Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

[marmac]

I was fishing today and an alarm started to beep on my kicker. It was running good and a steady stream of water was streaming out and the oil was right up. The alarm sounded like it was located in the throtle/shifter control. Is there a sounder located there? Also the oil warning light on the cover does not seem to be conected to anything. It has a yeollow/red stripe wire and a pink. Can't seem to find a mate for them.

the motot is a 2003 15 hp Bigfoot.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

thanks

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

Yes that is where your alarm horm is located. Is it a steady beep or intermittant?

 

[marmac]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

The alarm was a constant beep. Never heard it before.

 

[starcraft1982]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

Teminology is a problem run into when talking alarms for some reason.Imagine a car horn.Is the alarm sound like if you press and hold the horn down,a constant sound?Or,is it like if you would press the horn repeatedly producing a beep,beep,beep,beep?The constant tone is an overheat alarm.A beep,beep,beep,beep,sound is oil issue.When you say"constant beep"its hard to decypher what it is.So like holding a car horn down,or like repeatedly pressing a car horn?

 

[marmac]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

Sorry I wasn't a little clearer, it is a constant sound , not a beep, beep, beep.

 

[starcraft1982]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

Ok.so that is your overheat alarm.First,what yr motor are we talking about?Next,how long since impeller has been replaced?I would pull lower unit,inspect waterpump for wear.replace the impeller and gasket.Also,make sure water inlet isnt clogged w/foriegn objects(mud,weeds,plastic bag,etc).Hopefully you shut it off immediately upon hearing the alarm and didnt run it with it blairing(not good).If its been over a yr since impeller change or you dont know when last done,do it.run it and see where you are.

 

[marmac]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

It's a 2003 15 HP

I changed the impeller at the start of the season so it should be ok. I pulled the thermostat and it seems to be sticky so I will replace that and try it again.

thanks for the assistance, very much appreciated.

 

[starcraft1982]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

sticking thermostat could be the culprit as thermostat controls the waterflow at idle,poppet valve controls other.(forgive me if im wrong about the newer motors as my excperience is w/older ones).But,i would also look at possibly rebuilding waterpump as a whole.As a rule,replace impeller every two yrs and rebuild wateerpump every other impeller,or every 4 yrs.If,being an 03,youve neveer done the waterpump,I would highly recommend it.Since thats"necessary maintenance",i would do it,regardless,but if that doesnt fix the alarm going off,sensors CAN go bad.Just do a search for how to test for faulty sensor.Good luck.BTW,those digital point and shoot temp guages can be picked up pretty reasonably and will help in your fixing the problem w/out doing damage by waiting for the alarm.

 

[marmac]

Re: Alarm on a 15 HP Bigfoot

I installed a new thermostat and it seems like that was the problem. Ran it for a while and was able to hold my hand on the thermostat cover and when I used an infared gauge and the temp never exceeded 115 F.

Thanks for all the assistance, time to go fishing....