2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

[Florida Fisheagle]

I have got a 2003 60 4 stroke that I have owned since it was new and never had a problem with it until now. When making long runs at high speed, 3/4 plus throttle or at any throttle in choppy conditions the alarm goes off and it goes into gaurdian mode. You can shut it off and restart it and the alarm is gone. It is not overheating, no steam.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Tony

 

[oldrock]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

I have a 2001 50hp merc and am experiencing the same thing except my motor doesn't alarm at lower rpms. It only happens if I get mine up to 4500-5000 rpms. I noticed it happens alot faster if I trim the motor up. I changed my impeller and the indicator stream is better but still gets alarm.

I noticed a bunch of merc motors are having the same issue on the forum but nobody seems to know exactly what causes it. I see them do the basic stuff... change impeller, change water pump housing, change thermostat, check for blockage, etc. Seems different things end up being the issue. In my motor, I check the stream when the alarm is sounding and it is only slightly warm so doesn't seem to be an overheating problem. Still, the alarm is not something I want to ignore so I am working on finding the problem. Next thing I am trying is I just put a new gas line connector, fuel line and primer bulb on. I had read someone else on this forum finally solved his high rpm overheat warning by chaning his out and putting a genuine merc setup on instead of an aftermarket. I picked mine up today at bass pro and put it on. haven't tried the boat since installing but hope to get it out one day after work and see if that does it. If not, I guess I will keep trying things till I figure it out.

 

[Florida Fisheagle]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

Oldrock, thanks for the reply! I have also done the water pump deal and even though I found some restrictions (sand) in the system it still did not fix the problem. I have been looking at the fuel system and I have ran Sea Foam through it but still I have the problem. I do believe that it is fuel related, let me know if you find a solution and I will do the same.
Thanks,
Tony

 

[alanaexall]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

there is a rubber gromit in the waterway between the power head and leg. this gets squeezed closed by corrosion and restricts the water flow

 

[Manxman]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

This problem has been aired on our angling forum at World Sea Fishing.

Here are the to threads, the second one has pictures

http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117669

http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113213

 

[gibbyman]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

I went thru this two years ago. 2000 50 hp 4st. Did everything you went hru. Checked rechecked ran in the yard fine. Take it out open it up alarm would go off. I did it so many times the guy's at the travel lift were laughing at me . In and out in and out.
Anyway finally got a hold a of a nice guy at merc that knew exactly what it was, The $4.50 rubber grommet on top of water pick up tube. Only problem is you have to remove the power head to get to it. All new gasket set etc.The rubber had kinda emploded so there was just enough of a hole to let water in , but not enough for a high speed gas run.Wasn't too bad of a job lot's a bolts. You will need a torque wrench Good luck

 

[oldrock]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

Ouch, I sure hope it isn't the problem with mine. I can handle simple stuff but would be afraid to tackle tearing down the power head. I wonder how many hours and how much money it would cost to get the $4.50 grommet replaced? Anyone have a contact at mercury to talk to about it? I'd think if it was a design flaw and was impacting that many units, they would issue a recall.

Maybe mine will be fixed without tearing down the tube. Or just thinking outside the box, what if you could snake something up the water take up tube and clean out the obstruction without tearing down?

 

[Florida Fisheagle]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

Did any of you notice that your motor was actually over heating, was there steam? On mine it is not over heating you can still pull of the cover and put your hand on the engine.

 

[oldrock]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

fisheagle, mine does not seem to be overheating either. When alarm goes off, the telltale stream is still going strong and only luke warm. I haven't pulled engine cover while running to see if engine is getting hot but guess that is next. I've been tempted to just pull the wire and run mine but know if it is an overheat issue I would be sorry so am trying to troubleshoot. I think I will change thermostat next and then clean or change fuel filters and fuel connector on motor and see if any of those things fix it. Then I guess next step would be temp sensor. after that, I will check fuel pump next. If that doesn't solve it, I guess that grommet on the water line could be the problem but that one sounds very expensive to check so holding off on that one till I rule out all the simple stuff.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

It may not be an overheating problem.

Is the alarm continuous or an intermittent beep?

When guardian activates, what (exactly) are the revs reduced too?

Is it peeing strong and warm (not hot or cold)?

 

[Florida Fisheagle]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

It may not be an overheating problem.

Is the alarm continuous or an intermittent beep?

When guardian activates, what (exactly) are the revs reduced too?

Is it peeing strong and warm (not hot or cold)?

The alarm is continuous.

There is not a tack on the motor but I would estimate it to be around 2500 3000. Or it can shut it down completley.

This motor has never peed real strong, but when the alarm goes off the stream is steady and warm.

The strange thing is that it will do it at a reduced throttle say 1/2 if the water is rough/choppy. Seems like if you hit a couple of waves it will go off.

Thanks for your help!

 

[oldrock]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

I did a little experimenting with my 50hp that is alarming today. I noticed that if I leave the motor in the full down tilt, I can run at more revs without any alarm. If I trim the motor up to normal when on plane, it alarms sooner. With motor full down, I can run at 4000 rpms without any alarm but if I get up to about 4500rpms, it goes off after a couple mins. With motor trimmed up like normal, it will alarm even at 4000rpms after a couple mins.

Makes me wonder if maybe the issue is simply lack of water getting into the inlet. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[southwind]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

2003 Mariner 60 4 stroke carbs.OT439784.

12 months ago at 600+ hours running in tropical saltwater. (stays on beach leg up when not in use.no flushing between runs).
The engine under 3/4 load seemed to sound like a sewing machine and firing on 2 cylinders.Limped home. 2 Cam shaft brackets broken. Why? Overheat??

replaced head, water temp single buzz goes off after about 60secs planing.
replaced pump, therm, etc, reverse flush.NO CHANGE.
plugs look bit pale, lean mix??
replace plugs, solvent clean & hi psi blow carbys. NO CHANGE.
replace sensor. NO CHANGE.

read forum.....BINGO!!!!!!!!!!

will pull powerhead tomorrow!!!!!!!

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

The guardian will activate the continuous buzzer if -

1. The motor is overheating

2. Battery voltage is too high or too low

3. Low oil pressure

4. Over-revving

5. Coolant sensor failure

Just like a car, a code will be logged into the CPU. The only way to know what is faulty is to get the codes read.

BTW, IMO a tachometer is a must for these 4strokes.

 

[southwind]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

2003 Mariner 60 4 stroke carbs.OT439784.

12 months ago at 600+ hours running in tropical saltwater. (stays on beach leg up when not in use.no flushing between runs).
The engine under 3/4 load seemed to sound like a sewing machine and firing on 2 cylinders.Limped home. 2 Cam shaft brackets broken. Why? Overheat??

replaced head, water temp single buzz goes off after about 60secs planing.
replaced pump, therm, etc, reverse flush.NO CHANGE.
plugs look bit pale, lean mix??
replace plugs, solvent clean & hi psi blow carbys. NO CHANGE.
replace sensor. NO CHANGE.

read forum.....BINGO!!!!!!!!!!

will pull powerhead tomorrow!!!!!!!

10 days and 3 broken bolts later, found grommet under powerhead adapter plate, on top of brass waterpipe.
Alloy corrosion around grommet had forced it to close down from 25mm dia hole to 4mm dia hole.
Removed surplus rubber with scalpel back to 20mm dia.
All back together in 4 hours from go to whoa!
Huge flow from overflow compared before corrective surgery.

definately no overheating now

THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR INPUT.

you would not believe how this has been bugging me, and i bet every other owner of Merc/mar 4 strokes.

 

[Florida Fisheagle]

Re: 2003 60 4 stroke, warning buzzer

It may not be an overheating problem.

Is the alarm continuous or an intermittent beep?

When guardian activates, what (exactly) are the revs reduced too?

Is it peeing strong and warm (not hot or cold)?

The alarm is continuous.

There is not a tack on the motor but I would estimate it to be around 2500 3000. Or it can shut it down completley.

This motor has never peed real strong, but when the alarm goes off the stream is steady and warm.

The strange thing is that it will do it at a reduced throttle say 1/2 if the water is rough/choppy. Seems like if you hit a couple of waves it will go off.

Thanks for your help!

Glad to find out that many of you have identified your problem as being corrosion around that rubber groumet! For mine it turned out to be a loose/dirty conection at the computer module located on the front of the engine. Pulled conections cleaned and applied new dielectric grease. It runs great now and NO alarm. I do need to say that I live on a river so even though I primarily fish in the Gulf my motor gets a good flushing every trip!

Thanks to all of you for responding!

Capt. Tony