warning buzzer

[biggjimm]

My 1990 60hp johnson did not have a warning buzzer in the control box. The wires were there but no buzzer. A couple months back, after replacing the impeller, I installed a red led in the helm & wired it to the buzzer wires in the box. It worked but when I was pulling the girls on the tube thru the idle zone the light came on but I did not notice it as I was watching the girls on the tube mostly. I did not realize it was warm until I cleared the no wake zone & hit the throttle only to find it in limp mode. Put in neutral & bumped the throttle up just a bit & the light went out in about 8 seconds & it was fine from then on.

I ordered an audible buzzer & put it in the box along with the light in the dash. When I turn the key to the on position, I do not get any buzzer like I've read about the buzzer coming on to verify its working or whatever. Not sure if I have a different system or what but what alarms might come on & what do they mean?

If I had been paying closer attention to the dash, would the light have came on prior to it going into limp mode?

It is a TJ60TLESM & the vro pump has been removed.

Thank you. Jim.

 

[WernerF]

You need the original 3-wire buzzer (#585992) to get the initial tone.

Light/buzzer and limp mode comes at the same time. But you won't notice limp mode until you try to raise rpm higher than 2500.

 

[oldboat1]

would check the motor first to see if it is indeed overheating -- assume it is until you find otherwise. If you replaced the impeller a couple months ago because the engine was overheating, take a compression check. Might need a head gasket. Diagnose the warning and slow system after you know by separate means that the temp is normal.

 

[biggjimm]

I'll check that 3 wire warning buzzer out. I'm guessing the 3rd wire just comes from the ignition switch to activate the buzzer at start up? I'll pull the wire diagram & see if it shows that.

Old boat, It is actually getting warm but only when pulling the girls on the tube thru the idle zone for like 10-12 min or so. I'm guessing it was just the extra load on the engine at idle speed. As soon as I bumped the throttle up & got some water flowing thru, it cooled right back down.

I was having an issue earlier in the year & I put new impeller in lower & T-stat & removed head to check for any blockage in water jacket & relocated the tell-tale to the top of the head. It is now running better than it ever has. It's seems excessively hard on fuel, but it runs out good.

 

[oldboat1]

tell tale elbow back on the exhaust cover would likely provide better cooling at lower rpms. Water pressure through the t.stat and the head probably affected by the tell tale location up there. Cooling passages under the exhaust cover might be blocked or partially blocked, contributing to less than perfect cooling.

 

[biggjimm]

Why would it cool better with the tell tale back on the exhaust cover? Isn't the tell tale just an indicator of the water flowing thru the system? I've got 4-5 times the amount of water pressure at the tell tale now compared to before I moved it. Of course, that's also with a new impeller.

The reason I moved it was for one, to eliminate any possible air pocket at the top of the engine & mainly because my impeller had one vane missing & the rest were cracked more than halfway thru & with the tell tale coming from the bottom of the exhaust cover was pissing water like normal but I was overheating at the top of the head & thought everything was fine 'cause it was pissing water. The tell tale did not indicate a water flow problem whatsoever although I clearly had one. Thanks. Jim.

 

[Bosunsmate]

ive never had a problem after moving the tell tale, its always solved the problem. So long as you block up the old hole i cant see the pressure difference being anything material. It might be the housing cup for the impellor is worn or even your exhaust ports are blocked up putting a lot of back pressure somewhere it shouldnt when the boat and motor is sitting down at idle.

 

[biggjimm]

Bosunsmate, I replaced the complete water pump housing & I'm pretty sure I got all the bits of rubber out of the system.

I might be wrong but I don't think I have any overheat problem at all. The only issue I've had is while pulling the girls on the tube & slowing down to idle speed to go thru the idle zone under the bridge with them still on the tube it got a little warm but I would expect that with the increased load on the engine at idle. No different than cruising in a parade with the street rod on a hot summer's day & turning the air conditioner on. It's going to run warmer until I get some air flowing thru the radiator or turn the A/C back off.

My original question was about the warning buzzer not sounding when the key is turned on at start up. It seems that I need a certain 3 wire buzzer. Thanks guys. Jim.

 

[racerone]

The service bulletin came out in 1994 to move the tell tale to the top of the block.---That was the right thing to do !!

 

[Bosunsmate]

Bosunsmate, I replaced the complete water pump housing & I'm pretty sure I got all the bits of rubber out of the system.

I might be wrong but I don't think I have any overheat problem at all. The only issue I've had is while pulling the girls on the tube & slowing down to idle speed to go thru the idle zone under the bridge with them still on the tube it got a little warm but I would expect that with the increased load on the engine at idle. No different than cruising in a parade with the street rod on a hot summer's day & turning the air conditioner on. It's going to run warmer until I get some air flowing thru the radiator or turn the A/C back off.

My original question was about the warning buzzer not sounding when the key is turned on at start up. It seems that I need a certain 3 wire buzzer. Thanks guys. Jim.

Yes i know that three wire buzzer it has two grounds so it can do the buzzing at start up without relying on the ground from the overheat sensor- enjoy

 

[oldboat1]

The service bulletin came out in 1994 to move the tell tale to the top of the block.---That was the right thing to do !!

That would seem to confirm the preferred location of the tell tale on that model.

Given a periodic signal from the warning system, I would first want to confirm engine temp when the warning comes on. A temperature gauge might be a good addition.

 

[biggjimm]

That would seem to confirm the preferred location of the tell tale on that model.

Given a periodic signal from the warning system, I would first want to confirm engine temp when the warning comes on. A temperature gauge might be a good addition.

I took several readings at various places as soon as I realized it was in limp mode & wrote them down but when we started to pull the tube again I had forgot about that piece of paper laying on the other seat & it blew out of the boat. Go figure. If we get out again & it warms up to that point I'll definitely get some IR gun readings again to see exactly where it's at. And put the note in my pocket this time. Ha.

 

[oldboat1]

sounds like you've got stuff handled, and having a pretty good time of it. Best to ya...