1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

[packerjh]

Hey everyone..first post here, but lots of reading done already. I have a 1989 Skeeter with an Evinrude 1989 70 HP outboard. I just got the boat and took it out for it's first run. It was my brother's boat, and I was lucky enough to get it from his estate after he died this summer. I don't know much about the boat, just that it reportedly ran great, but the oil reservoir had been disconnected and the fuel was pre-mixed. I added fresh pre-mix and test-ran the motor in my driveway with no problems. Took it to the lake and it ran fine, but after a few minutes the horn started beeping...it was a slow steady tone that gradually built in volume. I immediately shut it down, and pulled the hood to check the engine...it didn't feel hot, not even very warm actually so I started it up again and no horn. After a few minutes it started sounding again so I again felt the engine...again, not hot...warm, but easily able to hold my hand on the block for 10+ seconds. I checked the fuel bulb and it felt a little squishy (great description huh!) but not abnormal in my opinion. The telltale is strong, and the water only lukewarm. I was doing some trolling, and the horn would sound continuously but would turn off if I turned on any accessory, such as the bilge pump, livewell pump, or power trim...if I turned the pump off, or stopped the trim the alarm will turn back on in a few seconds. I did not have any limitations regarding RPMs, and full throttle is not a problem...motor runs fine.

So, a couple of questions...

it looks like the wires to the oil tank were cut near the tank. Best as I can tell the wires attach on the port side of the engine (wires remind me of lamp cord) one to the block, the other with a bullet style connector. Should they be removed? Also, can I just remove the oil tank to get a little extra room for gear since I'm pre-mixing??

I don't have a manual (yet) but I think the tan wire at the top of the engine is for the temp sensor. Also I think each cylinder (3) has it's own temp sensor...what color wire an I looking for to do some trouble shooting for each individual cylinder?

last, does it seem likely that the horn is bad? the boat has been stored indoors it's whole life, but came to CA from Wisconsin so had to deal with humidity in summer and cold in winter...I just think it's funny that the livewell pump running can trump the engine horn...

Thanks guys! jason

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

I think you have a wiring issue. Wires for the oil injection system do not need to be cut. The cable can be simply disconnected at the oil injection pump harness. Battery voltage may be an issue since turning on an accessory increases current demand. Yes - warning horn systems can go bad and no, you do not have a temp sensor for each cylinder.

 

[packerjh]

Re: 1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

Hi Silvertip, thanks for the response. I have disconnected the wire for the oil reservoir at the engine. it definately seemed like a bad idea to me to have just cut a wire and then leave it, but then again, I didn't do it...I got it that way.

Does this engine have an alarm tone for fuel restriction? I planned to check the filter screen and clean the fuel tank to make sure of no restrictions there. With no temp gauge, how can I check actual temp of the cylinders?

Also, if I disconnect the tan wire at the top of the cylinders, that takes the cylinder temp out of the equasion (am I right?)...I tried this but still got a tone, so I think temp isn't the problem. Also the fact that my RPMs were not limited, and WOT was not a problem (didn't do this long...just to be somewhat safe).

So, what is the best way to verify a bad horn? Sorry to be so open in my questions, but I'm a budget challenged rookie.

Oh yeah, I don't see any other wiring that appears suspect (like poor connection jobs, etc) so where would be a good place to check for wiring issues. Regarding voltage, the main battery seems to be working great, and is holding it's voltage well.

Lastly, like I said before, since I'm not using th oil reservoir I'd just as soon remove it for the extra space. The wiring is not an issue (already removed) but the oil line is a question. Can I simply remove it at the attachment point on the engine, and if so, what to do regarding the attachment point (I don't think debris should get in there...just plug it?).

Thanks again! Your help is invaluable, and a big money saver in this economy! Jason

 

[packerjh]

Re: 1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

bump....

 

[packerjh]

Re: 1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

So, I'm beginning to think maybe the horn was getting a temp alarm, and maybe the thermostat was sticking a bit. I ran the boat in the driveway today with muffs on, and I noticed the heads heating up, and then after a few minutes cooling down. They seem to feel cooler than they did the other day on the water. I ran the boat for 10+ minutes and didn't get any alarm other than the initial chirp at key turn.

On another note, I removed the oil reservoir and plugged the oil line where it enters the engine cowling. The wiring had already been cut before I got the boat (two wires) but I cleaned that up and tucked everything away. I ran the boat again, and after a few minutes got a repeating horn (every 1-2 seconds Chirp...chirp...chirp...)

I powered down and did a web search which told me to disconnect the harness coming from the VRO pump (3 wires). I did this, and also verified to see if there was an air leak in the oil line...there doesn't appear to be one.

Fired it back up, and ran at 2000 +/- RPM for about 10 minutes. Again felt engine warm, then after a minute or so begin to cool. No alarm of any kind sounded.

Water appears to be pumping well, at least if the tell-tale is any indicator...a nice strong stream of luke-warm water. Maybe the problem is fixed????

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1989 Evinrude 70hp warning horn questions

The motor did not come with a fuel obstruction alarm which would require adding a vacuum switch.

The constant alarm is an overheat alarm.

Check the waterpump and the thermostats.

Both the harness running from the fuel pump to the main harness and the oil tank wiring need to be disconnected when running premix. The fuel pump wiring will have a three or four wire amphenol plug which you can find by tracing the wires from the fuel pump.

Test the wiring for the horn after disconnecting the pump by temporarily disconnecting the temperature switch at the cylinder head and grounding the forward end of the wire to the engine block with the ignition key in the run position.