Warning Horn Help. Sensor, oil pickup?

[plasmacon]

I am having trouble finding a resolution to my problem. 1984 235HP Johnson. I recieved it from a family member who's husband recently passed, and don't know much about it.
When I turn the key to the on position, the warning horn sounds constantly. I pulled the horn and it is connected properly and appears to function properly.
I have narrowed it down to the oil tank wiring. The two wires that come from the oil tank, "lamp cord wire", one goes to ground, the other "tan" wire, when disconnected stops the horn. Is this just a oil tank level sensor that has gone bad? Is this going to cause a problem with oil getting to the VRO? I can monitor the oil level without any problem, and would like to disconnect that wire if it won't cause a problem, at least until replacement parts arrive, depending on what I need. The motor runs fine and smokes well on the trailer. Nothing is getting hot, though an impellor change is due.
It appears to me that the VRO should work fine without these wires, as long as I pay attention to the oil level. Do I need a new oil pickup unit or what? Please Help... Thanks

 

[Okee Jimmy]

Re: Warning Horn Help. Sensor, oil pickup?

The two wires going to the oil tank are for oil level only. They do not effect the oil pump operation. If this motor still has the original oil pump, I would recommend replacing it with a later model pump, as the original pump in 1984 did not have a no-oil warning. The later model pump incorporated a no-oil warning circuit, along with a redesigned horn (3 wire) to alert the operator in the event of oil pump failure, and a horn test (short beep) when the key is turned on. If the pump has already been replaced, you will see a wire harness coming out of the VRO pump, and connected to the underhood harness, or the terminal strip on the side of the powerhead. I would not run the first generation VRO pump. At WOT, with no oil, your motor will be toast very quickly. One option is to disconnect the oil side of the VRO pump, and add oil to your gas at a 50:1 ratio. Just disconnect the oil line on the motor pan, and cap it off, this will fix your tank problem too, disconnect the wires inside the motor pan, and take the tank out of the boat. A replacement VRO pump is fairly expensive $398.00 and horn, $72.44. The beauty of doing away with the older VRO, is that you know that your motor always has the proper oil ratio regardless of pump operation.

 

[plasmacon]

Re: Warning Horn Help. Sensor, oil pickup?

Thanks for the info Jimmy. The VRO pump does have a wire harness coming from it, and there are 4 wires, black, gray, purple, and a tan/orange. The wires go up the port side of the powerhead and go to a plug that only has a purple wire coming out and that wire goes to the starboard side of the powerhead and connects to a connection bank of some sort, or terminal strip maybe?, that is numbered and colored.

The horn sounds for just a second when I turn the key and then quits. When I start the motor and then shut it off, the horn sounds when ever the key is in the on position, until I unplug the oil tank "tan" wire. I pulled the horn out and it has 3 wires, tan, black, and purple, and I checked its function and wire diagram based on a few of Joe Reeves' posts. I believe the horn is fine.

I will do more research and see if I can verify my VRO pump, and will probably just go with making it a fuel pump only, like you recommended. I am not paranoid of VRO pumps, but I want to double check everything before I rely on it. If the VRO pump is a late model, would its ratio oiling be worth keeping it, if it is functional and all warning horns work? etc. Thanks again Jimmy

 

[Okee Jimmy]

Re: Warning Horn Help. Sensor, oil pickup?

Hi plasmacon, from what you said, you already have the VRO 2 system, and horn. If there is only one wire (purple, switched power) going to the terminal strip then all you need to do, to make this pump give you a no oil signal is to connect the other wires. You can obtain a harness from an evinrude dealer, or just butt splice into the existing wires from the VRO 2 pump. The wires on the terminal strip where the purple wire goes, are color coded. Just go color to color, and attach the other wires to the terminal strip with a ring terminal. The only exception is the tan/orange, this will probably need to connect to the tan terminal (if there is no tan/orange).

black=ground
purple=switched 12v+
tan-tan/orange=warning signal
gray=tach signal

If you keep up with the oil in the remote tank carefully, there will be no need to replace the tank sender, just leave it disconnected. Until you can confirm pump operation, add a 50:1 oil mixture to your fuel. Then put a mark on the oil tank to reference the oil level, and after using appx. 6 gals of fuel, fill up the oil tank to the line, if it takes 16oz to bring the level up to the mark you are in good shape. I'm not afraid of the later VRO systems, like you have, just the early ones that did not have a no oil warning.

Hope this helps, Jimmy.

 

[plasmacon]

Re: Warning Horn Help. Sensor, oil pickup?

Wow Jimmy, you are a life saver. Very detailed explanation, and very straight forward. This is exactly the info I have been searching for, but have been unable to locate. The tan/orange wire is just a weathered tan I guess. Thanks again for your great help. I hope this helps others as much as it has helped me. Plas