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2006 BF225 Oil Alarm

G

gm2

New member
Hey guys,

Ive recently bought a boat with a 2006 BF225 with the 30" shaft 400hrs

Ive done my fair share of research before making an account and posting. I have read codes, seems no codes are stored. The oil and filter was just changed by the previous owner and it is to the full mark on the dip stick. Mobil 1 oil filter.

I am getting a continuous alarm I believe is the oil pressure alarm(green light goes out). If running at 3500-3900 rpm it will take 10-20 minutes before I get the alarm. I can then kill the motor and restart for another 10-20 minutes before it throws the code again. If I run at 4000-4500rpm I never get the alarm but lets say I throttle down to 3000 and back up to 3500 right away it will also throw the alarm. The motor certainly has oil pressure, oil is clean, no noises, and I've put 9 hours on it since i bought it with this issue. If oil pressure was critically low i doubt it would have made it this long with no shavings or noises.

any way to bypass the oil pressure sensors(high and low) or should I just run a thicker oil with a honda oil filter? The motor runs good other than tripping this code and going into limp mode.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
I have read more into the code reading and i know my MIL light does not blink showing a code number. I am going to check this evening to see if it stays steady or if it comes on for a few seconds and goes off (no codes). If it stays on the shop manual is pointing me towards a short of some sort it looks like. Ill check and report back.
 
Firstly, oil pressure does not set a fault code, it will log the number of times the event has occurred which can only be checked using Dr H diagnostics. I am of the opinion that there is a problem purely because there are two different circuits activating the alarm and the warning light and the other being that it happens at the same rpm every time, doubtful that a short would cause this. The only way to check this is to fit a mechanical gauge and monitor the oil pressure and see what it is doing and go from there.The workshop manual shows you how to do this otherwise I would let a Honda dealer check it out .
 
iang6766 said:
Firstly, oil pressure does not set a fault code, it will log the number of times the event has occurred which can only be checked using Dr H diagnostics. I am of the opinion that there is a problem purely because there are two different circuits activating the alarm and the warning light and the other being that it happens at the same rpm every time, doubtful that a short would cause this. The only way to check this is to fit a mechanical gauge and monitor the oil pressure and see what it is doing and go from there.The workshop manual shows you how to do this otherwise I would let a Honda dealer check it out .
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Ok I've found out that if the MIL light comes on and stays on there is no issue, it means no codes. Seems there is some info going around saying that the light should come on for 2 seconds and go off if there is no codes. However, i have found that if the MIL light comes on with the shunting device in place and does not blink it means there are no codes.

Now that you have confirmed there is no fault code for oil pressure the next thing i will likely do is buy a honda oil filter and change the oil because i do not know what weight oil the previous owner was using, all i can see is its a mobil 1 oil filter. From what I've read on previous posts it may be a bad filter or wrong oil. If a simple oil change doesn't change anything ill have to find a mechanical gauge and get a reading while underway.
 
Agree with your initial plan. Get the OEM Honda oil filter, or the NAPA Gold 1356, which I know works fine on my 225. Also, recommend that you switch over to an API 25W-40 FC-W oil. Shops around here highly recommend the Merc High Performance 25W-40 FC-W. If that doesn't fix the problem, go down the path that Ian recommended by testing oil pressure.

The FC-W certification is from the NMMA. If you can't find the Merc oil, here is a link to other FC-W certified oils.

https://www.nmma.org/certification/oil/fc-w

FYI - according to the Helm manual, if the oil alarm activates for 20 seconds, the engine will automatically power down to 1800 rpm's and will not allow you to exceed that speed until the pressure re-establishes itself.
 
Well took the boat out today after changing the oil and filter. Went with the Napa gold and 25w-40 quicksilver. Same exact symptoms. Run at 3500-3900 and on throttle down it threw the code. Ran at 4000-4500 the rest of the day with no issues. Oil that came out was clean with nothing metallic.

does anyone know how to bypass the sensor? What satisfy the circuit to not trip the code?
 
I would not be doing that without further investigation. For starters there are two sensors, a high and low pressure alert. I have only known bad things to happen as a result of substituting sensors for false readings, they are usually trying to warn you of a situation that is not within the design parameters. I think you should use a mechanical oil pressure gauge to see what is going on and if you can't do that yourself it is worth every penny to get someone who can. Often an issue like this can have a simple explanation and fix if diagnosed in a professional manner.
 
iang6766 said:
I would not be doing that without further investigation. For starters there are two sensors, a high and low pressure alert. I have only known bad things to happen as a result of substituting sensors for false readings, they are usually trying to warn you of a situation that is not within the design parameters. I think you should use a mechanical oil pressure gauge to see what is going on and if you can't do that yourself it is worth every penny to get someone who can. Often an issue like this can have a simple explanation and fix if diagnosed in a professional manner.
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I understand that if there really is low oil pressure the consequences are a new Powerhead. I will get my hands on a mechanical oil pressure gauge and go to the river and test. Where is the easiest place to tap in for oil pressure?

if anyone has any information on how to bypass the sensor please let me know. I have looked in the repair manual. High pressure switch seems to be yellow/red wire. It is normally open, I guess when. Pressure drops it closes the circuit and then the alarm sounds and limp mode is activated. If the switch is always open and never closed will that satisfy the ecm?
 
Low switch should be closed and HP switch open when eng is running. To check pressure, remove the large plug with a square drive hole situated below the vtec solenoid and either fit special adaptor 07PK-ZY30100 or order another plug 90081 ZV5 010 and drill and tap to suit a mechanical gauge or electrical sender with a dash mounted gauge. Oil pressure should be 17-26 psi at idle and max 90psi above 2000rpm.
 
I don't know if I have this right but isn't there some history of these engines having rpm related oil pressure problems due to failing thrust washers on the crank? I seem to remember reading this somewhere. Might be wrong though.
 
You are right, yes. That is why I suggest you see exactly what the oil pressure is doing. You could also check you thrust washer by measuring your crankshaft end float, it should be less than .018"
 
iang6766 said:
Low switch should be closed and HP switch open when eng is running. To check pressure, remove the large plug with a square drive hole situated below the vtec solenoid and either fit special adaptor 07PK-ZY30100 or order another plug 90081 ZV5 010 and drill and tap to suit a mechanical gauge or electrical sender with a dash mounted gauge. Oil pressure should be 17-26 psi at idle and max 90psi above 2000rpm.
Click to expand...

does the ecm need the high pressure side to read closed at start up and then open after start up or can the circuit be open all the time?
 
I'm with Ian on this - test the oil pressure as you are going through the rpm range that trips the alarm. I cannot think of anything that's different in that rpm range, EXCEPT that the IAB solenoid is activated at around 3950 rpm.

I would not attempt to bypass the oil pressure sensors. Besides that, just to get to the sensors and their plugs, you're going to need to get into the V of the engine by removing at least one head. If you get that far, why not just test the wiring and sensors as explained in the shop manual - pages 5-96, 5-97.

According to the Helm manual, a problem with the high side oil pressure sender or wiring should throw a code 26. You did not get that code, but your green oil pressure light is going out, so I suspect you are dealing with something else.

Can you get someone with Dr. H to hook up and read out the details?

Can you get access to a known good ECU and swap them out for a test?

Finally, here is an off-the-wall idea. Pull the 34 pin connector to the ECU and check the pins. Pay special attention to pin 22 (pink wire - low pressure oil sensor) and pin 31 (blue/white wire - high pressure oil sensor). Also pin 34 (green/red wire - sensor ground 2.) Reference page 5-12 in the Helm manual.
 
GM2. I went back over your posts. Please clarify something - you say you get the alarm between 3500 - 3900 rpm and the green oil pressure light goes off. What happens after you pass on to a higher rpm? Does the alarm stop and oil light come back on? Or do you need to stop the engine and restart to get the alarm to cease and oil pressure light to stay on? I'm a bit confused on that point.
 
chawk_man said:
GM2. I went back over your posts. Please clarify something - you say you get the alarm between 3500 - 3900 rpm and the green oil pressure light goes off. What happens after you pass on to a higher rpm? Does the alarm stop and oil light come back on? Or do you need to stop the engine and restart to get the alarm to cease and oil pressure light to stay on? I'm a bit confused on that point.
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When at a steady cruise I have never got the alarm over 4000 rpm. I have only got the alarm while at a 3500-3900 cruise. Not every time but sometimes I get the alarm on throttle up or throttle down, either getting on plane or coming off plane. Every time I have got the alarm I have to kill it and immediately restart it then it won’t throw for another 10-15min or if I stay above 4000 rpm I have went 20 consecutive miles at 4300 and not got the alarm.

When I connect the shunt I have no blinks just steady mail. i have no codes when reading with a shunt device. I have cleared the codes and got two beeps showing the codes have been cleared.
 
iang6766 said:
Low switch should be closed and HP switch open when eng is running. To check pressure, remove the large plug with a square drive hole situated below the vtec solenoid and either fit special adaptor 07PK-ZY30100 or order another plug 90081 ZV5 010 and drill and tap to suit a mechanical gauge or electrical sender with a dash mounted gauge. Oil pressure should be 17-26 psi at idle and max 90psi above 2000rpm.
Click to expand...

Trying to order the adapter plug to test oil pressure. First part number doesn't pull up anything and the second pulls up a honda bolt, not a plug. Are you sure that is the right part numbers?
 
Well, I hope that ID'd the issue. If all works well on a couple of tests, do yourself a favor before buying a new ECU. Re-install the original ECU and test again. The process of switching ECU's may have reset a flaky pin, or cleaned it's contacts.
 
Is your engine still running properly? I have 2 2002's - I fought the same problem on both engines for 9 years. I put dash board oil gauges on the engines.
It never showed or proved a thing. Replacing the filters, the sensors etc just changed the duration between failures - some time even months . Long story short the engines are shot. finally the oil pressure went way down to give constant alarms. When I was running with high oil pressure - I never saw a flicker on the gauges but with DR.Honda I could see it on the computer. The thrust shims are bad the engines are junk. STP did prolong the MTBF.
 
How many hours have they done? I knew of a commercial 2002 225 that was thrashed for 3500 hrs on a 20 tonne barge which eventually failed after running out of oil through neglect, not a bad effort.
 
1300 hrs Both have been property maintained. I can use them as long as i never want to go on plane or even close. Crank clearance is 70 above
 
If you don’t keep the oil full you will also get these alarms. Ensure you are not down a quart and oil is always full. If there is a lower level it can slop around and trigger the alarm mode and limp mode.
 
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