The outboard engine on my DAUNTLESS 15 which I boat late in 2023 is a 1993 Johnson 50-HP model designator J50TLETF
ENGINE PROBLEMS.
The Johnson automatic fuel-oil mixing system was removed by the previous owner.
In 2022 that owner had the carburetors serviced, and then only used the boat once afterward. The engine ran "horribly" according to the previous owner. The dry cylinder peak pressure was measured by a technician, and deemed to be "good."
I started working on the engine. I found the thread-in plug for the lower carburetor bowl was missing--which says something about the mechanic who "serviced" the carburetors. After replacing the missing carburetor bowl drain plug, the engine ran "good" on a hose adaptor.
Next I did some work on the hull, making minor repairs, cleaning the hill with a lot of soap and water to remove old dirt and mold, and then I added new decals.
After the cleaning was done, I took the boat to the water.
As soon as the ignition key is turned to ON from OFF, an aural alarm sounds continually.
Q1: have I inadvertently created a short in some circuit?
My thought was there was some water in the cockpit sump and the continuous aural alert was sounding to alert me to this water. I drain all the water from the cockpit sump by removing the drain plug.
Q2: what condition in a DAUNTLESS 15 boat causes a continuous aural alarm to sound?
I do not think the aural alarm is from the engine. The sound is coming from under the console. I am new to Boston Whaler boats. I do not know where to start (to deduce what the alarm means, what is causing the alarm, how to fix the condition that causes the alarm, etc). Under the console there are a ton of wires.
MORE INFORMATION ON ENGINE
The engine (apparently has been started because the author reports it) is circulating water "fine." On a test run the boat was able to attain planing speed.
However, the engine is running "rough." I think the carburetors need another service by a better mechanic.
Engine Problems 1993 Johnson 50-HP
Re: Engine Problems 1993 Johnson 50-HP
Unless the owner's manual for your unidentified model year DAUNTLESS 15 explicitly mentions that there is an alarm system on the boat that is NOT associated with the outboard engine, the most reasonable cause for an aural alert to be continuously sounding is because the engine is signaling that alarm to occur. For the sounder that is producing the aural alert tone to be located at the helm area and perhaps inside the boat's helm console is very typical.
The owner's manual for the 1993 Johnson 50-HP engine should describe the warning system.
Generally on an OMC outboard engine of that epoch, the aural alert sounds at different cadences, and the meaning of the alert is to be deduced from the cadence.
For help in understanding the cadence of the aural alert from a c.1993 OMC engine, read my article at
WARNING HORN SIGNALS
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... gnals.html
The information in my article is taken directly from an OMC operating manual for a 1992 engine, so it should be completely the same on your 1993 engine. However, once you read the article you will see that a continuous aural alert should occur only while the engine is running, not just because the ignition key has been moved to ON from OFF and the engine is not running yet.
Because your narrative seems to be saying that the aural alert occurs immediately with the turning of the ignition key switch to ON from OFF and before the engine starts, the most reasonable interpretation is there is some wiring fault that is now triggering the aural alert sounder to operate.
The mention that the automatic oil-fuel mixing system was altered by a previous owner may be significant. In the automatic oil-fuel mixing system where is a sensor that causes the aural alert to occur when the sensor detects that there is a problem with the oil-fuel mixing ratio. If the the previous owner or his (shabby mechanic) removed the automatic oil-fuel mixing system, there is no way to know what they have done with the circuit that was connected to the mixing pump that is capable of sounding the aural alert. If that circuit is now connected to ground, then the aural alert will sound continuously as soon as the ignition key is moved to ON from OFF before the engine even starts.
To investigate, you should remove the engine cowling. Look for a four pole connector in then wiring harness that was originally connected to the oil miing pump (called a VRO for variable ratio oiling).
Also, the alarm system included a float level sensor in the oil reservoir tank. If the (goof-ball) prior owner or his (shabby) mechanic have removed the oil reservoir, they may not have properly attended to the sensor. The wire that used to connect to the oil reservoir sensor has insulation color TAN.
It is also possible that during your intense cleaning with soap and water that some water was splashed under the helm console and the water infiltrated the circuit to the aural alert sounder and is causing the negative circuit for the sounder to be shorted to battery negative.
Check for all of these possible causes and report your findings.
The owner's manual for the 1993 Johnson 50-HP engine should describe the warning system.
Generally on an OMC outboard engine of that epoch, the aural alert sounds at different cadences, and the meaning of the alert is to be deduced from the cadence.
For help in understanding the cadence of the aural alert from a c.1993 OMC engine, read my article at
WARNING HORN SIGNALS
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... gnals.html
The information in my article is taken directly from an OMC operating manual for a 1992 engine, so it should be completely the same on your 1993 engine. However, once you read the article you will see that a continuous aural alert should occur only while the engine is running, not just because the ignition key has been moved to ON from OFF and the engine is not running yet.
Because your narrative seems to be saying that the aural alert occurs immediately with the turning of the ignition key switch to ON from OFF and before the engine starts, the most reasonable interpretation is there is some wiring fault that is now triggering the aural alert sounder to operate.
The mention that the automatic oil-fuel mixing system was altered by a previous owner may be significant. In the automatic oil-fuel mixing system where is a sensor that causes the aural alert to occur when the sensor detects that there is a problem with the oil-fuel mixing ratio. If the the previous owner or his (shabby mechanic) removed the automatic oil-fuel mixing system, there is no way to know what they have done with the circuit that was connected to the mixing pump that is capable of sounding the aural alert. If that circuit is now connected to ground, then the aural alert will sound continuously as soon as the ignition key is moved to ON from OFF before the engine even starts.
To investigate, you should remove the engine cowling. Look for a four pole connector in then wiring harness that was originally connected to the oil miing pump (called a VRO for variable ratio oiling).
Also, the alarm system included a float level sensor in the oil reservoir tank. If the (goof-ball) prior owner or his (shabby) mechanic have removed the oil reservoir, they may not have properly attended to the sensor. The wire that used to connect to the oil reservoir sensor has insulation color TAN.
It is also possible that during your intense cleaning with soap and water that some water was splashed under the helm console and the water infiltrated the circuit to the aural alert sounder and is causing the negative circuit for the sounder to be shorted to battery negative.
Check for all of these possible causes and report your findings.