Continuous Warning Horn on Mercury 200hp Saltwater

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Author Topic:   Continuous Warning Horn on Mercury 200hp Saltwater

dhowardair posted 07-24-2006 04:30 PM ET (US)
Hello,
My 2001 Ranger Bay 2180 Center Console boat is equipped with a 2002 model Mercury 200hp "Saltwater" oil-injected engine. I recently had the small oil tank that is mounted on the engine replaced due to it having a small crack that leaked a lot. This work was done by an authorized Mercury service center. I have taken the boat out twice since then. On the first trip I ran the boat intermittently about a total of an hour and only near the end of that trip I started getting either "3-BEEPS" or "4-BEEPS" from the warning horn.
On the second outing yesterday I got these same warnings from time to time more frequently and then I got the CONTINUOUS WARNING HORN a couple of times til I slowed down and put it in neutral. Finally, I was travelling at about 5,000 RPM and it came again. THis time, I could run the engine up to about 2,000 RPM with no problems but soon after increasing the RPM's above that I got the steady warning horn again. THe engine did not appear to be hot, it had steady water flow, and the oil reservoirs had plenty of oil.
My question is do you think that maybe I got some air-cavitation in the small oil tank/lines?
Maybe a defective oil pump?
Again, it seems to come on at RPM settings above 2,000 RPM or so.
Thanks a million for any help,
Dan Howard
Tulsa, OK
jeffs22outrage posted 07-24-2006 04:39 PM ET (US)
I you might have a defective oil pump...
Read
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/mercuryOilInjection.html
Then Read
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010414.html
We did the retro fit with th electric pump and are very happy with it.......
sosmerc posted 07-25-2006 03:20 PM ET (US)
The 2002 does not have a motion sensor on the oil pump...so the horn beeping cannot be caused from anything related to the oil pump itself.
The horn can be triggered from:
low oil in reserve tank
faulty float switch
intermittant voltage at the green lead
poor ground on the oil warning module
low battery voltage
overheating
faulty overheat switch
bad oil warning module
Tom W Clark posted 07-25-2006 09:51 PM ET (US)
I put my money of the warning module or switch box. This is a very common part to fail and will cost only a couple hundred to replace. But verify that that is the problem before replacing it.
Sal DiMercurio posted 07-25-2006 10:16 PM ET (US)
My bet is the "T" Stats.
All the indications point to the engine getting warm at speed & thats what happens when T stats fail to open all the way.
You can't tell anything by looking at the tell tail pisser, that just tells you the water pump is working but not how well it's working or if the T-stats are functioning.
If you haven't changed them in 2 years, you best do it.
It is so easy no one should even concider not changing them every 2 years.
Sal
bubbers posted 08-17-2006 02:27 PM ET (US)
I just replaced my thermostats on my 98 Mariner 200 HP ourboard. It was very easy right up front and only 22 dollars for both. After 8 years I found them in a terribly corroded condition, one stuck open and I don't know how the other one could even open. My overheat steady warning horn came on last weekend after 5 minutes.
I noticed when it got hot it was not pissing out the back and thought the thermostats had to open to start the flow. The water pump was changed about one year ago but now still no flow and the cylinder gets hot. I am afraid to heat it until the warning comes on again. I connected a water hose to the connection in back and ran it 10 minutes with water pissing out the back. Shutting off the water hose stopped the pissing so all I can figure is the water pump spun it's hub. I will replace it again tomorrow. Had the intermittent beeping last year and it ended up being the control module as others on here have had happen.
David1877 posted 08-17-2006 06:26 PM ET (US)
Hello-
I just had a very similar sequence of problems.
On 7/27/06, I purchased a brand new 2005 Merc 200 Optimax. First run, the oil reservoir depletion alarm came on. Turned out oil rigging lines were reversed (so they tell me). 4 beep alarm and the engine was depleting oil from the reservoir. During troubleshooting, the tech asked me to repressurize the oil system. This might be part of your problem. You may have air in the system after the tank was replaced. You can bleed the air out. Remove the motor cover. Tilt the engine so the reservoir oil cap is at the high point. Remove reservoir cap. Turn on electronics and move shift lever from neutral to full throttle three times. Within a few seconds, start eegine. Wait. When oil runs out the reservoir, cap it off. This may bleed air out.

Last week, my check engine warning came on (solid beep). Turned out I needed a new thermostat.
Good luck.
bubbers posted 08-19-2006 02:42 PM ET (US)
I pulled the lower unit off and found the impeller replaced last year had split cross wise so the hub was spinning causing no water flow and the overheat. Never heard of this happening before. I can understand the impeller blades breaking or the hub spinning but have never heard of one splitting. The mechanic had torqued all of the nuts down so hard I had to use an impact wrench four minutes to get one bolt out. He might have damaged the impeller installing it too. Now I will just do it myself.
bkovak posted 08-19-2006 09:28 PM ET (US)
I'm with Sal on this one too. I have a 2001 Merc 150 Saltwater and had the same thing happen last year, steady horn sound came on after I got up on plane. Slowed to 2000 rpms it was fine but went off again as I reached 3500 or so. Turned out to be bad thermostats. I'd go ahead and replace them first as it's an easy inexpensive fix as already mentioned. Brian

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Author	Topic: Continuous Warning Horn on Mercury 200hp Saltwater
dhowardair	posted 07-24-2006 04:30 PM ET (US) Hello, My 2001 Ranger Bay 2180 Center Console boat is equipped with a 2002 model Mercury 200hp "Saltwater" oil-injected engine. I recently had the small oil tank that is mounted on the engine replaced due to it having a small crack that leaked a lot. This work was done by an authorized Mercury service center. I have taken the boat out twice since then. On the first trip I ran the boat intermittently about a total of an hour and only near the end of that trip I started getting either "3-BEEPS" or "4-BEEPS" from the warning horn. On the second outing yesterday I got these same warnings from time to time more frequently and then I got the CONTINUOUS WARNING HORN a couple of times til I slowed down and put it in neutral. Finally, I was travelling at about 5,000 RPM and it came again. THis time, I could run the engine up to about 2,000 RPM with no problems but soon after increasing the RPM's above that I got the steady warning horn again. THe engine did not appear to be hot, it had steady water flow, and the oil reservoirs had plenty of oil. My question is do you think that maybe I got some air-cavitation in the small oil tank/lines? Maybe a defective oil pump? Again, it seems to come on at RPM settings above 2,000 RPM or so. Thanks a million for any help, Dan Howard Tulsa, OK
jeffs22outrage	posted 07-24-2006 04:39 PM ET (US) I you might have a defective oil pump... Read http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/mercuryOilInjection.html Then Read http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/010414.html We did the retro fit with th electric pump and are very happy with it.......
sosmerc	posted 07-25-2006 03:20 PM ET (US) The 2002 does not have a motion sensor on the oil pump...so the horn beeping cannot be caused from anything related to the oil pump itself. The horn can be triggered from: low oil in reserve tank faulty float switch intermittant voltage at the green lead poor ground on the oil warning module low battery voltage overheating faulty overheat switch bad oil warning module
Tom W Clark	posted 07-25-2006 09:51 PM ET (US) I put my money of the warning module or switch box. This is a very common part to fail and will cost only a couple hundred to replace. But verify that that is the problem before replacing it.
Sal DiMercurio	posted 07-25-2006 10:16 PM ET (US) My bet is the "T" Stats. All the indications point to the engine getting warm at speed & thats what happens when T stats fail to open all the way. You can't tell anything by looking at the tell tail pisser, that just tells you the water pump is working but not how well it's working or if the T-stats are functioning. If you haven't changed them in 2 years, you best do it. It is so easy no one should even concider not changing them every 2 years. Sal
bubbers	posted 08-17-2006 02:27 PM ET (US) I just replaced my thermostats on my 98 Mariner 200 HP ourboard. It was very easy right up front and only 22 dollars for both. After 8 years I found them in a terribly corroded condition, one stuck open and I don't know how the other one could even open. My overheat steady warning horn came on last weekend after 5 minutes. I noticed when it got hot it was not pissing out the back and thought the thermostats had to open to start the flow. The water pump was changed about one year ago but now still no flow and the cylinder gets hot. I am afraid to heat it until the warning comes on again. I connected a water hose to the connection in back and ran it 10 minutes with water pissing out the back. Shutting off the water hose stopped the pissing so all I can figure is the water pump spun it's hub. I will replace it again tomorrow. Had the intermittent beeping last year and it ended up being the control module as others on here have had happen.
David1877	posted 08-17-2006 06:26 PM ET (US) Hello- I just had a very similar sequence of problems. On 7/27/06, I purchased a brand new 2005 Merc 200 Optimax. First run, the oil reservoir depletion alarm came on. Turned out oil rigging lines were reversed (so they tell me). 4 beep alarm and the engine was depleting oil from the reservoir. During troubleshooting, the tech asked me to repressurize the oil system. This might be part of your problem. You may have air in the system after the tank was replaced. You can bleed the air out. Remove the motor cover. Tilt the engine so the reservoir oil cap is at the high point. Remove reservoir cap. Turn on electronics and move shift lever from neutral to full throttle three times. Within a few seconds, start eegine. Wait. When oil runs out the reservoir, cap it off. This may bleed air out. Last week, my check engine warning came on (solid beep). Turned out I needed a new thermostat. Good luck.
bubbers	posted 08-19-2006 02:42 PM ET (US) I pulled the lower unit off and found the impeller replaced last year had split cross wise so the hub was spinning causing no water flow and the overheat. Never heard of this happening before. I can understand the impeller blades breaking or the hub spinning but have never heard of one splitting. The mechanic had torqued all of the nuts down so hard I had to use an impact wrench four minutes to get one bolt out. He might have damaged the impeller installing it too. Now I will just do it myself.
bkovak	posted 08-19-2006 09:28 PM ET (US) I'm with Sal on this one too. I have a 2001 Merc 150 Saltwater and had the same thing happen last year, steady horn sound came on after I got up on plane. Slowed to 2000 rpms it was fine but went off again as I reached 3500 or so. Turned out to be bad thermostats. I'd go ahead and replace them first as it's an easy inexpensive fix as already mentioned. Brian