(FIXED)99 130TXRY low oil display blinking and alarm?

[SkunkBoat]

Thankfully I never have to deal with this again...but I have....and I had 2 motors...
My alarms alway came from the main tank "not filling quite fast enough" when running hard for home...

I have chased down a clogged filter and a loose piece of something in the bottom of the big tank(s).
I have drained the big tank(s) & cleaned
I have changed a big tank pump motor that was seriously rusted.

By the time you looked at it it could have refilled.
So we're still not quite sure whether its a "false" alarm or a "Real" one.

It seems that the float sensors are working as intended.

I would run with the cover off so I could see the main tank(in the motor) at the moment I get the alarm.
We did that to find the problem once. Sure enough it was drawing the tank down when running hard.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

When I had it in the water to test it yesterday I started it up then took the motor cover off. The tank on the motor had oil up to the top line. I idled through the no wake for about 1 minute, looked back at the motor tank (which looked like the oil level hadn't moved) and pinned the throttle all while looking at the tank. The oil level never moved and the boat got on plane leveled out then the 3 bars started blinking the audible alarm went off and it started choking out dropping RPMs like it was out of fuel. I pulled back on the throttle to idle and it ran just fine. Did this 3 more times with the exact same result. I have been reading that low voltage from the battery can cause these same exact symptoms so I'm going to see if I can test the electrical side of it tomorrow.

 

[Sparkdog118]

Oil injection control box could be the culprit. If you get a good used one cheap, just swap it out n run it. They go bad sometimes, so not a bad idea to have one in your tool box just in case.

 

[seasick]

Most likely the tank doesn't fill as fast as necessary to maintain its oil level at high revs and load.
Take the boat out ans run until you get the alarm. Immediately turn off the ignition. Remove the engine cover and look at the tank. I would expect it to be empty. Now turn on the ignition but don't start the motor and watch the tank. It should fill with oil. If you have reduced flow that can take along time. Hopefully the problem is slow filling. 90% of the time that is a clogged filter or a clogged tank with sludge. The other 10% is a bad oil pump. The filter is not too expensive. The pump is another story
Let's see how this test goes

 

[seasick]

I don't know what an oil injection control box is on that motor. All logic with the exception of the manual emergency fill toggle switch is controlled by the ECU. The ECU is an expensive part. Fortunately it rarely goes bad.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

That is basically what I tried to do last time I took it out. Took the cover off and the main oil tank was at the full line. Started it up and idled past no wake zone (maybe 20 yards away) oil level was still at the top line. Pushed the throttle all the way down got up on plane and leveled off and the bars started blinking and then the alarm. Motor was full throttle for less than 30 seconds. Did this 2 more times with the same result then headed back to the ramp. Wasn't even on the water 10 minutes and almost no oil was used from the main engine tank it was just below the line.

 

[seasick]

OY! Sounds like a more complex issue. You may not be able to identify the cause especially if it is an ECU issue but being hopeful, try following the wires from the sensor and check the connectors. Check the connectors at the ECU also just to be sure they are all well seated.
There is one other possibility that the lowest level switch that detects critically low oil is intermittent and needs some vibration or whatever to fail.
If you can use an ohmmeter, you can test the low reed switch. Its circuit should be closed at all times except when the tank is empty. Pull the sensor and connect the ohmmeter to the black and blue/red wires. Slide the float up and shake the sensor to see if the circuit stays closed ( zero ohms give or take), As fa as I know, that circuit ( the low level switch) is the only event that will trigger the alarm and limp mode.
Sorry this wasn't easier. It can be a challenge to troubleshoot.

 

[seasick]

Sorry about the upside down picture.
Also note that Yamaha uses the letter L for blue when it comes to colors so Blue with a red stripe will be L/R

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Just tested the negative battery cable going from the battery to the starter post on the motor and got 1.8 ohms. No visual signs of wear or corrosion. Seems a bit high for 4' of cable. Could that be the problem? Checked all other battery cables and came out with 0 ohms. Just read this last post I'm going to test the sensor.

 

[seasick]

Just tested the negative battery cable going from the battery to the starter post on the motor and got 1.8 ohms. No visual signs of wear or corrosion. Seems a bit high for 4' of cable. Could that be the problem? Checked all other battery cables and came out with 0 ohms. Just read this last post I'm going to test the sensor.

I would expect the resistance of the fat ground cable to be very low. 1.8 ohms is not possible normally since drawing just 6 amps would drop the voltage at the other end by 10+ volts and nothing would work. Either something in that cable is intermittent or your test was not done correctly.
How did you measure re that resistance? The cable at the battery should be disconnected and the measurement should be made for the disconnected cable at the battery to the bolt lug on the motor

 

[seasick]

Measure the resistance of your test leads by touching them together. In theory you should get zero but all leads have some resistance. Whatever you get, subtract that from what you measure on the battery cable. For example, if you measure 1.7 ohms with just the test leads shorted to each other and 1.8 on the actual circuit, the real resistance is .1 ohm.
Even that value is high. Voltage drop equals current times resistance so if you starter draws 50 amps , the voltage drop would be 5 volts and your 12,5 volts will end up as 7.5 at the motor and that's the drop on the ground only. The drop across the positive would add to the total.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

I just really appreciate the help. Leads were good 0.00 you were right it was on the battery post and gave an incorrect reading. Reading 0 now. Tested the float switch and had no reading till the float got about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom then it showed 0.00 no resistance. Tried to vibrate the sensor to mimic the motor while the float was down and I think because it comes on when its so low the readings were all over the place. I tried the same thing with the float all the way up and it had no reading. Could a bad battery do this? The only reason I ask is my battery tester said that one of the batteries tested fine but needed charging even after 2 days on the charger and was only putting out 530 cca instead of the 700 its rated at?

 

[seasick]

I am starting to think I don't understand the electrical logic
Based on the diagram ( not upside down) testing the resistance black to blue/red should show high until the float is at the bottom should show high resistance (open circuit) Raising the float until the top of the float is about 2 inches down from the top stop, should cause the circuit to close (low resistance)
If I am interpreting the diagram correctly, that circuit (black - blue/red) should stay closed (low resistance) while the float is moved up towards the top, that is basically all the time.
It seems that as you move the float from the bottom towards the top, each of the three circuits close at a point and stay closed.

Here is where I get confused; The rod has reed switches that react to a magnetic field. In general reed switches are open until the presence of a magnetic field. If that is how the sensor works then I wonder how the float triggers all three reed switches when the tank is full. It either has a long magnet that is capable of triggering all three switches or it has multiple magnets. Regardless it looks like once there is a minimum of oil in the tank, the lowest reed switch should stay closed. I think you can verify how the sensor works by testing the middle switch, the black and blue/green. With the float at the bottom I think it should measure as open (high resistance) as you raise the float, at some point it will close(low resistance) and should stay low while the float is raised all the way to the top.
If that is what it does, then it should do the same for the low switch. It should close when the float is raised a little and stay closed while the float is raised all the way up.
I wish I had one of the sensors in front of me. I could figure it out quickly.

If that low switch is supposed to stay closed after the initial trigger point but doesn't, that would cause the alarm. If so,i would suspect that the sensor is bad.

I apologize for all the rambling. I am thinking out loud and to be honest I am a bit disappointed/frustrated that I haven't been able to give you better advice. That said, you testing is really good, so maybe we can figure this thing out.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Here's a few pictures of what I have going on. One lead into the black wire plug the other into the double red (what connects to the red/blue wire). Float is at the top most position (bottom picture) and is reading open loop and will stay on that reading until it's about 1/4" from the bottom regardless of how I manipulate it. When it gets 1/4" from the bottom it shows 000.0 (top picture). The diagram you gave shows different wires. Here's a picture of mine.

 

[Sparkdog118]

The control box is the black box under the tank where the toggle switch is. Just under there oil tank. You can see it in the pic. I have a box of good used ones in my shed. The box is what sends the message to trigger the alarm. the voltage is higher to the box when the rpms are up. That is when it malfunctions. I’ve seen it Happen before.

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Is there any way to test that control box? I know the one you are talking about. I hit the toggle switch when this happened for the very first time to make sure the pump was pumping oil to the top main tank.

 

[seasick]

Obviously system is different than mine is. My motor is a 2001 vintage SX150.
I think at this point I have to raise the white flag and surrender. If I were in your spot I think I would listen to Sparkdog.
I am going to look at the parts diagrams for that motor though but I guess there may be a control box that is not on the later SX models.
Sorry if I made you go off in the wrong direction.

 

[seasick]

The control box is the black box under the tank where the toggle switch is. Just under there oil tank. You can see it in the pic. I have a box of good used ones in my shed. The box is what sends the message to trigger the alarm. the voltage is higher to the box when the rpms are up. That is when it malfunctions. I’ve seen it Happen before.

Sparkdog Is that part the CDI?; the part I refer to as the ECU?

 

[TB2BLAZER]

Obviously system is different than mine is. My motor is a 2001 vintage SX150.
I think at this point I have to raise the white flag and surrender. If I were in your spot I think I would listen to Sparkdog.
I am going to look at the parts diagrams for that motor though but I guess there may be a control box that is not on the later SX models.
Sorry if I made you go off in the wrong direction.

Dont apologize, I am very grateful for the help! I think we have at least ruled out the tank sensors as being bad. They seem to be working as designed. I will do more research on the control box see if anything comes up. So far between this forum and hulltruth people have said that the upper oil sensor, control box, and the system not sensing a battery due to a loose fuse or battery terminal are the things that could cause my symptoms so I'm going to keep tracking down wires and testing. Again, thank you all so much for the help!

 

[TB2BLAZER]

In my recent research I have noticed people talking about yellow, green, and red lights on the tach. I have never seen any of these come on at any point of this process let alone the whole time I've owned the boat. Could that have anything to do with it? I also read that the trim sensor might have something to do with it and last time it was running good I thought something was off with the gauge. I will look into it.