Lost power after Low oil warning

"200 TLRU ('96 Counter

"200 TLRU ('96 Counter rotating)on 272 Grady.
Yellow blinking light indicated low oil in remote reservor. Noticed engine lost power. Returned to dock, added oil. Light went green. Next time out, engine was still low power. Checked and cleaned water separators and in line filter. No major discrepencies found. Engine starts fine and runs smooth, but no power. Tech manual says engine would be limited to 2000 RPM if it runs "out" of oil and would show red light. since that did not happen, is it possible that the limiting function has been activated? how does the limiting function reduce the engine power?"

"The revs are limited through

"The revs are limited through the CDI control unit. You could try resetting the system by removing the positive battery cable and leaving it off for a minute or two. It seems that many people have a problem getting power back after the low oil warning. I have heard of a few people having to pull the sensor out of the main tank, cleaning it with carb cleaner and steel wool, then reinstalling it."

"Thank you for your response.

"Thank you for your response. Do you know if the CDI cuts out 2 cylinders, or does something like reduce spark intensity?
I shut off the battery switch and turned it back on. still no power. Removed sensor from main tank(on engine), cycled key - red light and alarm..then off. Reinstalled sensor. Checked plugs and they were fouled.(CDI reduced spark intensity?) Replaced plugs, ran test run and power is back. Dont know if the cycling of the sensor/CDI or the new plugs did the fix. I have been running outboards for 30 years and have never seen fouled plugs cause such a power loss. But there is always a first time."

It is my understanding the CDI

It is my understanding the CDI works just like the ones from MSD that are used on high performace autos. That is to say that the unit drops one cylinder in the firing order then fires it the next time while dropping the next one. To limit the engine to 2000rpms it is probably dropping three cylinders at a time. It will keep doing this unitl it reaches the per set revs. This is done to aviod loading up just one or two cylinders and prevents harmful backfiring.

Thanks for the articulate resp

Thanks for the articulate response. That is good knowledge for future use.

sounds like a bad sensor
if y

sounds like a bad sensor
if you want the oil trouble shooting guide email me