Warning Alarm Question

[PensacolaJason]

I have a 1996 Evinrude 130hp on a 20ft key West. On my previous boat I had a chirp that sounded when I would start to turn the key. I may be mistaken, but i believe that is also the same alarm that sounds when oil/overheating issues occur. The good news is that I don;t have any overheating issue and my VRO has been disconnected in favor of pre-mix, but I have never heard that alarm chirp when turning my key in the ignition. I am trying to track down why and where this chirp/alarm comes from. I got under the console and I found this thing, which I believe to be the alarm.

I am assuming that since it doesn't even chirp, that it would not alert me if I had an overheating outboard. My question is three-fold:

Is this the alarm?

If it's not working, is there a way to troubleshoot it?

If it is broken, can I buy pretty much any outboard alarm as a replacement? Any links to possible replacements would be great.

 

[PensacolaJason]

[No message]

 

[racerone]

That is the buzzer.-------The buzzer that chirps when turned on has a wee circuit on it .----That one does not appear to have that.-----But you could buy one and install it.

 

[PensacolaJason]

Thanks for the info. I found this type of OMC buzzer. If I wired this to those two existing brown and purple wire in place of the current alarm, would that give me the start chirp and alarm function?

 

[kjdunne]

I believe the ones that chirp when the ignition is turned on have a third, black ground, connection on them. Purple is +12 volts from ignition switch, Tan is from the temperature sensor (switch) in the cylinder head which becomes ground when hot. The ground connection allows the self-test function to work. The self-test only indicates the buzzer works, not the sensor. They are stupid expensive from BRP. Search the online sites for them.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Jason..... That horn you have pictured is the older style warning horn... older but a good one! The "starting" chirp you speak of is nothing more than a self test of the horn to make sure that the horn works. If you like to test the horn each time you start the engine... or anytime at all... simply run a wire from the TAN wire of the horn to one of the terminals of a spring loaded self centering toggle switch, than run a wire from the toggle switch other terminal to ground. To see if the horn works, just press the toggle lever.

The alternative is to spend a small fortune for the self testing 3 wire horn... the toggle switch is a hellava lot more reasonable way to go.

To test the wiring from the horn to the sensors... for example the overheat sensor at the cylinder head.... simply have the key in the ON position (engine NOT running... then ground out the sensor wire at the head. That'll complete the circuit and the horn should sound. The same holds true for testing VRO and/or fuel vacuum switch equipped engines... ground that TAN sensor wire and the horn should sound.

 

[PensacolaJason]

I found this information in my manual. It states that there should be a 1/2 second self-test beep when the key is turned to the ON position. The diagram shows only two-wires as do every OMC buzzer I have found online. I wonder if the more recent buzzers have the ability to put out the self-test beep even with only a two-wire setup?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Jason... Read post reply #6

The non self test 2 wire horn is an electric horn that has 2 terminals only.

The self test 3 wire horn is an electronic horn $$$ that has 2 terminals and 1 built in ground wire.