pressure comes up, the beep disappears.

Could it be a bad sending unit? Do you have oil pressure according tot he gauge?

Doug
Click to expand...


I was wondering if it could be oil pressure, but I have no guage on my boat. Is there another way to check oil pressure?
 
richsbca said:
Got the manual from searay.com (first thing I did) but didn't see anything about the beep. Could be I just haven't looked hard enough yet.

Do they come standard with a depth alarm? I think I did see something about the depth alarm, but not much info in the manual...
Click to expand...

It's doubtful the boat came with a depth as a standard feature. But, anything is possible - either an OEM option or installed aftermarket.

In reading the other responses, something I didn't even think about is your 2-cycle oil. You won't have an actual oil pressure gauge since (I'm assuming) you have a 2-stroke engine. But, do you mix the oil/gas or do you have a remote tank? If you have a remote tank (either engine mounted or somewhere back on the inside of the transom), there's a possibility that there's a sensor to warn you when the oil get's low. I think this is what the other guys were getting at. Look for wires going to the oil tank.

You might want to look into getting a manual for the engine - the Sea Ray manual won't give nearly as much info as a Merc manual will.
 
OK - I was not aware it was an outboard engine. I am not very knowledgeable on outboards.

Doug
 
Lazy Daze said:
It's doubtful the boat came with a depth as a standard feature. But, anything is possible - either an OEM option or installed aftermarket.

In reading the other responses, something I didn't even think about is your 2-cycle oil. You won't have an actual oil pressure gauge since (I'm assuming) you have a 2-stroke engine. But, do you mix the oil/gas or do you have a remote tank? If you have a remote tank (either engine mounted or somewhere back on the inside of the transom), there's a possibility that there's a sensor to warn you when the oil get's low. I think this is what the other guys were getting at. Look for wires going to the oil tank.

You might want to look into getting a manual for the engine - the Sea Ray manual won't give nearly as much info as a Merc manual will.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out... It is a 2 cycle and I'll have to check the wires. I think the engine mounted tank has oil in it, but I'll have to double check.
 
well she's full of 2 cycle oil, so back to square 1. Guess I'll try putting her in the water and see if anything changes... Any other ideas guys?
 
I think you’re on the right track with the low oil alarm. You say the on-engine oil tank is full, but sometimes the pressure in those little remote tanks can change and trigger the alarm. The caps need to be air tight. You can try the following.
Tilt your engine so the onboard tank is level. Remove the cap on the oil reservoir. Run the engine until the remote tank fills with oil. Once full, replace the cap and stop the engine. The circulating oil will force any remaining air out of the system, hopefully stopping the warning alarm.

Other ideas: I think those older Mercury outboards use a simple float-switch low oil sensor. The switch could be stuck, the sensor could be bad, or there could be a loose connection to the unit.
 
Could this be an alternator alarm? I noticed that when I start the engine the voltage meter doesn't realy move in the positive direction. When starter is cranking the voltage will drop to as low as 8V and when it's running im at 12V and if i trun the lights on it drops to about 11V. Guess I'll start looking at fuses next.. Any Ideas?
 
richsbca said:
Could this be an alternator alarm? I noticed that when I start the engine the voltage meter doesn't realy move in the positive direction. When starter is cranking the voltage will drop to as low as 8V and when it's running im at 12V and if i trun the lights on it drops to about 11V. Guess I'll start looking at fuses next.. Any Ideas?
Click to expand...


Ok found the sensor in the bottom of the on engine oil tank and unplugged the 2 plugs and the beep stops.... Bad sensor? No oil flow? HELP?
 
richsbca said:
Ok found the sensor in the bottom of the on engine oil tank and unplugged the 2 plugs and the beep stops.... Bad sensor? No oil flow? HELP?
Click to expand...

I would do like suggested above and play with the float switch. See if you can't either stick something in there to push the float down, or pump enough oil out to see what's going on. Do you have that pump that is used for gear oil?

If pushing the float down works, it would probably be a good idea to remove the tank and clean it out real good. The oil might be gummy on the bottom of the tank and around the switch.
 
Sounds like you're narrowing it down. It may/may not be a float switch. It could just be a level detecting sensor. The switch could be bad causing an closed circuit. When you unplugged it, the circuit opens, the alarm stops.

Think about it for a little and see if you can figure it out. I think you're almost there.

Doug
 
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