Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

[Promaster 210]

Hey guys and gals, I know this question has been beat to death, but I am really tired of hearing the same answers over and over again. All I keep hearing when I ask the questions about VRO2's is to bypass it and start mixing my own fuel. Well I do not want to do that and am here to tell you why. My boat has only 65 hours on it and I dont think I should just bypass an option without giving a serious attempt at a educated , proper repair.
The engine is a 1996 130 w/ VRO2 and as I stated only 65 hours of operation. I have done all the tests as described in the service manual and have listened to advice from all around the world on my "no oil" light coming on. The VRO2 system is working and the engine continues to oil and it runs great. I have replaced clamps, oil lines, cleaned the oil tank and replaced both fuel and oil primer bulbs, found a leak on the primer solenoid and fixed it, replaced the plugs and checked compression and have done a crank vac test. The boat runs for 4 hrs avg and then the dang buzzer goes of for 10 seconds exactly. Last time,I saw it was still smoking and oiling, so I said screw it and ran it back to the ramp. The light went off halfway across the lake, then came back on as I was loading the boat. Does anyone know what could cause a "false alarm" like this and what I might do to keep it from happening? I run SeaFoam in each tank when I fill up. Can it foam up and cause a NO OIL alarm condition? I have read it can be caused by the fuel system as well as the oiling system. Some have even suggested that my tach is bad, but I tested each alarm as described (in the service manual)and everything seems to function as it should. I dont mean to come across as bitter, but I am at my wits end. I did dump the oil rez and change the sock filter and fill'er up again.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

after dumping the tank did you bleed the system completely, to the pump. air has been known to set off the alarm.

 

[Promaster 210]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

Man I pumped the primer ball until I could barely sqeeze it anymore to get oil all the way to the pump fitting. Then I put a rag down and pumped it while I was tightening the clamp, until it stopped leaking oil out of the hose.

 

[Promaster 210]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

Is the sensor available separatly or does it require the purchase of the entire VRO pump to replace it?

 

[gyoung]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

Hello Promaster,

I replaced the VRO with a VRO2 on my 70HP two years ago. The shop I got it from explained that the NO OIL alarm monitors the stroke rate of the pump and compares it to the pulse rate from the stator. There should be a constant ratio between the two rates if oil is flowing freely. I guess if the pump rate is low the alarm will sound.

Given that you are pumping enough oil, it seems to me your alarm could be caused by a faulty pulse limiter or restriction in the pulse tube causing an irratic pump stroke rate, or by an irratic stator pulse output , or by a faulty sensor (which is inside the pump).

Firstly, I would check the pulse tube and limiter for leakage/blockage/function and the connection of the sensor wire from the pump to the tach wire at your terminal block, if you haven't already done this.

Hope this helps.

 

[Promaster 210]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

Thank you for taking the time to respond. What you say makes sense to me. It is my understanding that the system is basically set up as an air pump. The # 4 cylinder is where the pulse limiter gets its air to run the fuel and oil pump. I have read in the manual to check for blockages in the pulse limiter fitting itself, and to remove it and clean it. We did this and the pulse limiter to me seems like nothing more than a fitting with a check valve in it.
Last night I was checking everything again and found ANOTHER broken vac line to the primer solenoid, causing another intake leak. I also have been running Seafoam with each fillup, and noticed that my clearview filter was full of rusty, sandy sediment type material. I replaced the cartridge filter and ran all new fuel lines and vac lines.I also change both primer bulbs. Ran it on the ears for a short time and it sounds better than it ever has. Now out to the lake for another test! When I get this thing fixed I will have educated myself in every aspect of function and testing methods known to man for the VRO2 system!

 

[gyoung]

Re: Johnson 130 "no oil" buzzer and light coming on

Promaster,

I was also told by my mechanic that the 'NO OIL' sensor will not detect the fact that there is no oil in the system because the pump stroke rate will appear to be correct. It only detects restrictions in the oil system - like a pinched or blocked oil line that will cause a mis-match between the pump stoke rate and the engine RPM. The LOW OIL alarm detects if there is not enough oil.

One other thought. When I changed the sock filter in the oil tank I was told to be certain to remove, and discard, a small conical filter that is inserted in the bottom end of the oil pickup tube. It's inside the tube so you can't see it. You can get it out with a pair of needle-nose pliers. This filter was partially blocked with what looked like plastic debris created when the hole was cut in the top of the tank for the pickup tube mounting. My engine is a 1985, they may have stopped using this filter by 1996, I don't know.

GY