Honda 40 Cooling

C

colobear

New member
C-Cakes has twin Honda 40's. Both engines cool just fine while underway or at the dock. Recently I have noticed that the port engine pee stream does not immediately appear when flushing with earmuffs and. This occurs immediately after getting the boat home from retrieval, maybe an hour at most. I run Salt-terminator though both engines about every other time. The impellers are new within the last year. Unless I catch it the engine heat alarm sometimes goes off. The temperature light stays green but the warning indicator is screaming at me. It occasionally does this even with a pee stream. The oil has been changed within the last three weeks and the engine reservoir is full. I suspect the impeller but also wonder about the thermostat.

Any ideas? Anyone ever seen this behavior?
 
Check your pee holes. [Nothing personal :roll: ] Critters get up in there and lay eggs. Spiders live in there. For my Honda 45's, I kept a coat hangar in the splashwell to ream them out periodically. You might also pull the little hose off of the block and see if the block is plugged in anyway. Stick the coat hanger in there too. That, while it is only an indicator and should not affect cooling, can IMHO.

Despite your impeller replacement, a couple of vanes can come loose and plug passages too. After checking everything else, you'll have to drop the lower unit.

Charlie
 
Barry, I think your ideas about impeller or thermostat are probably correct. Another possibility is that you have a salt buildup... It seems like someone just recently posted a thread on that one...

Sorry you're having troubles!

Steve
 
Last Fiday while crabbing I noticed my stream that started out strong kept getting weaker until it quit. I used a paperclip and stuck it in the pee hole. I then pulled the hose from the block and blew it out. I didn't notice any kind of residue while doing this. After putting it back together I again had a strong stream. Been working ever since.
Todd
 
I too just got the impeller replaced, however when washing with earmuffs I hear the alarm and indicator light stays green, when you figure out the problem please let me know.

Tip: weed eater string fits perfectly in the pee hole, and is flexible enough you don't have to worry about scratching anything inside.
 
I've had Honda 40's (3) for 20 years and none of them pee the same way twice. They often seem clogged or weak. I constantly have to clear the indicators and lines. I found that heavy duty weed whip line is just the right size and threads trough the system really well.
 
Honda is notorious for having a third water intake on the underside of the lower unit, not visible form the top. If this is the case, you must tape this water intake site when using earmuffs to flush your engine. Learned that one the hard way. Toasted an impeller in 10 minutes of idle running.
 
sometimes the impeller is just changed to save money but either a complete new water pump rebuild kit or impeller and cup is needed to replace all worn parts
 
B²":3483i0b4 said:
sometimes the impeller is just changed to save money but either a complete new water pump rebuild kit or impeller and cup is needed to replace all worn parts
Click to expand...

The water pump consists of a molded housing which is either in perfect shape or totally trashed (usually melted), a stainless liner which is normally in very good condition unless run in sand or had an impeller melted inside, and the impeller.

Usually only the impeller is changed on newer engines, not to be cheap, but because the other items don't require replacement. The stainless liner might be replaced after a visual inspection in an engine with several hunderd hours on it. The housing never unless it was cracked or melted (or otherwise damaged).

colobear":3483i0b4 said:
The temperature light stays green but the warning indicator is screaming at me.
Click to expand...

The green light is an oil pressure indicator, it tells you that oil pressure is ok. An overheat condition trips the alarm AND activates the red light.
 
Thanks for the replies. I know the pee tube is clear. OK Les, if the green light indicates good oil pressure and the red light is not on, why is the alarm shrilling?
 
Been curious about that alarm. I get it when I power onto the trailer with the motors tilted part way up. Trim then down just a little and the alarms stop. I don't see where they are overheating. As for the water indicator. When I bought my current 22', which is older and had been used exclusively in saltwater, the indicator streams were intermittent at best. Fought them constantly. I think it is a case of heavy salt buildup in the passages. As the salt particles flake off they plug the outlet. Things are getting better now. One day I pulled the hose off the outlet fitting and found a particle in there the size of a kidney stone. Took the big chance and took a taste. Pure salt. One plugged again last weekend and I took a straightened paperclip and shoved it thru the plastic fitting. Something was lodged in there and after it was out it was really putting out the water. I think I am pretty well on the way to having the salt out. Will probably do some vinegar sometime soon, for a little extra cleaning. Or salt away.
 
colobear":238q66l3 said:
Thanks for the replies. I know the pee tube is clear. OK Les, if the green light indicates good oil pressure and the red light is not on, why is the alarm shrilling?
Click to expand...

Because the BF40/50 does not have 2-stage tilt/trim system (that is, the tilt speed is the same from fully trimmed down to completely up) Honda incorporated a sensing switch in the system. If the engine is tilted and the throttle advanced the alarm will sound. Also, the sensor is sensing relative to earth not to the angle of the engine with regard to the boat so if you're on an incline that can force an alarm sooner that otherwise would be the case. The sensors can stick, we've had some that have given us some trouble though it's not a especially common issue.
 
lloyds":1g0w215h said:
Been curious about that alarm. I get it when I power onto the trailer with the motors tilted part way up. Trim then down just a little and the alarms stop. I don't see where they are overheating. As for the water indicator. When I bought my current 22', which is older and had been used exclusively in saltwater, the indicator streams were intermittent at best. Fought them constantly. I think it is a case of heavy salt buildup in the passages. As the salt particles flake off they plug the outlet. Things are getting better now. One day I pulled the hose off the outlet fitting and found a particle in there the size of a kidney stone. Took the big chance and took a taste. Pure salt. One plugged again last weekend and I took a straightened paperclip and shoved it thru the plastic fitting. Something was lodged in there and after it was out it was really putting out the water. I think I am pretty well on the way to having the salt out. Will probably do some vinegar sometime soon, for a little extra cleaning. Or salt away.
Click to expand...

They aren't overheating it's just the warning alarm for the trim system. See my post to Colobear.

And yes the tattletale system can be a bit cantankerous, the passages are all small. It's not a large engine though and it has to operate in the summer in Arizona as well as it does in the PNW so they can't send too much water through the tattletale system.
 
That's amazing about the horizontal sensor. Didn't know they had that. It certainly seemed like that to me when I first noticed it. That explains a lot. First time it happens it is a little unnerving. Thanks for that nugget of information. I am curious as to how much salt will actually clean itself out of my engines with a lot of freshwater use. I have to assume I will never get it all out.
 
That's the trouble with those pesky Hondas. Always doing what they're supposed to do.

Hi Les! Good to hear from you. Sorry we didn't get up that way for our yearly visit.
 
Les Lampman":2x6inf1b said:
B²":2x6inf1b said:
sometimes the impeller is just changed to save money but either a complete new water pump rebuild kit or impeller and cup is needed to replace all worn parts
Click to expand...

The water pump consists of a molded housing which is either in perfect shape or totally trashed (usually melted), a stainless liner which is normally in very good condition unless run in sand or had an impeller melted inside, and the impeller.

Usually only the impeller is changed on newer engines, not to be cheap, but because the other items don't require replacement. The stainless liner might be replaced after a visual inspection in an engine with several hunderd hours on it. The housing never unless it was cracked or melted (or otherwise damaged).

colobear":2x6inf1b said:
The temperature light stays green but the warning indicator is screaming at me.
Click to expand...

.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Les

Yes always check the cup or liner. Sometimes it is over looked
 
OK, just made a short run with the grandkids, when back, ran the engines with earmuffs, made sure they were level, all went well, two pee streams, no screaming warnings. Must have satisfied the gremlins for this week.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
 
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