Re: Johnson 200 VRO alarm
Thanks guy's, I know it's the no oil alarm. It's the beep beep beep not the beep every 30 seconds or so.. I did check to bulb and it's stays hard all the time. I'm thinking that if that sock is cloged a little while idling it's not sucking hard enough to get enough oil through, but under higher RPM's it's pulling enough oil through to satisfy the sensor.. I did check the line's and there doesn't seem to be any leaks, My mechanic did give me a different sensor that I changed but it didn't help.. How do you bleed the system I can take the hose off that sensor and squeeze the bulb?
Never hurts to replace the pickup filter. Might want to take the opportunity to completely empty and clean the tank and see if there's any sign of moisture in the oil you get out.
OH, by the way, when mine was giving me that no oil alarm, the oil bulb was indeed hard, I had to squeeze it pretty hard, but a couple of squeezes would make the alarm shut off, even at idle. It didn't seem like it would be doing anything since the bulb was so hard to begin with. It would tend to go away on its own at higher RPMs, like yours.
But that doesn't make any difference because it doesn't hurt to change the filter, and when you do you need to re-prime the system anyway. So whether it's a clogged filter (pretty unlikely in my opinion) or an air bubble or such, it really doesn't matter.
To reprime:
1. Put enough oil in tank to cover the pickup filter well and keep it covered when you pump out about 1/2 pint or so, but don't put too much in there so you can test the low oil alarm while you're at it. (see below). I think 1 1/2 quarts should be adequate. Use your judgment.
2. disconnect the oil line right at the VRO/OMS pump. Mine - and I assume all VRO/OMS pumps - has a little clear-ish plastic section just at the pump. You disconnect below (downstream) of that.
3. Pump the bulb until oil flows out of the end you disconnected and catch it in a jar. Obviously, keep pumping well beyond the point you get your last air bubble, I pumped a good 1/2 pint or more into my jar just to be really sure. Your goal is to get all the air out of the entire length of the oil hose. Assuming the jar is clean, after you're done you just put it back in the oil tank, maybe after testing the "low oil" alarm (below).
4. Reconnect and clamp the oil hose
5. pump the bulb until you see that clear section fill with oil, then pump two more firm pumps. The bulb will probably feel pretty hard this whole time. It doesn't get nearly as soft and pump up firm like the gas bulb.
6. Before you start this whole thing run some pre-mix so that all your fuel hoses are full of premix so you won't ever be running raw gas until you're sure the oil mixing is working is good and you have finished testing the "no oil" alarm (below). After everything is done, I run about 5-10 gallons of premix in my built in tanks. If you have portable tanks, most of a 6 gallon tank should be plenty. Then measure carefully how much oil and gas were used to see if the ratio is about right.
You can take the opportunity to test both the "no oil" and "low oil" alarm.
The "no oil" is tested after you've disconnected the oil hose, but before you do the purging. Run the engine (high idle on the hose or in the water) with the oil line disconnected but temporarily plugged. The no oil should sound after all the oil in the pump and adjoining lines is gone. It might take a few minutes, but remember, you're running premix so no harm. Stop the engine and do the purging. After you connect and finish purging, when you run it again, the no oil should stop after a short while.
To test the "low oil" alarm, when you fill the tank after changing the filter, just put at most 1 1/2 quart in it. Enough to cover the filter and keep it well covered while you purge it, but not a lot more. I'm not sure, but I think the low oil sounds at about 1-2 quarts remaining? It needs to be low enough level to activate the "low oil" alarm. When you run it after purging, the "no oil" alarm will stop as above, then listen for a minute or so and the low oil alarm should sound ever 30 seconds or so. Then, fill the tank with more oil and that alarm should quit.
If you're not getting the alarm, you might have too much oil in the tank and you can remove it a little bit at a time with a turkey baster (again, saving it.... it's perfectly good still as long as you keep it clean). Make sure you don't remove enough so that it sucks air because then you'd have to purge again.
Again all this is done with pre-mix gas until you're sure you've got the thing connected and purged right and it's sucking up oil at the right rate.
All of this is in the shop manual (including the alarm tests, how much oil to have in the tank) and I think it's also in the basic owner's manual. I think they are invaluable and recommend them.
