Oil Tank alarm broken in 03 merc 90 3 cylinder

[malby]

Hi guys,

I know this is a common problem in merc oil tanks so maybe someone has solved this problem before?

My oil tank alarm went off a while back just when we were on to a school of surface fish' and about 45ks away from Hervey Bay boat ramp! We checked the tell tail, it was great, checked the oil, it needed a top up so did that and there seemed to be plenty of 2 stroke type smoke still (not heaps) so we eventually decided to run her home. We sat on about 4000rpm all the way back and no probs at all save the alarm belowing out all the way back. What a pain!!

We pulled up stumps for that trip away and turned and drove back to Brissy where she has sat since in my garage.

I have since emailed and called a couple of my usual boat mechanics and both agree that it was the magnet that must have fallen off the inside of the oil tank. I have since disconnected the oil tank alarm and no more alarm.

Problem is I now need to remember to top up the oil as the alarm used to just bleep at me intermittently to remind me to fill her up again which was great!

I really would prefer to fix this problem and was just wondering which way people would recommend I go:

1. Get the oil tank off and somehow get the magnet out and glue it back on so it does not fall off again??

2. Buy a new oil tank...I have seen these on-line through USA dealer boats.net and can get one express posted by them for under $100?? Has anyone used them and can recommend that they are fine..ridgy dige??

3. Any other ideas...noting I do not really want to add the oil myself unless someone out there has had a bad experience with their Merc 90 3 cylinder oil system failing??

Thanks for your input,

Mal:-?

[WalrusLike]

Is it a pressurized bottle? My mate had his alarm going off because the caps were not sealing. Fixed that and fixed the alarm.

Probably not the case but I thought I should mention it....

[malby]

No idea but yes, the cap does not seal very well and the cap o-ring needs replacing as it leaks out the top if you tilt the engine too far.

[malby]

I can say that that is 'not' the problem though as the cap has been buggered for ages and no alarm till recently.

Mal

[Steeler]

Yes it will be the magnet in the bottle which has delaminated . it sits on a shaft which is only a couple of inches high and when it no longer floats up it sits on the bottom and creates a closed circut setting the alarm off. It is nothing more than a low oil " in the Bottle " alarm and has nothing to do with the fact you are not getting oil to the engine.

To stop it you will find two blue wires coming from underneath the front of the bottle going to 2 bullet terminals, disconnect one of those to break the closed circut and the alarm will stop.

Replacing the bottle is a snack, just remember to lay everything out in the order you remove it and put some oil in with your fuel for the first trip to cater for any air you may get in the lines.

Call a few dealers for a bottle as i got prices varying from 70.00 to 120.00 for the same part.

Cheers

Steve

[malby]

Thanks Steve.

Yes I have already disconnected the blue wire and that stopped the alarm confirming that it 'was indeed' the oil bottle alarm.

A mate suggested I take the bottle off and cut it open and fix the magnet back on (somehow??) and then get it plastic welded back together. Not sure if this is possible?? That 'is' partly why I am putting this post up to see if anyone has done this successfully and if so how??

Did you buy a genuine new bottle or a Quick silver and if so how long has it 'now' lasted??

Mal

[Steeler]

I done the cutting open bit but essentialy the issue is with the delamination of the magnet so even just cleaning the magnet up is a fix that is good for a few months only. The magnet is retained on the shaft by a star retaining style washer. Its a lot of work when you are really only saving yourself less than $ 100.00

If you do have a crack at doing it that way be sure to cut the bottle on the face closest to the motor, outta sight outta mind.

I paid about 67.00 from my local Merc dealer ( Lifestyle Marine, Toronto, NSW ) and honestly the hardest part was undoing the bolts that both hold the starter bracket and bottle. A dash of some nickel anti sieze on every bolt when putting back together saves a lot of grief at a later date trust me.

They generally reckon there good for about 10 years so if it were me go the new option. I bought mine it was still hassle free after 5 yrs then i sold the boat.

The magnets does not come off the shaft they sit at the bottom after delamination and won't float with the oil level.

[PixieAU]

I had that problem on a 50hp Merc (about 2000 model) with the alarm going off

Took the bottle off, took the sender unit off the bottle, cleaned it up and refitted it all. Was fine again after that. Perhaps it was just stuck or something.