Still having oil pump issues. HELP

[Gianni]

Happy Sunday's.
Not so much for myself.

I'm still having issues with my 99 sailfish twin ox66 225

Heading out this morning: all was fine.

About half hour in both alarms go off.

(4th time my 5 year old has been out and alarms have gone off. This time he had a break down like I've never seen before and I don't want him to be traumatized with boating early on- I really need to resolve these issues)

We just changed our thermostats so I ruled that out..

The mechanic just changed the remote oil tank pump so I figured it wasn't a low oil alarm.

I did check the motor after I got back and the oil pump we installed I guess is not working because the on motor tank was near empty. Any idea why even after a new pump install we are having same issue? I heard something about a filter or line can be clogged? Make any sense?

Here's the weird thing.

I made it back on a 45 minute ride on one motor at about 2000 rpms. No alarms at all.

When I went to start the starboard motor which was the low oil motor- both alarms sound off... why would that happen once I start the other? Are the low oil alarms go in sync if there's an emergency?

Any ideas where to go from here? I'm at a loss.

 

[Ozz043]

Is the oil tank on the power head full? There is a manual toggle switch try filling it with that if it’s empty....
If the remote oil pump was changed, were both changed ? Were the little filters replaced?
Maybe? The delivery of the oil is too slow ?

I’m not sure why both alarms would sound.....I assume the engines still run whilst in alarm mode ?

 

[Gianni]

Is the oil tank on the power head full? There is a manual toggle switch try filling it with that if it’s empty....
If the remote oil pump was changed, were both changed ? Were the little filters replaced?
Maybe? The delivery of the oil is too slow ?

I’m not sure why both alarms would sound.....I assume the engines still run whilst in alarm mode ?

The oil tank on the motor is not full- it's at the empty line

There is a manual toggle switch but I didn't try using it which I wish I did. If I hit the switch and nothing happens is that the power harness then?

I changed the pump on the large holding tank.

We didn't replace the little filters- I don't know where they are located.

 

[seasick]

If the tank on the motor (main) is low, with the motor not running and the battery switch on, hold the manual pump switch and listen for the pump in the remote tank. If you hear it. You may need two people for this test, one to hold the switch and one to listen/feel at the remote tank. Note that the remote tank has to have oil in it.
If you hear the pump working, keep the switch engaged and see if and how fast or slow the main tank on the motor fills up. It can take a few minutes normally. If it fills very slowly or not at all the filter for the remote tank may be clogged, the remote pump could be bad or the tank itself might be clogged with sludge. The filter is a small cylinder and is on the back of the oil tank in line with the oil output line. You have to remove the tank to get to the filter usually.

If the pump on the remote doesn't run, you have a bad pump or a wiring issue. When testing, be aware that most of the control signals in Yamis are made by switching ground signal. You might expect the 12v to switch but that will be constant and the ground will be disconnected/connected depending on whether oil is called for.

The main tank holds enough oil when full to run the motor for about 25 miles depending on load and revs. If its oil level is signalling low, the motor will start and run but the revs will be limited. The motor will not shut down if there is no oil and in that case, you could toast the motor. The main tank low oil alarm should not be taken lightly.

Now if the pump works and the tank fills in a reasonable time frame, it could be that the sensor in the main tank (on the motor) is bad. It has three signals (4 wires): Tank full(stop pumping), partially full (pump oil-normal mode) and low(alarm). The sensor is pretty easy to test with an ohmmeter.

I am surprised that both motors would alarm at the same time but I suppose it could be if both tanks originally had the same amount of oil and both motors burned the same amount of oil. Then again, the probability of that is small. Now if the mechanic worked on both tanks and pumps at the same time, I think it is more likely that he or she messed up.

There are instances where the wires for the pump get chaffed and broken in the rigging tube, but I just don't see that happening to both motors.

 

[Parthery]

Some of these motors also had an issue where chafing in the harness that leads to the trim sender would also cause the pump to stop running. The oil pump was wired to the trim sender so that if the motor was tilted up, the pump wouldn't run and overflow and create a mess. You may need to google it as I don't remember the exact wire color to look for, but I remember it's on the starboard side of the motor, in the pan.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I had a recurring alarm at higher RPMs on an older outboard I was running a while back. It turned out that there was a "teabag" filter on the pick up tube in my oil reservoir that was collapsing when the motor was calling for higher amounts of oil....it was fine at lower speeds. Changed the filter and bingo...no more problem.

 

[Gianni]

Thanks so much

 

[SeaVee]

Change the little filter on the bottom of your oil tank, the remote tank. I had the same issue and would get an alarm at higher rpm’s when it was asking for more oil that to get through the clogged filter, didn’t happen at lower RPM. I keep a couple extra ones on the boat now, and I’ve modified the tank access so I can get to it quickly

 

[seasick]

Some of these motors also had an issue where chafing in the harness that leads to the trim sender would also cause the pump to stop running. The oil pump was wired to the trim sender so that if the motor was tilted up, the pump wouldn't run and overflow and create a mess. You may need to google it as I don't remember the exact wire color to look for, but I remember it's on the starboard side of the motor, in the pan.

I am pretty sure that that year motor doesn't use the trim angle as a signal to start/stop the oil pump.

 

[Gianni]

We did find that one filter was clogged. Haven't replaced it yet and made a run- we will we see and I hope this solves it

 

[seasick]

It should clear the issue as long as the pump is working AND the tank is not clogged with sludge.

 

[Gianni]

It should clear the issue as long as the pump is working AND the tank is not clogged with sludge.

My mechanic did say he's gonna remove the tank and power wash it. Gonna do both while he's at it.

 

[RussGW270]

Following. Looking forward to the resolution, for possible future knowledge.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Following. Looking forward to the resolution, for possible future knowledge.

Yes.....please let us know how you make out. Good luck.

 

[Ozz043]

Great reply Seasick..... the filter is in the remote tank and the pump needs to be removed from memory. When it happened to me it was fine at slow revs as the remote pump was able to keep up with the demand of the power head tank, now I think about it .... it was difficult to determine which engine was in alarm and it was as if both were sounding simultaneously...

 

[SkunkBoat]

Been there done that. One rusty pump but the problem was the filter. Gianni, I think we all pointed to the pump and filter way back when you first asked about it...
Terrible design when you consider where the tanks get placed. Impossible to inspect/replace pump or tubing or filter because it is hidden on the back side.
You have to empty the tank to change the filter unless you want a mess. Getting the tanks out of my 265 is painful.
I removed both this spring (I had run the tanks near empty last fall just for that purpose). Cleaned tanks and replaced filters.

 

[SeaVee]

What he said, don’t do it with the remote tank full. Messy.

 

[seasick]

Did we mention what the tank brackets will probably look like when you pull the tanks?

 

[Ozz043]

Good point Seasick I replaced mine with cut down battery box (black plastic ones ) , they’re 2” high and the 10L tank fits nice and snug. A strap keeps it safely in place ..... nothing to rust