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VRO Tank, a Float???

J

John Haggerty

Contributing Member
How does the VRO low oil system get it's signal? A float? With a 1/4 tank, might a surge forward cause the alarm to go off?

Thanks,
John
 
There is a float within the oil tank. When the float drops down to the 1.4 oil level, it causes one terminal to contact another which in turn causes an electronic circuit to have the warning horn emit a beep every 20 seconds.

Now, if your oil level is dangerously low to that 1/4 oil level and the oil is able to slosh around... it's a wild guess that the circuit could make and break. I've never seen it happen but anythings possible.

Now, why don't you tell us what your engine is... or is not doing.... and what kind of warning are you receiving?

A steady constant beep.
A beep every 20 seconds.
A beep every other second.
A weird beep at strange intervals.
 
Joe,
Thanks for your response and help as usual. 1989 70hp Johnson. All running well until constant alarm went off. I shut motor down for 30 seconds and restarted. Still constant alarm but it went away after about 20 seconds. After that all fine. However, it seemed to coincide with a minor impact with a sand bar while on plane. Maybe a cooling alarm?
Thanks,
John
 
Joe R.,
Doing more surfing I see another possibility that I thought was just bad electrical contacts outside of the "motor system". The last time out I had some electrical indications that went away (lost gages off on and then returned). Today I saw a few electrical gage issues (trim all over the place which I was thinking sensor at motor) and more importantly the voltmeter at 16v, well over the normal 14v. Thoughts??? Thanks!

However, this is all unrelated to a sand bar skimming that may be more me trying to find a smoking gun.
John
 
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John Haggerty said:
1989 70hp Johnson. All running well until constant alarm went off. I shut motor down for 30 seconds and restarted. Still constant alarm but it went away after about 20 seconds. After that all fine. However, it seemed to coincide with a minor impact with a sand bar while on plane. Maybe a cooling alarm?
Thanks, John
Click to expand...

On that engine, the horn warning are:

1 - Beep every other second = VRO failure, air in oil line, oil restriction, bottom line... engine is not being supplied oil properly.

2 - Beep every 20 seconds = Oil in tank is down to the 1/4 oil level mark.

2 - Beep constant and steady = Overheating for some reason, water intake picked up and covered a plastic bag, water pump failure for some reason, thermostat faulty in closed mode... or in your case, running through a sand bar and clogging the water pump. (This caused your problem).

Your warning horn had nothing to do with the oil flow or quantity of same.

If you encounter another warning horn sounding constant and steady, I'd strongly suggest you drop the lower unit and dismantle the water pump assembly for inspection.
 
Joe,
The overheat alarm; how is it activated? A temperature sensor? If so where? A water pressure sensor? If so where? I'm a little surprised that it went off so soon after skimming the sand bar. I saw normal water at the pee hole and normal water pressure on a OMC water pressure gage. I do have a OMC temperature gage that almost always seems to show near the red zone.
Thanks,
John
 
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You'll see a TAN wire protruding from the cylinder head... that is the heat sensor. At a certain temperature, that sensor grounds out and completes a circuit that causes the horn to have 12v applied to its terminals, effectively causing it to sound off constantly and steady.
 
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