BF20 alarm

[First time owner]

As a first time owner, I ask for forgiveness if I appear clueless. I bought a 2011 BF20 for a used pontoon we bought. The problem I’m having is when I turn the ignition switch to the accessory setting, I’m getting a loud and steady alarm that won’t shut off but the motor will start. I only start the motor for a few seconds just to see that it starts then shut it down. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jgmo]

Hi,
I'm confused already.
You say ; "I turn the ignition switch to the accessory setting."
The Honda remote "ignition switch" should only have 3 positions....off....on (or run)....and start.


Does your pontoon have a non Honda remote control? Or is it a Honda remote and labeled differently than I'm familiar with? I have a 2006 so maybe they've changed it?

Are there any lights on near the switch?

On the Honda remote for the 20D there are 2 lights, one red and one green.

The red indicator lamp should only light up during an overheating condition.

The green light is a "good oil pressure" light. It should come on and stay on any time the engine is running.

If the engine is running but the green lamp is off it indicates low oil pressure. This is confusing for many first time Honda owners but that's the way they've always done it.

Of course, either one of these circuits could be malfunctioning and cause the warning system to indicate a condition that might not exist. Often, when this is the case, it's a problem with one of the sensors or the wiring to the sensors.

Let me know about the light situation and I will do my best to try to help you figure out what is going on. But, if it doesn't have the Honda remote control I'm not sure where that might lead.

 

[First time owner]

Hi jgmo,

First, thanks for your help. It is the “on” position that starts the alarm. I’m assuming it’s a standard Honda ignition, with the kill switch, ignition switch, a red and green lights. however, neither the red or green light are coming on, which leads me to believe it may be a wiring issue? I have checked both the lower unit and engine oil and they are both full, but I’m not sure if that’s relevant to the pressure.

Right now, the boat is in storage, so I can’t leave the engine run because I don’t have access to water.

I’m going to try and trace both sensor wires, green and red, and see if I can find any interruptions in those wires. I hope you’ll find this little bit of information helpful. And again, thanks for your help.

 

[jgmo]

Ok,
Thanks for the info.
Good move checking the fluids.
I would advise you not to run the engine without water hooked up or the gearcase submerged in a tub. Even a quick check at idle will begin destroying the water pump if it's run dry.

First off, I have to tell you that I have never encountered the problem you're having so I'm kind of hoping someone else here that has and can point you to a quick solution will chime in soon.

Until that happens we can discuss the possibilities.

I have the shop manual and the owner's manual so I will be consulting those and trying to learn something myself.


What I've read so far is that the buzzer alarm shouldn't sound below 1400 rpm. That indicates to me that it should only get a voltage signal from the CDI (engine control unit). The CDI doesn't receive voltage from the battery. It only receives voltage generated by the magneto coils located under the flywheel. It then distributes the "generated" voltages to the various components such as the ignition coil and charging system. The battery is only really used to power the starter motor and the tilt/trim as well as provide power for auxiliary lights and accessories such as a depth sounder or fish finder.

The reason I'm explaining all this is because 1. I don't know what you know....and 2. it's obvious that, if the buzzer is being powered with the engine stopped, it's getting voltage from the battery in some way.

That fact makes me think that the problem is NOT a sensor problem.

More questions:
How many batteries are on your boat?
Do you have a tachometer?
Do you have an hour meter?

 

[jgmo]

Ok...
After looking at the wiring schematic carefully I realize that I was wrong about the CDI relaying the generated voltage to the warning buzzer.

The buzzer does get 12 volts battery power via the black w/ yellow stripe wire when the ignition switch is in the on position. This means that the CDI provides ground via the yellow w/green stripe wire to activate the buzzer.

So, your plan of looking at the green w/black stripe and the red w/blue stripe wires is a good one. But first, just unplug the sensor and turn on the ignition and see if the buzzer is still on. If not, then, most likely, the thermo sensor is bad.

The manual says to unplug the sensor and jump the Gr/Bl and Rd/Bu wires with a 100 ohm resistor to check the circuit's operation. That is supposed to activate the red warning light on the remote control panel. I don't think it would turn on the buzzer because the CDI doesn't see 1400 rpm with the engine not running but it would verify the circuit.

The wire diagram also shows the one terminal (yellow wire) oil pressure switch to be normally closed. That would mean that, when the the engine creates oil pressure, the switch should open. However, it doesn't turn on the buzzer when the key is switched on. Again, probably because there's no 1400 rpm signal.

I'll stop for now as I've probably only managed to confuse you thus far.

 

[jgmo]

Hi,
I've been studying this and have come to the conclusion that the only way that the warning buzzer can activate without the engine running is that the Yellow w/Black stripe wire for the buzzer is unintentionally grounded.

This could be because the wire has rubbed/chafed through somewhere and is touching ground OR that the ignition control module is faulty and is providing ground when it shouldn't.

If you locate the Y/bl wire at the ignition control module (CDI) connector you can identify the pin on the module to test. Simply unplug the connector and ohm check that pin of the module to engine ground. The result should be infinite resistance. If there is continuity to ground then the module is defective.

If the module is good then you will need to find where the Y/bl wire is grounding.

If the module needs replacement to cure this problem it is available at boats.net for $147.21.
Item #2 in the link below.

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...-lrta-2007-and-later/ignition-coil-c-d-i-unit

However, if the engine starts and runs ok and you can't absorb the expense you could simply disconnect the buzzer. You can do that by locating the plug-in connection for the Y/bl in the wire holder at the top, rear of the engine. The individual wire connectors are all in that plastic slot holder located at the front of the empty plastic tray. It looks confusing but it's pretty simple to trace the wire and locate the plug. As long as you keep it neat when you put things back the wires don't necessarily have go to back exactly as they were.

If you do decide to run the outboard with the defective module, besides having no audible indication of trouble you need to also keep in mind that it could have other internal problems. Specifically, you really wouldn't know if the engine protection portion would provide a power derate and or shut down function in the event of an overheat or low oil pressure situation.

If you want to verify that the warning light circuits work that is possible but you'll need a 100 ohm resistor for the temperature sensor circuit and the engine would need to be run to supply power for the lights.

Anyway, I hope this helps you.

Good luck.