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Constant alarm when key is turned.

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ChrisCraft215

Member
Hello everyone! Newbie here and first time boat owner but very handy. Looking forward to learning .With that said....
The boat I just got has a 94 Johnson 2 stroke 200hp. I just replaced throttle cables and remote throttle box. The harness was not compatible so I cut it off and spliced color to color with butt connectors. I also wired in new alarm. Everything works, but alarm sounds constantly from the second I turn the key.
Now I know it’s an old engine, and the previous alarm might have been shot or disconnected. Is there a trouble shooting sequence I should go through? Like through all the sensors and put the tan wires to ground? I read up a bit on it, but didn’t find my exact problem .
thanks in advance
 
Remove the TAN wire from the horn temporarily. If the sound continues, the horn is faulty. If it shut off immediately, one or more of the sensors is faulty (grounded) OR that TAN wire is grounded somewhere.

If the horn shut down as soon as the TAN wire was disconnected, reconnect the wire to the horn and with the horn sounding, start disconnecting the sensors, one by one until the horn stops sounding as that would be the faulty sensor.

You wired in a new alarm?? Explain...............
 
joereeves said:
Remove the TAN wire from the horn temporarily. If the sound continues, the horn is faulty. If it shut off immediately, one or more of the sensors is faulty (grounded) OR that TAN wire is grounded somewhere.

If the horn shut down as soon as the TAN wire was disconnected, reconnect the wire to the horn and with the horn sounding, start disconnecting the sensors, one by one until the horn stops sounding as that would be the faulty sensor.

You wired in a new alarm?? Explain...............
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply.
i wired in new remote throttle controller , and that had an external alarm that came with it, so wired it in also. It’s a two wire alarm.
Can you list all sensors to check and possible locations? That would be awesome.
thanks
 
You wired in an additional alarm... two alarm components hooked up at the same time? I strongly suggest you get rid of one of them! That may be creating a problem.

Sensors at the engine... not sure about the 94 200hp ... heat sensor at each cylinder head.... VRO wiring leads to rubber connector.... Vacuum switch to top rear area of electric starter.... Wiring to oil tank, usually looks like lamp cord on port side of powerhead.
 
joereeves said:
You wired in an additional alarm... two alarm components hooked up at the same time? I strongly suggest you get rid of one of them! That may be creating a problem.

Sensors at the engine... not sure about the 94 200hp ... heat sensor at each cylinder head.... VRO wiring leads to rubber connector.... Vacuum switch to top rear area of electric starter.... Wiring to oil tank, usually looks like lamp cord on port side of powerhead.
Click to expand...

Sorry im probably not explaining myself right. The old alarm came out with the old throttle controller. It was inside of it. I wired in ONE new external one that cane with the new controller .
cant wait to get home and continue troubleshooting those sensors. Worst part about buying an old used boat, but best way to learn if you’re hands on.
Thanks
 
Problem solved! The culprit is the float switch in the oil tank . For now I just disconnected the tan wire and I will just make the tank is full until I replace the switch. Should be safe correct?
And im really glad I found this board! Saving lots of cash already ��
 
ChrisCraft215 said:
Problem solved! The culprit is the float switch in the oil tank . For now I just disconnected the tan wire and I will just make the tank is full until I replace the switch. Should be safe correct?
And im really glad I found this board! Saving lots of cash already ��
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me.
 
joereeves said:
Sounds good to me.
Click to expand...

Thank you ����
As I was looking around , I also found a loose tan wire just floating around. I found out it’s my temperature sender wire. Reconnected it and now I have a working temp gauge.
Next gonna replace the impeller that I’m sure hasn’t been touched in decades. I get water out the tell tale but doesn’t seem like a nice flow.
Any other suggestions on stuff I should check / replace on an old boat?
 
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My 98 johnson 115 hp developed the buzzer sound that would not stop once the checking lights had gone out.This was said to be a sensor/earthing problem via brown earth wires,on most sites!mine turned out to be excessive oil in the carb bowls,once that was removed the buzzer/siren went off!
 
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