Blinking symbol on tacometer Suzuki D140

I am getting a steady blinking on the tacometer. What does this indicate? Also after about 5 minutes of running I get what I believe is an overheating audio warning. This does not stop while engine is running. The engine is spewing water. The shop has not been able to duplicate the sound warning and says the water pump appears to be working. Is the tac reading related to the warning tone or is that something unrelated? Also is the audio sound an overheating warning only or an indicator of other problems.

The manual says that a low battery voltage caution is activated when voltage decreases to less than 9 volts for 30 seconds. Check engine light flashes continuously. Caution buzzer sounds in a series of long (1.5 second) beeps. It says that it is reset when battery increases above 9 volts.

I think when you hit the overheating signal the rpms cut back and the engine goes into a fail safe mode, not all cylinders fire, runs poorly but will limp home.

Book also says when the engine is not running, the buzzer sounds according to each code series, but not simultaneous with the lamp flash. When engine is running, the buzzer sounds a series of short (0.2 sec) beeps according to code pattern along with intermittent flashes (in the same error code pattern).

It says the buzzer sound can be temporarily canceled by pushing the ignition key in.

Hope any of that helps.

I don't think it is a low voltage problem because the blinking is there immediately on startup and is there until shutdown. I do believe the warning horn is a heat problem since it starts 5 to 10 minutes after cruise at about 4400 RPM. It does not go off until the engine is shutoff for an extended period. It does appear that the engine is getting hot in spite of the fact that it is pumping water. The boat is in the shop so I can't check the voltage. They are uncertain of the problem and haven't been able to duplicate the buzzer alarm at 4000 RPM and during there tests the water flow appears normal. Thanks for the input.

I understand concern for temp. Just remember if it is temp alarm boat goes into fail safe mode. If it didn't shut down to idle. That may not be it but hope y'all figure it out.

That helps because I came in with normal RPM. My concern was that the wife said that it looked like the motor was emitting smoke or steam coming our from the front part of the motor when we went to idle at the dock. It stopped shortly after turning the engine off.

I suggest that you check your oil and make sure it is not emulsified. If steam is coming out of the exhaust it may have water contamination.

Good suggestion. Thanks. I just had a 100 hour service so the oil has been changed, but I will keep an eye on it. Currently they are changing the water pump and I will see what that will do. Although it was pumping water I'm not convinced it was as strong as it should be and thus possibly the warning horn. Your suggestion is much appreciated.

hi..kindly specify what kind of blinking symbol on tachometer, is it for check engine or overheating. because of in suzuki has multifunction tachometer.

It was a steady blinking which was not sequencial with the sound horn. As near as I could tell the symbol was in a rectangle in the shape of an hour glass. The shop said that there was one bolt missing on the water pump housing (if I remember correctly). I believe they replaced the water pump. They didn't have a computer for the Susuki so then have ordered one which they should have tomorrow. I will post the results.

check a white wire, which is coming with suzuki engines. that wire is supposed to fix with engine to battery or battery to control box.white wire female connector, may be it`s getting loose from there.

Will do. Thanks for the suggestion.

I got the boat back from the shop. They did a computer readout which showed everything being OK. The only discrepancies the readout showed was 3 instances of overheating. Two of them were over 300 hours previous and the other 100 hours previous so the alarms were definitely not overheating. The last time I ran the boat I was getting the alarms, but the motor ran great. This time the motor was rough and the alarm started within 2 minutes (even prior to cruise RPMs). They did replace the water pump. It had a broken bolt that may have reduced the water flow somewhat, but not enough to severly overheat the engine. The symbol (like an hour glass) flashed steadily the entire time as before. The alarm was not steady, but in about 2 second bursts in intervals of a few seconds. When I returned I did not get the audible alarm, but the blinking symbol in the tac continued. The motor died while docking and was hard to start. I had to apply some throttle to get it going. After starting the engine the audio alarm started again. I called the shop and took it in since I already have several hundred dollars into this. Since the alarm did not go off on my return I believe the suggestion that a loose ground may be the problem. The shop suggested the same thing. Could this be what caused the engine to run rough?

There is a plastic screen where the water intakes off the bottom of the lower unit. If you look closely at that screen the little openings are directed upward to cause water flow to be directed up into the water pump. If that screen was ever removed and replaced upside down it will take away from water suction to the impeller.
Worth a look.

The problem turned out to be a shield below the engine that developed a hole. This caused the exhaust gas to recirculate into the intake manifold which caused the computer to go into a tail spin. The computer showed everything OK because this was done with the cowling off and thus the engine was getting outside air. This apparently is a problem with the Suzuki when used in salt water for an extended period due to the quality of the aluminum shield. Although I flushed the engine after every use this was not enough to stop the corrosion. Unfortunately for me the occurred 6 months after my warantee expired. It is nearly a $1800 fix.