Testing VRO2-Alarm

[FarmerSid]

Hey all! Good news! My 85 Evinrude 120 VRO is alive! It's running on 50:1 fuel as well as the VRO2 system to make sure I don't do damage. I put some vise grips on the the oil supply line to the VRO2 for about 2 min and no alarm. Where is the alarm horn? Anything else I can do to test it?

Thanks all!

 

[FarmerSid]

Re: Testing VRO2-Alarm

Just so you all don't think I haven't been searching or doing some reading before I post, I have. Nothing pertains to my particular motor. Either the motors are smaller or newer. I have a service manual on the way but will take another week to get here. I see the tan wire going into a socket type plug on the top of each set of heads and then goes up under a cover where the rectifier/regulator is and I can't follow it past there. Each tan wire, close to the heads, has a 2" long super thick rubber shrink wrap type cover over what appears to be a spade connector. If so does this come apart easily? Where is the horn located? Is it on the motor or in the boat some where?

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Testing VRO2-Alarm

horn is in control box, have you tested it to be sure it is operational?
With the key ON and the motor off, ground out the engine tan wire that goes to either cylinderhead temp switch, you should hear the warning horn. If not, take care of that first before moving on to the VRO

As long as you are running 50:1 fuel, remove the oil line from the VRO and run the motor, it may take as long as 5-10 minutes for the residual oil to be used up. You should get an on and off horn sound. If not, get a manual and start tracing. Be sure the wiring on the VRO is in good shape and the connector to the engine harness is not corroded.

 

[FarmerSid]

Re: Testing VRO2-Alarm

Thanks for the reply. I am waiting for my service manual to arrive. That will take a week or so. I will try the test you mentioned. I am running a 50:1 mix in a 5 gal tank instead of the onboard fuel tank to try and test the VRO2. I did pinch off the oil supply to the VRO2 with vise grips for about 2 min yesterday but didn't realise that it could take longer for the horn to go off. I'm running the motor in my driveway with muffs and garden hose and think it's probably not too good to be running it this way very long. I could be wrong.

 

[FarmerSid]

Re: Testing VRO2-Alarm

Good news! I got the horn to go off by grounding out the tan wires to the cylinder heads. It has a different type of spade connector under the rubber cover than I have seen before. I tested each cylinder head (2) and both sounded the horn off. Should be no problem hearing it when using the boat. It rained today or I would have went out to the lake and tested the low oil and no oil to pump horn. Would it be ok if did disconnect the VRO and still use the on board (14 gal) fuel tank? May sound like a stupid question but it has a spin on fuel/water separator filter and am wondering if this would cause a problem with mixed fuel.

 

[emoney]

Re: Testing VRO2-Alarm

Nope, I use a fuel/water separator on my setup and there's no oil injection, just pre-mix. Matter of fact, it's recommended that if you don't have one to put one in. There's a thread on here, probably in the sticky at the top of this forum from Tashasdaddy (RIP) that may have the process for removing the VRO in it. A lot of folks have bypassed it when its failed, mainly due to the cost of replacement parts to repair and some just because they didn't trust the system. It's a great system when working properly and I wish my 140 had it because it sure does make fueling a lot simpler and quicker.