Alarm Sounding

[jason.briggs]

I just pulled my boat 5 hours down to the ozarks and now I have an intermittent alarm sounding. The boat has run great all season, but yesterday while cruising 2700 RPM, the alarm sounded and brought the boat down to idle speed. I put in to neutral, and then kicked it back in gear and it went fine for a little while until the alarm sounded.

I checked all the connections and nothing was loose. Went back out later that night and ran fine with no alarms. We ran again this morning and it was fine for about 2 hours, then on the way back to the dock it alarmed twice again above 2300 RPM.

Any thoughts on what is triggering this alarm? Any good way to reset the sensors?

I have seen some links for the computer scan program, would that be the best option?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be helpful. We don't have internet all the time, so I hope to get back this afternoon and check the site.

[dogbert]

What engine do you have?

[da.bell]

Dog, he would more than likely have the Marine Power 340hp engine.

Jason, when the alarm went off, did you:
1) look at the LCD to see anything odd on the screen? Example: My alarm went off this weekend and the LCD said that I was low on oil.
2) did you look at the engine temps and oil psi values when the alarm was going off?

[jason.briggs]

All the gauge read outs where in normal operating range. The LCD did not flash any message along with the alarm. I thought at a minimum it would do this. The only thing is the first time the alarm sounded, it said I was in 1 ft of water, but we were in like 27. But every time the alarm has gone off since the depth finder hasn't changed it's reading. You are correct, I have the 340 Marine Power.

[dogbert]

All the gauge read outs where in normal operating range. The LCD did not flash any message along with the alarm. I thought at a minimum it would do this. The only thing is the first time the alarm sounded, it said I was in 1 ft of water, but we were in like 27. But every time the alarm has gone off since the depth finder hasn't changed it's reading. You are correct, I have the 340 Marine Power.

Do you have the depth alarm turned on? If so, turn it off for a bit. I've found that if I give my boat a lot of power in reverse, it sets off my depth alarm because of all the air bubbles being forced under where the transducer is mounted under the hull.

[mtnsmith]

Shallow water alarm will not bring the boat speed down I would think. I just had an oil pressure switch on my mp 340 go bad and cause the alarm to sound. I was able to disconnect it and neautralize the alarm. Not sure if this is something you can do with the newer throttle by wire and lcd system. You could give my dealer a call if calling someone is easier than internet. Forte's inboard connection, ask for Dom, 727-544-6440 or 888-517-3178. He helped me diagnose my alarm on the water over the phone, he might be able to help you too.

[da.bell]

Did you have the oil dip stick checked to see if you have one that was a re-call item? In 2006 and 2007 model Tige's, Marine Power put in oil dipsticks that were too short (or it could have been too long. Starting to sound pornographic, sorry ) and the amount of oil that was in the oil pan wasn't the correct amount.

[samw]

Also could it be low on V drive oil or the tranny?

[chpthril]

The 2 common problems that I know of are the dipstick tube length. They had some get the DD tubes and they were too long causing the crankcase to be overfilled. Once over filled, the oil would foam up and cause the sender that controls the sounder to go off. There is a separate sender for the gauge, so you may not see a drop in pressure.

The next is primarily on the 06's, but some early 07's, with the Tige EIDB dual battery setup. If you have the EIDB, and the batteries have wing nuts on the cable posts, replace them with SS Nylock nuts, making sure ALL is tight. Check the voltage level of both batteries, if there is a difference, it can cause the ECM to throw a TPS (throttle position sensor) code and restrict throttle to idle.

[lightning59]

Where are you staying in the ozarks?

[buffman]

High Engine/tranny temp as well.....

[jason.briggs]

Update

Thanks for the all the thoughts, sorry that I have been slow to reply. We don't have any internet connection at the house and we have to drive 20 mins to get a sprint card signal. Good for vacation, bad for communicating with the outside world.

After I got through checking all the connections and hoses I called the local tige dealers. Big props to Skiers Wharf Extreme in Osage Beach. They always provide the best shop/boat experience possible. Josh got me hooked up and checked out in under an hour.

The issue ended up being fuel related. I am religous about putting regular gas with NO ETHANOL. Well starting this year the pumps DO NOT have to be marked if they contain any ethanol. They said they have seen this a lot this year, but a bottle of Sta-Bil and a tank later I have yet to get another alarm. One of those things where you learn and go on, but I'm glad it didn't wreck the vacation. Thanks for all the help, if you are ever in the ozarks make sure and stop at skiers wharf. Best shop out there.

Jason

[dogbert]

Thanks for posting the update. The ethanol issue is really becoming a problem.

I'm so happy that Obama thinks ethanol is going to be one of his strategies for weaning us off of foreign oil....what a dufus.

[samw]

Thanks for the all the thoughts, sorry that I have been slow to reply. We don't have any internet connection at the house and we have to drive 20 mins to get a sprint card signal. Good for vacation, bad for communicating with the outside world.

After I got through checking all the connections and hoses I called the local tige dealers. Big props to Skiers Wharf Extreme in Osage Beach. They always provide the best shop/boat experience possible. Josh got me hooked up and checked out in under an hour.

The issue ended up being fuel related. I am religous about putting regular gas with NO ETHANOL. Well starting this year the pumps DO NOT have to be marked if they contain any ethanol. They said they have seen this a lot this year, but a bottle of Sta-Bil and a tank later I have yet to get another alarm. One of those things where you learn and go on, but I'm glad it didn't wreck the vacation. Thanks for all the help, if you are ever in the ozarks make sure and stop at skiers wharf. Best shop out there.

Jason

I always stop by when I am at Table Rock.
Glad it all worked out.