Help - problem with 2002 Honda BF40 at beginning of trip!

R

rogerbum

New member
All,

Below is a copy of a question I sent to Les at EQ. I'm reposting part of it here since I'm desperate to get some help/ideas on this.

I have a problem with one of my twin 40's. Yesterday, I started getting an alarm - a loud beeping noise like the temperature indicator. The temp indicator red light is not on, I'm just getting the alarm. The engine is peeing normally (impeller was replaced less than 50 hours ago), to my hand the temp of the exiting water feels the same as the other engine. The water intakes are clear. The alarm is only on while the boat is in gear and operating above 2300 (or so RPM). When it's out of gear, I can run the RPM up to 4500 with the fast idle lever with no alarm. The speed is not limited and the engine appears to be operating normally - e.g. I get reasonable speed, it pees, the oil pressure is fine, the pee stream seems normal temp, the engine itself seems normal temp. I talked to Dusty briefly on the phone and he suggested that maybe the thermostat is shot.

What do you think the problem is likely to be?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Best,
Roger Bumgarner (SeaDNA).
 
I went on the Honda Marine site and searched for "engine Alarms" The most frequent response when all fluid are fine (water-oil) is to check O2 sensor.
You might look into it.
 
Or maybe just an overly sensitive sender unit on the "Hot" alarm circuit?

Maybe the unit has a thermistor (heat sensitive resistor) that is breaking down, but you'd think the red light would come on too.

Is the sound coming from the engine, the control lever box at the helm, or the dash mounted read-out gauges?

Are there any other alarm circuits besides the overheat one mentioned in the Owner's Manual? Like low fuel pressure (lean fuel/air problem) or oil pressure, alternator not charging, etc?

Does the motor have EFI and the associated computer with trouble read out codes to a repair shop's computer system?

I've heard not to rev an outboard engine to over about 2000 rpm or so with no load on it in neutral, so you might be careful there.

Good Luck with this. Maybe Gary or Larry H can help out out (retired O/B mechanics).

Wish I could be there with you, but the hip replacement recovery was a limiting factor.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Roger,

Sorry to be so uninformative on the phone. I believe the water from the P-tube is NOT at engine cooling water temp. As I recall (oops), that is "bypass" water from the thermostat -- not water that has been cooling the engine. I'll chat with Les in a few minutes and get back to you -- he may beat me to it.

Keep those fish coming in!

Dusty
 
It turns out that it's a faulty alarm related to mis-sensing the tilt. Not a real problem so I'm running around with it sounding off anytime I'm at speed. Really annoying but not hurting anything.
 
rogerbum":2e765uzf said:
It turns out that it's a faulty alarm related to mis-sensing the tilt. Not a real problem so I'm running around with it sounding off anytime I'm at speed. Really annoying but not hurting anything.
Click to expand...
Roger, I started having the same problem this afternoon with my starboard Honda 40. I ran out from the trailer launch at Everett at 4 knots, no problem, but within a minute of getting up on step, the alarm went off. When I would drop below 2,500 rpm, it would stop.

Did you eventually get your faulty alarm fixed? Do you recall what was involved with that?
 
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