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Help with warning indicator symbol-Honda BF150A

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bpf831

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Hi Everyone...hoping someone here can help with what this warning symbol means. We are having this light and alarm come on after we run the motor at near/full or full throttle for about 10 mins and then throttle down. The alarm goes off and the light comes on, if we turn the ignition off the alarm stays off. Only happens doing this and not all the time, never slowing down from cruising speed. I'm assuming this is an oil level light, but can't find an exact reference in the owners manual. Oil level is correct at the top indicator mark and just changed less than 50 hours ago, very clean If anyone can shed some light on this or solutions , it;s much appreciated. Thank you!
warning symbol
https://imgur.com/a/l0C37L2
 
Hi,

That is the overheat indicator. The little horizontal "wavy line" is supposed to represent water. The ball at the bottom and the short protruding "nub" at the top represent parts of a thermometer.

It sounds as if the engine may be overheating when run hard. You will definitely want to investigate that possibility.

If the water pump and thermostat haven't been serviced as required, it may be time to get that done.


The symbol above the green lamp that looks like a teardrop represents oil and the two opposing arrows on either side represents pressure.

The green lamp should be lit anytime the engine is running indicating "adequate" oil pressure.
 
Hello bpf831 and others! Did you resolve this issue? Seems like I am experiencing a very similar situation and would love some advice.

I have a Honda 4 stroke 20 HP kicker that has:

new thermostat
new impeller and housing
new spark plugs

It sends off this steady alarm and red light when I put it under load. At the deck the other day, I ran it in idle for 30 minutes, no alarm and good stream from tell tale. Bumped up the RPMs for 15 minutes, no alarm and an increase in the stream. Bumped up again and still no issue.

3rd increase and alarm goes off within 10 seconds, engine cuts out. I could restart the engine within 30 seconds and it all repeated as above.

Going to take my thermal gun to it next. Problem is the only mechanic I trust is booked until the end of July and fishing is just turning on!
 
Bigdogg1 said:
Hello bpf831 and others! Did you resolve this issue? Seems like I am experiencing a very similar situation and would love some advice.

I have a Honda 4 stroke 20 HP kicker that has:

new thermostat
new impeller and housing
new spark plugs

It sends off this steady alarm and red light when I put it under load. At the deck the other day, I ran it in idle for 30 minutes, no alarm and good stream from tell tale. Bumped up the RPMs for 15 minutes, no alarm and an increase in the stream. Bumped up again and still no issue.

3rd increase and alarm goes off within 10 seconds, engine cuts out. I could restart the engine within 30 seconds and it all repeated as above.

Going to take my thermal gun to it next. Problem is the only mechanic I trust is booked until the end of July and fishing is just turning on!
Click to expand...
Hi Bigdogg...Yes , we now have had 3 runs on the boat now and the problem has not reappeared. From my info the impeller was changed initially (this did not resolve the problem). The boat was then brought back to service and they changed thermostats (I think there are 2? not sure on this) and all 4? temp sensors. The tech thought that one of the temp sensors was reading about 15 degrees higher than the actual temp that he recorded with a thermal heat reader. I'm sorry I don't have all the exact info, the boat belongs to a friend that dealt with honda service, but between the replaced thermostat(s) and the sensor(s) the problem is gone now. Hope this helps...
 
Hi,

This does sound like a "poor heat transfer" problem to me and my best guess is that you're going to need to remove the water jacket cover (item 8 in the link below) and clean out in there the best you can.


You could try running it in a trashcan of vinegar and water to soften things up first if you have it on a trailer.

Before getting started you will want to order a new gasket (item 9) and a new zinc and screw (items 1 & 12) since it makes no sense to reuse those.

It's a bit of work but most folks can do it. There is a danger of snapping a bolt on an old one that's never had the cover off though so be cautious there.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the input. Another frustrating test today:

Ran it at the dock in idle for 15 minutes - good telltale, cold/cool stream, thermal reading of 126.8 deg F

Bumped up idle for 5 min - increased telltale, cold/cool, 129.8 deg F

Bumped up for 5 min - increased telltale, cold/cool, 131.6 deg F

Bumped up for 5 min - increased telltale, cold/cool, 130.6 deg F

Bumped up for 5 min - increased telltale (almost WOT , cold/cool, 130.3 deg F
No alarm

We will try trolling again this Sunday to see it it goes off...
 
Well....just another guess...

But the intermittent nature of the issue might indicate that there is something moving around inside the cooling passages and sometimes blocking water flow.

This can be caused by pieces of an old waterpump impeller that broke off.

If, when you replaced the impeller, you had an impeller that had missing/broken vanes then that would be a big clue.

However, if you haven't had the outboard since new, it could have occurred at an earlier time.

I've also seen brand new, right out of the box, thermostats be faulty and "stick" causing this symptom. I've seen it many, many times over the years on all sorts of equipment engines from cars to diesel trucks and outboards.

I have been a member of iATN (international Automotive Technicians Network) for over 25 years now and I am amazed at how frequent the professional technicians and shop owners complain about the extreme poor quality of replacement parts. It seems to be worse now than ever before. Even "dealer" parts are more suspect these days. So, it's a possibility to consider that the Tstat you installed isn't working correctly. Especially if this only started after you installed the part.

If this keeps happening, I would still recommend pulling the water jacket cover and also the gear case and backflushing the system from the top to see if you can dislodge anything that might be in the system. While doing so you will have the opportunity to test the new stat in a pot of water to be sure it consistently opens the same distance each time it's heated.

A P.I.T.A. I know. But sometimes you just have to go through a process of elimination to solve something like this.

Good luck.
 
Thanks jgmo. When I re and re’d the impeller, it was intact but I believe you are right, there is likely some residual material floating around causing a blockage.
 
The only other things that I can think of that might cause this are electrical issues of some sort.

As bpf831 mentioned about his 150A, replacing the temperature sensors may have had something to do with correcting his problem. But in that case, I assume that the tech noticed a funky temperature reading using the Dr.H software and that's not available for the 20D.

One good thing you're doing is recording temperatures as you go. While surface temperature readings aren't completely reflective of actual coolant temps, developing a "baseline" set of numbers, as you are doing, when the engine is obviously not overheating can be very useful.

An example would be....
You can disconnect the thermo sensor (green/black and red/blue wires) when the warning happens and you know it's not actually overheating. You KNOW because you have developed that baseline temp info. If the warning stops then it could be that the sensor is faulty.

You can also prove the sensor is faulty in this scenario by using an ohmmeter to check for continuity across it's contacts when cool and unplugged.

Most autos will make the warning trigger if you unplug the temp sensor but Honda chose to have a "normally open" sensor. It triggers the alarm when there is continuity. I don't know why they did it that way but it just is.

This is right out of the shop manual:

"Disconnect the thermo sensor"

Indicator OFF and buzzer stops...
....replace the sensor.

Indicator OFF and buzzer sounds....
....replace the ignition control module.

Indicator ON and buzzer stops...
...Check the wire harness between the Indicator and ignition control module for short circuit.

I added this so you can give it a try if you want. I just hope it's not too confusing.

I would advise against using the engine with the temp sensor unplugged other than for testing because engine protection system will be disabled.

Good luck.
 
jgmo said:
Hi,

That is the overheat indicator. The little horizontal "wavy line" is supposed to represent water. The ball at the bottom and the short protruding "nub" at the top represent parts of a thermometer.

It sounds as if the engine may be overheating when run hard. You will definitely want to investigate that possibility.

If the water pump and thermostat haven't been serviced as required, it may be time to get that done.


The symbol above the green lamp that looks like a teardrop represents oil and the two opposing arrows on either side represents pressure.

The green lamp should be lit anytime the engine is running indicating "adequate" oil pressure.
Click to expand...
Hi, I've just run my motor and the over heat alarm comes on after running for a few mins at around 3000rmp, I've changed and cleaned a couple of sensors and still the same. I've noticed that when I give it a free rev the green indicator flashes off and back on. Could this be the oil pressure sensor??
 
Yes, green lamp on means oil pressure is at least to minimum.
Green light off.....not something you want to see.

Although, it could just be a loose connection at the sensor if it only happens when you Rev it like that.

I would suggest checking the oil pressure to be safe.

Good luck.
 
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