Warning Buzzer If Not Enough Oil In Reservoir?

[livemusic]

EDIT: I see something on a Google search that says there is a warning if oil is low.

 

Bought a used 1997 Bass Tracker, 40hp Tracker (Mercury) motor. Recently, I cranked it and very quickly, I heard a buzz. Didn't know what it was. After it warmed up a bit, went on maybe a 30 second run down the lake. Turned the key off and buzzing wouldn't stop. Fiddled with the key, it finally went away. Fished an hour or so, cranked the motor, it ran like a top, as usual. It bothered me and I called a mechanic. He said he knew exactly what it was -- the engine got hot and there is a buzzer warning setup. I said no way, it happened within seconds. He claimed something about yes it could get that hot. I still didn't believe him. I always look at my motor to make sure water is coming out, indicating the water pump is working and it was. I agreed to bring it in to the mechanic for a scan.

 

After talking with other people, I decided it could not have gotten hot. As for oil, the seller had checked it out before he sold it and confirmed the oil pump was drawing oil into the engine, so, that appeared to be working. On several trips prior to this buzz, it ran like a top.

 

Anyway, I backed it into the water and it cranked fine and I ran it a minute or so and all was well.

 

A day or so went by and I went to run it again. It ran fine leaving the dock. Upon return (about a 30 second run), it started buzzing immediately upon startup. It went dead and then I couldn't get it started. I forget what happened except I guess the buzzing continued, loudly, and I think the motor was not running. This seller had installed something I am not familiar with, a lever switch that is hooked up to the batteries. (EDIT: This is in the back of the boat, next to the batteries; it's a lever you turn to "off" or "on." I have to open the back hatch to get to it.) You turn this off and there is no juice going to anything. I don't know what it's for, maybe shutting it down totally if you are going to store it? Anyway, I turned that switch off and it went silent. After a bit, I turned the lever on and the engine cranked! I turned it off and on maybe 3 times and it always cranked the engine when I turned the lever to on. But if I pushed the throttle to give it gas, it would not give it any gas. I finally gave up and just trolled into the dock.

 

I took it to that mechanic today and he seemed in a real bad hurry, so, I'm not sure I am buying what he is telling me. Immediately upon taking the hood off, he said there's your problem, you need more oil in this reservoir. (It was easily visible, maybe 1/4 full.) He said there is a sensor in there and if it's not half full or so, it gives the warning unless it's up to "this mark." But "that mark" was a magic marker mark that the seller had drawn on there to make sure the oil was going down, being pulled by the oil pump. Seems to me that if it critical, "that mark" would be VERY easily seen. If it's going to carry on like that, you should darn sure know not to "go below this line."

 

The mechanic got a meter and checked and said that yes, the oil pump is working. I don't know what to think about this buzzing all being due to not enough oil in the reservoir when it was about 1/4 full, maybe a bit more, you guys let me know. He was 100% certain. And that problem I had out in the lake with that lever switch turning the motor on. And not accepting input from the throttle. Hmmm...

 

I would rather have had him check it over but he was in too big a hurry.

 

BTW, the buzz was coming from the motor.

 

EDIT: P.S.  I have been nervous about the seller telling me that he had put a magic marker mark on the oil reservoir (prior to us closing the deal). I mean, unless he was suspicious of the oil pump, why would he tell me that he "put the mark on there to just make sure all is well with the motor." All along, a mutual friend of ours said it was because he truly wanted to sell me a boat that was in good shape. His dad originally bought it and he finally got it but over its 20 year life, it supposedly did not get much run time. It supposedly sat up for 2-3 years at a time a couple of times. He said to me, "If you ever get nervous about the oil pump, just disconnect it and mix your oil/gas like we used to." He told me this even after I called him after the buzz and I asked him if the motor ever got hot or if he ever had a reason to doubt the oil pump. That's when he told me the boat at up unused from time to time. He also told me he put a water pump in it 2 years ago. He said they dry rot or something. I guess he is talking about the impeller. He seems to be conscientious. And I did test drive the boat and it ran like a top.

[iabass8]

Hopefully by the EDIT tag at the top, you've figured it out! I'm not an outboard wizard so I won't pretend to know what it is but if i had to guess, my first assumption would have been low oil as well. It's imperative to keep up on that. I'm sure others can give you more pin point advice. 

 

As for the switch, is it a kill switch? If you pull it, the entire boat will shut down. They are a safety feature that attaches to the lever, then to a cord, then attached to your life vest/belt/someplace on you so if you are ejected from the boat during an accident while moving, the boat will shut down. every boat should have one if possib

[livemusic]

...As for the switch, is it a kill switch? If you pull it, the entire boat will shut down. They are a safety feature that attaches to the lever, then to a cord, then attached to your life vest/belt/someplace on you so if you are ejected from the boat during an accident while moving, the boat will shut down. every boat should have one if possib

 

No, it's not a kill switch. I know what a kill switch is. I've never seen this, but I have not owned many boats. It's like a master switch to totally remove all connections to the batteries? It's hard to get to, I have to open the back hatch, lean way over to get to it. I don't know when I would use this except maybe to store the boat and turn off all juice. Or is this something I would use often?

[slonezp]

No, it's not a kill switch. I know what a kill switch is. I've never seen this, but I have not owned many boats. It's like a master switch to totally remove all connections to the batteries? It's hard to get to, I have to open the back hatch, lean way over to get to it. I don't know when I would use this except maybe to store the boat and turn off all juice. Or is this something I would use often?

Exactly

[Fishing Rhino]

It's good practice to turn the "master switch" off when you put your charger on.  It separates the cranking battery from all the electronics, and electrical devices to protect them from the charger, should it go haywire.

 

I put my switch under the rear hatch, where it is readily accessible.

 

While it is not necessary, or even recommended for cars, boats are a different story.  Why?  I don't know.

 

I installed my master switch after a heavy rain forced water into the tilt control at the bow, activating the tilt control for the motor.  It's a good thing I wasn't towing the boat.  The transom saver dropped from the trailer, and would have been like a vaulting pole when that end hit the road.

 

It also prevents inadvertently draining the battery should one forget to shut everything off.  It also prevents someone (see children or mischief makers) from playing with the electrical gizmos.

[Way2slow]

Well, want my opinion? It's dumber than dirt to operate a motor with a warning buzzer sounding. The reason for the buzzer is to let you know there's something wrong that can cause serious damage to the engine. To ignore that is playing Russian roulette with a motor.

If in doubt about the oil pump, mark the oil reservoir, and premix the gas in the tank. This will double oil and make it smoke a lot if the oil system is working but it won't damage the motor if it's not. Now the easiest way to check this is to use a 5/6 gallon portable gas tank, even if you have to set it on the rear deck for that day (just be sure to secure it), disconnect the line from the primer bulb going to the boats tank and connect it to the gas can. Know exactly how much gas is in the can, after running at least half of it out, measure what's left so you will know exactly how much you burned. Calculate at a 50:1 how much oil it would have taken to burn that amount of gas. If you burned three gallons it should take approx. 7.5 ounces of oil to fill the reservoir back up to your mark.

As for running hot, more than just the water pump can cause one to get hot. The motors have thermostats in them, and I've seen more than one stuck closed and the motor will get hot very quickly if it does. I've seen mud/silt sucked off the bottom plug water passages in the motor.

You could just have a bad sensor. What ever the cause of the warning buzzer, you need to find out, unless you are looking for an excuse to buy a new motor.

As for the not being able to give it gas when the buzzer was sounding, some motors have limp home modes that want let it increase rpm beyond a preset point, some have shutdown features than will shut it down if certain conditions exist.

What ever the case, I would suggest you find the cause. If you don't trust "Your mechanic", don't go to him. If you feel you need use him because he's cheaper than everybody else, there is usually are reason for that. Usually, those are the ones that end up being the most expensive. They don't know how to diagnose a problem, they just keep throwing parts at it until they finally find the one that fixes that problem, but many times create other problems in the process.

[livemusic]

Well, want my opinion? It's dumber than dirt to operate a motor with a warning buzzer sounding...

 

I didn't know it was a warning buzzer. In fact, I still don't know that it was. It was just a buzz. After I first heard the buzz, I went about 30 seconds up the lake, trying to figure out what that sound was. It wasn't like some horn was going off, it just sounded kind of like an electrical buzz. And it came from the motor, itself, not the console. I had no idea a motor has a warning buzzer. I owned two bass boats 40 years ago. This is my second used boat made of vintage of the past 15-20 years. I've fished with other people who own bass boats. Never heard of a warning buzzer. Now I know.

[Nice_Bass]

may want to check the alarm module if there is one.  Finally, do you have a manual that goes with it to figure out what series of sounds you are hearing come out?  may need to test different sensors, etc. until you find the one that actually is sounding from alarm circuit.  

That motor may also have a sensor at the bottom of the oil reservoir that went bad that you could test and that really does sound like it is your problem.  If your oil pump is sending for you, 1/4 tank should be more than enough for it to read.  Should have a little white and blue wire if taken out that you could test with.

[nixdorf]

I have a 2004 Tracker Pro Team 185 with 90 HP Merc. I've experienced both a buzz from the engine and alarm from the console.

The buzz turned out to be my ignition key not releasing the electric starter. The starter just kept whirring away even with the engine running. Boat performance was nominal when this happened. I assume the ignition assembly was sticking in the "start" position. Now, I just make sure the key turns back a few degrees from the "start" position to the "on" position.

The constant alarm I experienced was a bit of a pain to figure out. My engine has two alarms: high temp and low oil. Even with cool water coming out of the cooling outtake, the engine cool to the touch while running, and a full reservoir of oil, I still had the alarm. It turned out to be the magnet inside the oil reservoir sticking. Replacing the oil reservoir fixed it.

Not sure if either of the above problems are what you're experiencing, but maybe they'll help. Good luck, and please post when you figure it out.