What are the guages realy measuring?

[Erin]

Hi all, I am searching for info on a Sunbird 16, with a Evinrude 60(1996). I had a warning light peep and I am trying to get to the bottom of what it is indicating. <br />I have 4 warning lights. Overheat, No oil, Check engine and Low oil.<br />During the last two trips the low oil alarm tripped after idle then running up to cruise for about 60 seconds. <br />I immediatly shut down and inspected the power head. Nothing obvious was out of place, no plugs undone etc. I know the oil mix was correct as I do this myself.<br />After the single warning, there were no further alarms. Cautious testing did not reproduce the problem. <br />No futher alarms were tripped during the rest of the trip. I tried different speeds, quick power on and off.<br />Two questions:<br />What is being indicated and what may be the cause.<br />Also, is it safe to continue to use and observe?

 

[DJ]

Re: What are the guages realy measuring?

Sunbird,<br /><br />I assume this engine is oil injected??<br /><br />Two things I would do.<br /><br />1. Remove, clean and replace the sock in the oil tank. Run 50:1 premix until you verify oil useage-just put a mark on the side of the tank.<br /><br />2. Replace the water pump impeller, particularly if you do not know the history of the engine.

 

[Erin]

Re: What are the guages realy measuring?

Thanks for the suggestion and input djohns19. You were on the money.<br /><br />The problem has been solved. It was simple and should have been easily discovered. I missed a simple check which could have prevented the whole thing. <br /><br />Here is what I discovered. This engine, while not equiped for oil injection, was set up for it, including the warning guages. (apparently oil injection was not real successful in this model.) The warning I was getting was for a non existant system. This means the problem was in the connections somewhere, and it was OK to test. (one of my concerns.)<br /><br />Didn't need any other excuse. Headed for the bay on a test run after inspecting the guage and connections right back to the battery.<br /><br />Everything looked great and no loose connections. Even the battery terminals were shiny.<br /><br />During the test run I noticed the RPM guage not responding. The Low oil light peeped intermittently and the only common part to these is the ground.<br /><br />Right about then we found ourselves in the middle of a pod of dolphins and I shut down the engine. We sat and enjoyed quite a show for about 30 minutes as 15+ dolphins played around the boat. What a sight.<br /><br />There was no response when I tried to restart the engine. I knew then I either had a bad battery or a bad connection. I disconnected the battery cables and made a closer inspection. I found that even though the terminals appeared to be clean and in good condition, there was in fact a layer of corrosion which had never been cleaned. Only the terminal had been polished.<br /><br />One of the simplest maintenance proceedures had been overlooked and had been the cause of all the problems. Boy do I feel like a rooky.<br /><br />Thanks again for the feedback. I hope my experience helps someone else avoid the same mistake.<br /><br />By the way, the outboard is just about due for it's first 100 hour service. Yes, I will insist on a new impellor.

 

[ob]

Re: What are the guages realy measuring?

sunbird spirit , if you're mixing 50:1 and the oiling system is not being used you need to disconnect the low oil alarm wiring harness under the cowl in the port side.It will prevent false alarming.If it was disconnected I don't think the low oil light would come on at all.

 

[Erin]

Re: What are the guages realy measuring?

Thanks Ob,<br />I intend to do just that.