87 evinrude alarm

[tylerr83]

I have an 87 evinrude 50 vro that i recently aquired...installed it on my 16' starcraft this week...decided to fire it up today and it started without a problem. however after running it for a little bit a buzzer alarm started going off...not sure what it is - its a monotone sound, not a beeping. i'm unfamiliar with this kind of motor...but i know that its supposed to be oil injected....i was told that an oil injected motor like this could be run with a mix instead...my preliminary guess is that the alarm is because i dont have the seperate oil tank hooked up and this is a low oil alarm going off, but thats really just a guess. I'm obviously gonna have to pick up an omc repair manual but in the meantime if any of you guys have an idea what this could be i'd really appreciate some ideas.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[reeldutch]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

low oil alarm is a beep every 30 seconds. beep......................beep...................

no oil alarm is a beep every 1/2 second or so.beep,beep,beep

overheat alarm is a constant beep.beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

hope this will help you in the right direction.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

ok, it seems to be the overheat alarm then....if thats the case now i'm really stuck...theres a strong stream from the telltale so the impeller must be working properly, what would be the next thing to check for if its overheating

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

i've done some more reading on here and found someone with a similar problem...in his case the horn was going off continuously, as is mine, but it also is going off when the motor is not running...as soon as the key is engaged the alarm begins, but not everytime. sometimes it will run for a while then come on which would sound like it is overheating....but then with the motor off, shut off it still sounds. i've read a bunch of things on here about possible causes of this problem from a faulty horn or shorted wire to head gaskets...hope that not the case....i guess after checking for a problem with the horn/wire if the problem pursits the next course of action would be replacing the water pump?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

pee stream does not mean it is cooling. just means the impeller is pumping, the thermostat has to open for it to cool. i have and 87 50 disabled the vro to premix. had to replace thermostat. corroded, would not open. when you have it out, flush the motor thru the tstat opening.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

if that is the issue...the thermostat- would it be a good idea to replace the water pump and impeller while i'm doing that as well?

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

ran the motor this morning...two issues....the vro alarm is definately going off....rapid beep...however after a few more minutes of idling then the continuous beep comes on...i shut the motor off and it was hot, so it is definately overheating also....the vro alarm will need to be disconnected but i guess i'm going to try replacing the thermostat.....

 

[ezeke]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

If you are going to run the pump with premixed fuel only, you will need to disconnect the wiring from the oil tank and the small harness that runs from the pump.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

i have disconnected the wiring from the oil pump for the vro alarm as well as the oil line (which i plugged)...now i'm on to removing the lower unit so i can get at the water pump and thermostat so i can see whats causing it overheat...td reccomended that the thermostat could be causing the problem, a friend of mine agreed that this is a likely cause of the issue....just having some issues getting the shifter linkage that connects under the cylinder heads off....i can get at i with a wrench (sorta) with the starter off but i'm still struggling with it a little bit, i think picking up that omc repair manual will help....west marine didn't have it today so i guess i'll have to get it online

 

[JonTX]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

I've used a 1/4" drive socket universal joint adapter and short extensions to assist in getting that shift linkage connection back together. Still took 2 people to do it. I would think the u-joint adapter might help when taking it apart as well. I can't believe how tedious that is - got to be a better way.

On our 150 V6, the alarm we thought was over-heat turned out to be a vacuum switch being activated by restricted fuel condition - same alarm sound as for hot on our motor. Not sure if your's has that vacuum switch or not, but might not hurt to check. We wound up taking apart a lot of stuff and going through a heckuva lot of work chasing the wrong problem. Wish I'd found this forum before we took it apart the first time, there is some very sharp people posting on here.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

thanks for input everyone so far...john, im pretty sure it is overheating...everything was HOT after i ran it to check for this....killed the motor as soon as the alarm went off...but i might as well get this lower unit off anyhow...i was planning on replacing the impeller anyway...possibly the whole water pump assembly depending on the condition....and if i'm in there the theremostat shouldn't be much more of an issue....its just getting that shift rod free...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

It's always advised to change the impeller on an engine you just acquired since you have no idea when it was done last -- if ever. That $20 part and the thermostat can cook an otherwise perfectly good engine.

 

[ezeke]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

The thermostat is in the engine, not the lower unit.

 

[airframer]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

hi, i'm that guy who had that same problem the thermostat is in between the heads, you'll see two hose going into it from the heads, three bolts hold it on, and its way easier than you'll think. i did it in half an hour and took the boat out the next day. let me know if you have any trouble

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

thanks for that little tidbit...saved me some serious confusion...found the thermostat...did get the lower unit out too...

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

well the impeller looked good....but it is due for a replacement anyway...i'm pretty sure the thermostat was the issue...it wasn't stuck, but was FULL of sand/corrosion...flushed the system out, some stuff in there also. gonna get to putting everything back together now....hope it works out

 

[tylerr83]

Re: 87 evinrude alarm

ok....I installed a new thermostat today, as well as a new water pump (the entire assembly). I know that i needed a new impeller...it was pumping water, but the pee stream is MUCH stronger now...the old thermostat was corroded and full of junk too. Started the motor up with the muffs on...fired right up....ran for a few seconds, then the vro alarm started going off...after idling for a few minutes the beep every second or so turned into the solid horn...which i've been told is the overheat alarm. i'm really at a loss now because the brown wire that runs from the harness to vro pump and grounds to the block is disconnected....this should be for the low oil alarm (i thought so anyway) and i'm really not sure what could be causing the motor to overheat at this point....i'm not even sure if it is overheating at all....the block is hot to touch...its too hot to touch for more than two or three seconds...i dont knwo if this is normal or not...i've read on here that two or three seconds is normal, but i dont know myself. do any of you guys know what the problem could be?