Boating Problem - Can You Help?

[joetomlee]

Hey guys, I am having some trouble with my 2007 Nitro Fish N' Ski (150 HP Mercury outboard). The last time I took it out it was sounding 4-5 loud warning beeps anytime I had the ignition turned on and I could see the motor would begin smoking if I didn't turn it off after several minutes. I am thinking it might have something to do with the oil but am not certain. I am quite handy and was hoping you guys could share some insight with me as to your thoughts. If this is a DIY fix I'd much rather give it a go myself as the marina's around me charge $99/per hour labor and are backed up 2 weeks due to the season opening.

 

I have the boat maintenanced/winterized annually and it is a relatively new motor with approx. 50-75 hours on it.

[joetomlee]

Oh and just to add, the beeps occur at any speed, including idle (with motor on).

[livetofish28]

Warranty? Which gauges are flashing? There's a lot of questions to be answered.

Tight lines

Andrew

[tcbass]

Is it your water pump (impeller alarm)?

It would make sense if your motor is smoking. It means your water pump is already ruined normally. You don't want to run it anymore or you will smoke your engine.

I'm learning a lot about this now from a mechanic friend. He said a lot of people hear that alarm and make the mistake or slowing down and limping to shore. He said all that does is ruin your motor. He said the alarm on the water pump means it's already ruined and you need to paddle to shore or get pulled or use a trolling motor. Whatever you do, don't run your motor.

Does water spit out when it's running?

[Way2slow]

I thought most Mercury motors had the fault displayed in the tachometer/speedometer when the warning alarm sounded, displaying the cause of the alarm. There are a number of things that will. cause an alarm and no way can anyone say specifically what's causing it or what to do to fix it without knowing what the display is showing or hooking the diagnostics software to it. The alarm will even give an alarm that the alarm is not working properly. Recommend you see what fault it's showing.

[joetomlee]

Nothing on the dash or speedometer. No warranty. No indicators at all other than what was stated above. I did use my trolling motor to get back to the boat ramp however. I didn't want to risk any further damage. I was hoping it would be an easy oversight I may have been missing. I am going to take it to a marina down the road and let them take care of it, just to be safe! Thanks everyone for input!

[Tim Kelly]

Most likely the water pump. It's a diy fix if you're a bit handy, but does involve dropping the lower unit. 

[lmoore]

Not sure what the Merc alarms are, but I believe short beeps in succession on my Johnson is the oil/fuel, and a long continuous is overheating.  If you have oil injection, be sure the level is good in the tank and that it is working.  Also, change the fuel/water seperator to be sure there isn't water getting into the fuel lines and setting off the sensor.

[joetomlee]

Thanks again guys!! I brought it down the road to a guy who hopefully won't charge me an arm a leg and a ********. He thinks it might be the water pump but wants to keep it over the weekend and check it out. I will post the solution when I receive one so that others can refer back to this post for a starting point on similar issues.

[tcbass]

Thanks again guys!! I brought it down the road to a guy who hopefully won't charge me an arm a leg and a ********. He thinks it might be the water pump but wants to keep it over the weekend and check it out. I will post the solution when I receive one so that others can refer back to this post for a starting point on similar issues.

 

 

 

Wow, if it is the water pump that will be like the first time I've been right....ever! lol.

 

 

Good luck!