BF130 intermittent alarm

Hi - I'm seeing a lot of knowlege on this site and hope someone has some input.
I have a 1999 bf130 that for several years would give me an alarm about twice a year. Beep and go away by itself. This year its getting a bit more regular but will still go away after about 4-5 beeps. Everything appears to be working normal. Two questions, surprisingly the service shop I talked to did not know if the alarms are logged internally on a 1999; anyone have this answer? Second question, any thoughts as to what the easiest thing would be for me to go after on a problem like this? I don't have the knowledge and experience that many have on this site but I've changed thermostats on vehicles and would like to think I could do things of that nature if needed.

Thanks for reading.

The alarms are not recorded on the 130. It is a pretty basic processor. It does store codes that are generated by disconnected sensors, bad connections, etc.

You can check for codes by opening up the black plastic cover on the port side of your motor. There is a red plug (with two wires) that is plugged into a dummy connector. Remove the plug from the connector and take a paper clip and stick the ends into each of the plug pin holes. Turn your key switch to on (you do not have to run the engine) and count the long and short blinks of the PGM light. If it burns steady, there are no codes. If it starts to blink, record the long and short blinks. Once it goes through all the codes it will repeat itself continuously.

You did not say if any warning lights came on when you got the beeps or how many rpms you were running as well as any other circumstances of your trip.

Let us know what you find.

Mike

Mike - Thanks a bunch for the reply. 90% or higher of the codes come at idle speed. I have never noticed any warning lights, I'll have to pay more attention but I would think I would notice that. I put it in a tank last week and idled it for 45 minutes without failure. I stepped it up to 1400 and in 10 minutes had a failure of 4 short beeps which stopped before I even got to the boat. This is the first time I ever tried the tank thing. A few days later went fishing and did not have a failure. Hopefully I locate the plug and do the code check as you described later tonight. Thanks again.

Mike - Great instructions, did the test as you described. No blinking codes appeared. Just the normal 2 beeps and light on for about 2-3 seconds.
What are your thoughts?

I know this may be practically impossible to do, but the next time the alarm sounds, check what the warning lights are doing. PGM, Battery, Oil , Overheat. This may help track it down.

My gut is telling me, it may be a battery or charging issue...but it is just a guess.

Check the lights.

Mike

yeah, someone else suggested the battery and I tightened things down and the posts were very clean. Never know though. My son had it out today for awhile and no alarms. That's 2 short trips with no alarms but this thing can be very intermittent. I'll try to catch the lights the next time. Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.