*Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

[l008com]

Ok, that's not "exactly" what my oil alert sounds like. More like a very loud continuous high pitched beep coming out of my throttle. When I was a kid, I remember that the beep would come on whenever the oil tank was down to 25% (about 1 quart left).

A few years ago, it came on and wouldn't go off. I brought the boat to a marina and they replaced the whole oil tank. Then it was fine. It was a bit expensive though.

Well it's happened again. During a boat ride, the alarm chirped a few times. Then came on for a few seconds, then finally, came on and stayed on. Funny thing is, I had a half a tank of oil. A mechanic I know also said that it beeps like that for overheating. But I don't think thats it, there's a nice solid pee stream coming out of the motor, and i only idle around. Plus the beep come on as soon as you turn the key, even with the motor not running.

So I bought a gallon of oil and filled the tank, but sadly, that hasn't changed anything. Then I disconnected the battery for a few minutes, to see if that would 'reset' the sensor. But that also had no effect.

So as it is right now, the beep starts as soon as you turn the key slightly. Motor doesn't even need to be running. The oil tanks is totally filled (possibly slightly overfilled, oops).

So what would be causing this mind-numing beeping to continue? I really hope I don't have to replace the oil tank again. It's only a few years old! The first one lasted 18 years or something. Plus it was expensive.

Oh and the motor is a 1989 Mercury 90HP, 3 cylinder, not-fuel-injected model. But it is oil injected, I don't have to premix.

 

[cannonford57]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

replace the tank.sensor inside is bad....

 

[l008com]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

Ok I was just flipping through the SELOC manual, and according to that: because the alarm comes on when you turn the ignition on, the problem is not the oil sensor, but either a faulty warning module or faulty overheat sensor. If it was the oil sensor, it would only come on once the engine was running.

Does this sound right? This manual was wrong before, so I'm wary of it's assertions without a second opinion.

 

[cannonford57]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

find the 2 blue wires from the sensor at the bottom of the tank...turn keyswitch on.....that annoying tone will go away if you disconnect one of the blue wires...if so replace tank as suggested in earlier post

 

[l008com]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

find the 2 blue wires from the sensor at the bottom of the tank...turn keyswitch on.....that annoying tone will go away if you disconnect one of the blue wires...if so replace tank as suggested in earlier post

Where would I find the wires for the overheat sensor? I'd like to alternate between the two being connected, that way I can be 100% sure what's broken and what's not.

 

[Thumpbass]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

i have the exact same issue with my '98 90ELPTO (continuous beep when key is turned before even starting). According to my OEM manual that is the low oil sensor (in the tank). I disconnected the blue tank wires like mentioned and the beep went away. I have not had the tank replaced because of the cost (as you mentioned). I just make sure the oil tank is always topped off. I get about 2 tanks of gas per tank of oil so if i put in oil every time i gas up i will be fine. i have run it like this for over a year and never gotten close to running out of oil

 

[Thumpbass]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

on my motor, the temp sensor is a brown and tan wire running into the cylinder head. to test effectively you should remove the sensor and heat it up and check w an ohm meter. in my opinion if youre gonna go through the trouble to take the temp sensor out, just replace it for peace of mind

 

[l008com]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

Once it stops raining today, I'll go try unplugging the tank. It probably is the tank (those Seloc manuals suck, what a waste of money). That pisses me off though. The first tank and sensor lasted a good 15 years. This current one is no more than 5 years old and it died already.

Assuming it is the tank, where can I order a new one (if I'm going to try it myself). And anyone have any pics of how to take it off? Again, this procedure doesn't seem to be in my Seloc manual.

 

[l008com]

Re: *Oil Alert* *Danger* *Danger*

Disconnecting the oil tank sensor did it. This website should really stop selling, or at least stop pushing the SELOC books. They are really worthless.

Anyway moving on...
Where can I look up part numbers for my motor? I need to see how much a new oil tank costs. Also, I know I've read over and over that once this happens, theres no way to fix the tank. Is this totally true? Is there no way to repair or replace the sensor without replacing the whole tank?

ALSO, the oil level 'window' in my motor is so yellowed, that you can't see through it. Where can I get a replacement one of those? That way I can keep an eye on my oil level, since I don't have an alarm any more.