Mercury Optimax alarm

[sokol]

hello, I have a 2002, 135 Optimax on a 19 foot bowrider. I've had it a few years now and nobody can figure out why its beeping. I sen't it to a few diferent Mechanics and it never acted up during testing. The engine stalls at idle. I have to give it throttle while in neutral to start it. I have to keep it reved for a few minutes and warm it up or it stalls. Any time the engine is cold it stalls at idle. but when I give it a little gas and cruse around 8MPH it beeps. Sometimes I get 3 beeps and lately I get a mix between 3 beeps and one long Beeeeeeep. The Engine goes into Guardian mode and I have to turn it off and restart it. it seems like its peeing out of both holes. The water coming out is pretty hot. If i gun it out of the box and get up to full throttle the alarm doesn't sound. Also Lately I't doesnt respond to the throttle and is super slow out of the box. It seems extremly heavy. I have to use My 8HP kicker at full throttle to help it get going. if not it will max out at 12MPH and alarm will sound. Once it gets going with the help of the kicker it tops off between 25 and 30 PMH. when I first got it it use to run at 40MPH max speed and now it goes 30MPH full throttle.

I use to run qhicksilver 2 stroke oil and the engine ran fenominal with no problems. I then switched to Optimax DFI oil and it wasn't running at fast and as smooth. I lost 3 to 5 miles an hour at full throttle. A few months back a dealer suggested a Non Mercury DFI oil witch I used. I seems that I had a throttle problem since I've used that oil. I emtied the reservoir and replaced it with Optimax DFI oil to be safe. I ran the engine for an hour at full throttle to cleans the engine with the Optimax DFI oil but the problem still exists. Heavy acceleration and 10 to 15 MPH slow when full throttle. Can the oil make a difference on speed and acceleration? And how to check why the alarm is sounding. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Mercury Optimax alarm

What's the serial# Need to know what motor you have. Fill out the profile
Do compression and spark test.Then test the pressure on the fuel pump.
The beeps could be from a bad oil tank sending unit.
When did you last change the impeller? Post your results.J

 

[sokol]

Re: Mercury Optimax alarm

Thank you for the reply.

- I will start by changing the impeller and go from there. Also I changed my battery this summer from a marine battery to a cranking battery. Can that make a difference on the top speed and slow acceleration of my motor?

- The letters and numbers I found under the cap are. 03C11B- 859959. not sure if thats the serial#. but if it is how can I find the year of my motor?

-is it bad to start my engine with the throttle down to reve it? it seems its the only way to warm it up lately.

- Also my boat has a major leak witch fills the hull under the floor. I try to bilge it out as much as possible. I recently renovated the floor and noticed the gas tank was under the floor. It sort of lays flat on the foor, and goes half way up my boat. Sometimes the leaking water submerges the fuel tank. Is there an air vent on the tank that counld be blocked/submerged or taking in water? Should I be concered? If water gets into my fuel can it damage my engine?

PS: As you can see Im having lots of issues. As a rookie in this field I'm just trying to figure out where to start. Thanks to anyone for their input.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Mercury Optimax alarm

No the battery won't make a difference.Get a manual.The library has some books on outboards.

The serial # should be on the RHS of the motor(standing behind it)on a silver freeze plug.Should start with an O(I think).

The hard starting is why you need to throttle up.The motor should start with out that.That's a sign something is wrong.

The gas tank is a sealed unit.It vents to the outside of the boat.It will only get water if it gets too far under water.
You might want to hook up an automatic pump or switch in the bildge.Figure out the problem cause your gonna SINK.I'd carry an extra battery or someway to keep the pump working.

As far as being new we ALL were new once.
The onlt dumb question is the one you don't ask.(not true,I've seen some really dumb questions) Your seem legitimate.J