Logo

1989 johnson 40 hp motor alarm

I found this info in a different site but it was provided by our old friend Joe Reeves:
A beep every other second = VRO failure, air leak in oil line, oil restriction, (anything that would result in a lack of oil being supplied to the engine).
If this is your problem I you need to fix it ASAP.
 
If Kevinj is right, I'd suggest you pre-mix your fuel/oil in the tank before you do much else. It won't fix the alarm, but it will prevent engine damage. If you have a bad VRO, then you can remove the VRO from the system and just run pre-mix all the time. If your VRO needs repair, hang on to your wallet, as those tend to be quite expensive. All my 2-smoke engines have had the VRO removed & I can't say I regret it.
 
Dpurvis80, if it turns out that your fuel pump is bad I may be able to help you. I have a VRO/Fuel pump off of an 89 Johnson 50hp. It does have a bad diaphragm in it, where it apparently had been pinched when the pump was assembled at some point in time. If your problem is on the oil pump side of the fuel pump then this one may have the parts you need. If so, get in touch with me and you can have this one.
I did like others have suggested, removing the expensive VRO pump and now mix my oil/gas.
 
50:1 and there is a cheaper pump available that is attached to the side of the top cylinder with 2 screws and a gasket.
 
********************
(VRO Horn Warnings)
(J. Reeves)

NOTE: I retired around 1991/92. Possibly some of the later V4 engines and others may also incorporate a fuel vacuum switch that would enable a fuel restriction warning to sound as mentioned below, an unknown factor to myself.

1 - A steady constant beep = Overheating - The V/6 engines, possibly some others, have a fuel restriction warning which is also a steady constant beep.

2 - A beep every 20 or 40 seconds = oil level has dropped to 1/4 tank. (Late model engine = Every 40 seconds)

3 - A beep every other second = VRO failure, air leak in oil line, oil restriction, (anything that would result in a lack of oil being supplied to the engine).

NOTE - If the warning horn is the black plastic (overpriced) three wire type horn, the warning horn should beep once when the ignition key is turned to the ON position. If it does not, it is either faulty or someone has disconnected it (a stupid move!). At any rate, if it does not beep which indicates that the horn is non functional, find out why and do not run the engine until the problem is corrected.
********************
 
50:1 and there is a cheaper pump available that is attached to the side of the top cylinder with 2 screws and a gasket.
Right, 50:1. Any TCW3 oil will work, but i like to run Evinrude Premium (red color) in my pre-mix. It's less than $20/gallon at Walmart and readily available.

Racer, do you mean this pump?
fuelpump.JPG

Pretty cheap simple option:
http://www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_details.php?pnum=OMC0438556
 
Correct ----same pump that came on the 48 HP model ( no oil injection ) from the factory.
Yep, that's why I chose that parts diagram. As I recall the 48 SPL model was identical to the 50 only given a rating of 2HP less and had a pre-mix pump rather than VRO. So, the pre-mix pump should work perfect on the OP's 40HP engine.
 
Back
Top