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Honda 225HP Intermittent Prolonged Alarm

efishnsea

New member
I am getting an intermittent prolonged alarm after startup on a Honda 225HP. In the shop manual, this alarm seems to indicate the "water seperator full" condition. I emptied the water seperator on the side of the engine and pumped new gas into the seperator. The alarm still sounds. I also tried disconnecting the wires to the water seperator sensor and shorting out the sensor connection. I still get the alarm in each case. Does anyone have any ideas on what else to check?

I noticed that when running with the water hose connected, the motor does not pee a steady stream, even after recently changing the water pump impeller. Thanks for the help.
 
need to find the fault code its throwing, Do some search on honda forums there are guys speaking about how to do that without all the fancy gear to get code....

Also as Chris said I never try to run mine on garden hose for some reason on honda's225hp don't do well I have used flush ears on them in the rare occasion square version works best. I just replaced both motors impellar last week they run awesome when firectly in body of water, I used ears just to get idea all working at house.. What year honda and how many hours helpsalso
 
The alarm for water in the seperator is a series of very short, rapid alarms - less than 1/4 second. The other alarm lasts over almost a full second on, full second off. If it's the latter, it is an issue with your fuel injection or alternator, depending on which lights on your key switch console light up. Do you have a 4-light key switch console? If so, which lights are on when the alarm goes off? If you send me an e-mail at [email protected] I'll send you the alarms and light combinations if you don't already have them.
 
Its a 2003, with appox 250 hours.I see now in the manual that the short alarm is most likely the water seperator. I am getting the one second on, one second off. I only have two lights on the key switch. The green stays lit up when the alarm goes off. Thanks for the help guys!
 
You probably want to take that engine to a dealer and have them hook up the HDS (Honda Diagnostic System) computer to find out the problem. Alternatively, you can follow the procedures for shunting the red service connector to identify the problem. Following is the procedure for doing that.

You need to retrieve the codes from theEPROM in the on-board engine computer - the Electronic Control Module or ECM.
Takeoff the engine cover and the plastic cover over the electronics on the front ofthe engine. There you will see a red four-pronged female plug. Use a paper clipto shunt the lime green/white wire to the black wire – that is, the two wiresthat are closest to the engine when the red service connector is correctly setin it’s holder. If in doubt, invest in a SCS service connector, which you canorder online. Part number 070PZ-ZY30100.
Onceconnected, turn on the key switch and observe the number of blinks on the checkengine (MIL) light. If the MIL comes on and stays on without blinking, you haveone of the following conditions:
• Short circuit in the service checkconnector wire
• Short circuit in the MIL wire
• Short circuit in the sensor systempower supply
• Open circuit in the power supply lineto the ECM
• Faulty ECM
Ifthe MIL comes on, then goes off after a few seconds, there are no codes in theEPROM.
Ifthe MIL starts blinking, then count the blinks, which will indicate the faultcode. You may get long blinks and short blinks. For example, two long blinks,followed by five short blinks, would be a fault code 25. The blink sequence will repeat itself until you turn thekey off. If there is more than one fault, you will get multiple fault codes. Forexample, three short blinks, followed by two long blinks and five short blinkswould be fault codes 3 and 25. If you have a shop manual, you can find the codes in there - pages 5-14 and 5-15. Or post the number of blinks and I will try to tellyou what the error code is. Or, send me an e-mail at [email protected]and I will send you the codes.

If you get only one blink, that repeats about every three seconds, that is afaulty O2 sensor. If a faulty O2 sensor is indicated, first check the wiringand connector. A loose or corroded connection can set off that alarm.

Clearing Fault Codes(From Honda Dude)

Essentially, to clear the codes, you operate the killswitch 5 times with the shunting device in place and within 20 seconds of thekey switch being on.

I recommend grabbing the safety lanyard very close to the switch that it isattached to so you can pull it to off and push it to on without losing thelanyard.

1. Turn the key switch to on.
2. Pull the safety switch to off, then push to on, then pull to off, then pushto on, then pull to off, then push to on, then pull to off, then push to on, thenpull to off. That should be five times off and on and off within 20 secondsfrom when you turn the key switch to on. When you get to the fifth timeoff...you should hear one or two beeps. The codes are clear. If you did nothear the beeps, try again.

3. Turn the key switch off

Remove the shunting device and run the engine. Then check for codes again. Ifall is clear, you may just have had a one time occurrence. If you do havecodes, you will just have to troubleshoot depending on the code number that youget.




 
Chawk,

Thanks very much for the code retrieval and resetting procedures! I will check it out this weekend to try to find a specific reason for the alarm.
 
Thanks for your help recently with troubleshooting my Honda 225. I finally got some time to try to read the codes from the EPROM.

I am not getting any blinks or alarm with the green and black wire shorted and the ignition switch turned to ON. However, I do get the alarm (one second off, one second one...) with no MIL light blinks when I crank the motor. This happens as soon as the engine starts. If I short the green and black wires while the engine is running, the alarm goes away. As soon as I pull the shorting clip off, the alarm comes back. Do you have any ideas on what the problem could be?
 
That's a bit strange. Did you try clearing the codes first then re-try the procedure? Did the MIL come on briefly, then go out like it should have?

However, I suspect you may have a bad HO2 sensor. There is a procedure in the shop manual for checking the HO2, but it requires a test tank and running the engine above 4500 rpm for 3 minutes or more (with prop off of course), then measuring the voltage at 4500 and then at idle. Think it would be best to get a dealer to hook up the HDS to get a definite readout.
 
Chawk,

I did try clearing codes and re-trying the procedure. The green and red lights both come on, then the red light goes out. Are these the MIL lights you are referring to?
 
Okay, let's start from the top. Normally, when starting the engine, you turn on the key and both lights should come on briefly, then go out. The buzzer should beep two times. When the engine is started, the green (oil pressure light) should come on and the red MIL light should go off. When you properly shunt the lime green/white wire to the black wire on the red service connector, and turn the key on, both lights will go on briefly, then go off. If there is a fault code on the EPROM, then the red light will start blinking to give you the fault code(s). The green light will stay off.

If that is the procedure you tried, and got no blinks on the MIL light, then it is telling you there are no fault codes stored on the EPROM. But since you are getting an intermittent alarm, there should be faults stored there somewhere. The exception is when you have abnormal current from the alternator or an overheat situation. On the four-light panel, the overheat and abnormal alternator have seperate lights that will come on if those conditions exist. You indicated that the intermittent alarm goes starts off right away when the engine is started, so that likely is not an overheat situation. So check your alternator output.
 
If you have only two lights on your key switch panel...one is and over heat and the other is the oil pressure. If appears, whomever installed your engine did not put the addtional two lights in to save a couple of bucks. I recommend that you purchase a 32340-ZW7-000AH light panel. You should be able to plug it right into your wiring harness in your dash. Even if you do not permanently mount it, it will help identify problems when there are alarms like you are getting. 32340-ZW7-000AH.jpg

Mikehttp://www.marineengine.com/content/images/accessories/32340-ZW7-000AH.jpg
 
Mike - Did I screw up? I thought the two-light system was the oil pressure and the MIL (PGM FI) lights. If they're just oil pressure and overheat, no wonder he didn't get any codes.

Crap - sorry 'bout that efish.
 
chawk_man,

Sorry, but true.

Rereading the first post,efish said, that he disconnected his water separator and shorted the connector. The short would cause an alarm. Just disconnect the connector going to the water separator and see if the alarm goes away.

Mike

Mike
 
Chawk/Hondadude,

Thanks for your help and suggestions! The warning activation system table in the book makes more sense, knowing that there are two additional lights that were never installed. I now realize I am getting the intermittent short alarm and not the prolonged alarm. Can the title of this thread be changed to prevent confusion for others in the future?? Since the prolonged buzzer sound takes precendence over the short buzzer sound, it does look to be a water seperator problem.

Hondadude: As you stated, I tried both shorting the water seperator and disconnecting it earlier because I didn't realize if it was a normally open or closed circuit. This was before I knew anything about the red service connector. Since then I tried clearing the alarm. Then it came back (the buzzer). Are you saying that I should clear the alarm once again, then disconnect the wire on the on board water seperator, before cranking the motor? Thanks again guys!
 
First of all, if your alarm sounds at 1 second intervals, it is not the water separator. If it is the water separator, the alarm sounds at least twice as fast if not more than 1 second intervals. It also normally will sound just turning on the key to on (without starting the engine).

Honestly, if it is the water separator, I do not know for sure that it makes a stored code that you have to reset. I do not think so. It will not hurt to try. Disconnect the water separator first, then clear the codes.

If you had the two lights (that you do not have), neither would be lit if it is a water separator alarm.

Mike
 
I found a blown 150A starter fuse. I recall accidently making contact with the wrong polarity wires on the battery when connecting the battery during last month's "monthly startup". What's strange is the motor still cranks fine. I think because the blown fuse was making partial contact. I just ordered a replacement fuse. I tested the alternator at Autozone. It tested ok on voltage (14.6VDC), but showed a "lamp alarm". I'm not sure yet if the fault caused the alternator lamp alarm or if Autozone's machine is not recongnizing one of the circuits, since they set up the test with a similar car alternator and not the marine alternator. Is there a Honda car alternator that is a near or exact match for my outboard alternator?
 
The fuse you found protects the charging circuit of the alternator. It will blow if the battery is connected incorrectly. If it is blown, your battery will not charge and guess what?...the battery charge light (which you do not have) would light and you get an alarm (like the one that you are getting).

The motor will run until the battery runs down. It may start running erratically as the battery runs down. You should have a spare fuse in the cover of your fuse holder.

I do not know about the Honda car alternators as a replacement.

I would reinstall the alternator and give it a try.

Mike
 
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