Motor alarm that wouldn't stop when motor turned off

[Dignity]

I have a new 4st 150hp Yammie which had done 19.2 hrs and I took it out for a spin to get some more hours on it so that I could get it's first service done. Motored slowly from the Mooloolabah Coast Guard ramp and just as i got to the entrance of the harbour an alarm went off. It was a quick beep that went on continuously, luckily there was no one coming in or out of the entrance and it was a good day so I pulled back on the throttle and the alarm kept going but there was nothing flashing on the gauges the tell tale was working fine. I put my hand on the fuel management system gauge and I could feel that this is where the alarm was coming from. Being in the entrance I very slowly motored out and around the bend so that I wouldn't get washed up on the rocks and was going to drop the anchor.

I then turned the motor off but the alarm kept sounding by which time I was getting worried, I had misjudged slightly which way the tide was pushing me so I restarted the motor moved about 20 metres and turned if off with the alarm still beeping away. After about 2 minutes of this (felt like half an hour) I thought maybe I could sneak back into the harbour and work it out from there when blow me down as soon as I restarted the motor again the alarm stopped.

I took the cowl off and there was plenty of oil and the motor didn't feel hot so what else is there to check.
What do you do, the weather was perfect, we had plenty of ice and bait and onboard so I thought I would do a little run out the front to see what happens. Nothing, she worked perfectly so we went out and the motor never missed a beat after that. It turned out to be perfect weather but it took the fish a while to cooperate but when they did we had a ball on snapper but were very hard pressed to catch anything else.

So does any one know what kind of alarm would go off like that and keep going even though the key was turned off. I thought later that if I removed the key would that have broken the circuit and turned it off. Perplexing.

[thylacene]

Might be a service warning, our Suzuki alarm would go off twice everytime the ignition was switched on, I checked the hour meter and it had clocked over 90 hrs. I had to read the book when we got back, as the only instruments are via NMEA and a red light fitted to the dash.

Is there a 20 hour service recommended for your engine?

[Angla]

The alarm should be logged on the computer so a quick trip to the dealer and he should be able to interrogate the computer for the reason.

I think that would be the most positive way to determine the cause

Cheers
Chris

[Spaniard_King]

Definitely needs a trip to the dealer.

Unfortunately not all alarms are stored in the ECU for eg if its a wirring Issue on the boat then no code would be stored. With the key off no alarms should sound, to me it's a boat wiring Issue but definetly get the laptop check on the engine .

[Dignity]

Thanks Spanieard King, Angla and Thylacene, I have booked the motor in for its 20 hour service for this week and hope to find out what happened. It was just weird.

[Chong]

Mate,
we had exactly the same thing happen on cheechs boat at 1770. he has a 150 yammie with a few more hrs on it but turned out to be the sensor alarm above thermosat. gave us a bit of grieve as well.
Cheers

[tunaticer]

Wonder if you picked up a plastic bag temporarily??

[Dignity]

I did think of that and checked but the alarm went for quite a while and there was no indication that the motor was any hotter than normal. As mentioned I only went out to build up the extra hour before taking it in for a service, I wll find out then and let you know of the outcome.

[Dignity]

Chong, glad your mate got his sorted out, love the motor, not particularly fussed on the gauges, they look great and the dealer went to a lot of effort to fit them with a great dark perspex backing and there is a lot of info there but not the most user friendly to get it.

[Dignity]

thylacene, apologies for the short post this morning but it was all I could slip in between meetings. There is a 20 hour service but it had only done 19.2 hours and that was one of my initial reactions but it kept going so I figured it had to be something else. Will keep you posted

[Dignity]

The alarm should be logged on the computer so a quick trip to the dealer and he should be able to interrogate the computer for the reason.

I think that would be the most positive way to determine the cause

Cheers
Chris
Everything is going to pot these days unless you have a computer with you to analyse anything. Nothing like the good old days when a bit of fencing wire fixed most things although I must say I do like the lack of noise, smoke and the way she starts without hesitation and certainly has the looks.

[Dignity]

Garry, hoping it was something behind the dash that temporarily came in contact, the first trip out with the new motor was 5 on board (it's a long story about a mate and his rig failing at the ramp) and weather that turned quite nasty once out there with a lot of banging and carrying on. Mind you the dealer tidied up all the wiring very nicely, so much so I was a bit embarressed when I remember what it must have looked like.

[Dignity]

Ok - got the motor serviced, had the laptop put onto it and it told me everything from how long it had been idling through to all the rev ranges etc but no codes for any alarms or anything. The boys were stumped, the wiring checked and rechecked, everything was as neat as a pin and good connections, checked that the battery terminals were tight and the switches were in good order - nothing. I don't know whether this is good news or not. I guess only time will tell.Thanks guys for all your input.