mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

[jafo9]

so the 05 suntracker with 3.0L MerCruiser I/O i'm getting (included with another purchase) has a buzzer alert. the current owner started the boat today and the buzzer was going off. the dash lists engine overheat, low oil pressure and low gear oil as the 3 things it will buzz for. the current owner stated it buzzed last time it started and it lasted for about 15minutes and then it stopped. sounds like they ran it anyway. i know, not real smart. so the engine temp is fine and the oil pressure looks ok by the gauges. the gear oil reservoir looks low, so we grab some mercruiser branded gear oil he had stashed on the boat and put some in the tank almost up to the fill line. we let it run for a while and the buzzer never silenced. i had hoped that once the reservoir got some lube it would kill the buzzer. we never put the boat in gear. do you have to have the boat in gear to move the gears/prop to circulate the oil? if the reservoir is full can i safely (and slowly) take the boat to the marina (~5 miles away) to have it looked at.

my plan is to take it in and have them do whatever service needs to be done. this boat hasn't had a "service" in 1.5 years so i figure it's time. the only catch is that i need to get it to someone who can fix it. any thoughts. thanks.

 

[Don S]

Re: mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

Unplug one of the connectors coming from the gear lube reservoir and see if the alarm stops , if it doesn't that is not causing the alram.

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

so we grab some mercruiser branded gear oil he had stashed on the boat and put some in

interesting that the previous owner just happened to have some gear lub onboard. to me that'd raise a question as to why. perhaps he knows more than he's telling you. myself, i carry engine oil onboard for my old engine, but not gear lub as there's no reason for the drive to use gear lub. short of a leak somewhere.

the only catch is that i need to get it to someone who can fix it. any thoughts.

if you decide to fix it yourself. this is the place to be. many great folks willing to help you out here.
did you go to the adults only sticky at the top of the i/o fourm page. ya can get your service manual on you engine and drive there.

do you have to have the boat in gear to move the gears/prop to circulate the oil?

no, everything is turning inside the drive except the propshaft when in neutral...

follow dons' advise. i've learned a whole bunch from him along with many other great minds here on this fourm. oh, and i'm still learning too.. good luck....

 

[jafo9]

Re: mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

interesting that the previous owner just happened to have some gear lub onboard. to me that'd raise a question as to why. perhaps he knows more than he's telling you.

i was thinking that as well. from reading the owners manual i got the same impression that the gear lube shouldn't "go away" over time.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

Check the connection at the oil pressure switch.

The alarm should normally 'sound', with the ignition switch in the on position, but the engine not running. The oil pressure switch...if working...will turn the alarm off at about 4 lbs of oil pressure. You can remove the lead with the engine running...and see if the alarm quits.

 

[180shabah]

Re: mercruiser 3.0L Gear Oil buzzer

And if that doesn't work - pull the lead off of the temp switch. If disconnecting the three above doesn't kill the buzzer, then you have a short to ground.

Assuming that your gauges are correct(I know, never assume anything) and your eyes still focus good(so you can see the level of the gear lube) then you can be confident that you are getting false indication from the buzzer.