High Pitched Alarm Marlin 280

[Candylane]

Hey folks. My Marlin 280 has twin 2006 Yamaha 250's (less than 300hrs). I have had the boat for about a year. I have taken it offshore 6-7 times (30-50 miles). When I am running the boat in chop I will randomly get a high pitched alarm that seems to be coming from the cabin. After reading some posts on this topic it seems to point towards the engines being too hot -or, fuel or oil problems. I regularly check the engines and the oil seems to be fine. Then engines also seem to run fine.

It may just be a coincidence but It seems to happen when the boat is running at cruising speed -and either not perfectly on plane or there is an imbalance on the port or starboard side. When the alarm sounds I have to throttle back down to neutral, wait a few seconds and then slowly take it back up to cruising speed. If I do not take it the throttles all the way back to neutral it will not allow me to take the throttles back up. There appears to be an automatic and governor that keeps the boat from going back to high speeds.

To net it out, it feels like the alarm is related to an imbalance or out of plane situation. Any thoughts on would be appreciated.

 

[wspitler]

If you have the Yamaha square gauges they will indicate what the alarm condition is if it is engine related. Look closely at the gauges. If coming from the cabin you might have a CO alarm or high water alarm. The FP generators also have alarms.

 

[Uncle Joe]

You may have a transducer or zinc anode or something on the hull that is causing some slight cavitation at certain speeds or under certain conditions. A friend had a similar problem and tracked it down to a zinc in the wrong place which generated an air bubble in front of the water intake on his lower unit. It didn't happen all the time though.

 

[jmain]

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but if you have a Garmin GPSmap, or something similar, that has an NMEA2000 interface, you could get a cable and hook your engine up to it. The Garmin gives much more information than the Yamaha gauges. I have 2005 F250s, so it should work on your 2006 F250s.
I had a similar situation with high oil temp at low RPMs. Once I got the cable and hooked it up to my Garmin, I quickly figured out what was actually happening and how bad it was (or wasn't).
There is also Yamaha diagnostic software (and a cable) that you can get. I bought it for something like $60, but haven't had to use it yet. (Thanks to my Garmin.)
Good luck tracking it down.

 

[Candylane]

If you have the Yamaha square gauges they will indicate what the alarm condition is if it is engine related. Look closely at the gauges. If coming from the cabin you might have a CO alarm or high water alarm. The FP generators also have alarms.

Thanks jmain. I'll take a look at my gauges and see what they tell me... On the CO alarm or high water alarm, it seems odd that the alarm consistently goes away once I take it down to neutral, let it settle and then ramp it back up again.

 

[Candylane]

You may have a transducer or zinc anode or something on the hull that is causing some slight cavitation at certain speeds or under certain conditions. A friend had a similar problem and tracked it down to a zinc in the wrong place which generated an air bubble in front of the water intake on his lower unit. It didn't happen all the time though.

This seems like an interesting candidate Uncle Joe. Need to check it out.

 

[Candylane]

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but if you have a Garmin GPSmap, or something similar, that has an NMEA2000 interface, you could get a cable and hook your engine up to it. The Garmin gives much more information than the Yamaha gauges. I have 2005 F250s, so it should work on your 2006 F250s.
I had a similar situation with high oil temp at low RPMs. Once I got the cable and hooked it up to my Garmin, I quickly figured out what was actually happening and how bad it was (or wasn't).
There is also Yamaha diagnostic software (and a cable) that you can get. I bought it for something like $60, but haven't had to use it yet. (Thanks to my Garmin.)
Good luck tracking it down.

I have vintage Raymarines. This might give me good reason to finally upgrade the electronics to the Garmin.

 

[DennisG01]

If it's coming from the cabin, the CO is a likely candidate. The "station wagon" effect (depending on what type of curtains you have setup) can explain why the alarm sounds and why it goes away. Open your forward deck hatch - that will allow air into the cabin and negate this. If the alarm disappears, that was the issue.

Get rid of all the water in the bilge. Sloshing water can do it. If the alarm goes away, that was the issue.

Since you said it's coming from the cabin, those are the only two options.

Or... while the alarm is sounding... let's make this really easy, rather than guessing... just go into the cabin and find the source!

 

[luckydude]

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but if you have a Garmin GPSmap, or something similar, that has an NMEA2000 interface, you could get a cable and hook your engine up to it. The Garmin gives much more information than the Yamaha gauges.

I second this, in more modern builds, the analog gauges are mostly gone, replaced with a Garmin with a Yamaha app that shows all the info.
I've been really impressed how they did the app, if you take the engine display 7 inch Garmin and use it for fishfinder or charts, it runs the most useful engine data in a small column on the right side.

I don't know how the Garmin would show info on a 2005/6 engine but if it is similar, it's super pleasant, you'll never want analog gauges again.

 

[luckydude]

I have vintage Raymarines. This might give me good reason to finally upgrade the electronics to the Garmin.

The other thing I have on my Garmin 8610 is shaded relief on the bottom charts. This is a game changer in our Pacific waters.
Somewhere in http://mcvoy.com/lm/boat there is a screen shot, let me go find the date. Nov 17 2020, look at the 2nd picture.
The reason this is a big deal is you want sand for halibut but structure for rockies/lings. Fish right on the edge and you get both.
It's like twin girls on a boat, you get both (just kidding).

 

[jmain]

I have vintage Raymarines. This might give me good reason to finally upgrade the electronics to the Garmin.

And, if you can find used Garmins, you could save some money. I have a 5212 and a 4208 (not sure exactly how old either are), and the engine interface is on both of them.