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Maybe coincedence, but I added DFI oil for the first time this year and now I'm getting an oil warning tone and light. I removed and cleaned both caps on the tank and checked to make sure there was oil in the under-cowl tank, and there was (about 3/4 full). I then ran the engine on muffs for a good ten minutes with no horn. I also removed the cap on the under-cowl tank while it was running but it didn't seem to change anything.
I Launched the boat today to go fishing and it didn't run for two minutes and the horn went off. The engine is running fine but this stupid horn is driving me crazy! What should I check?
O.K., so I panicked a little. There is a splendid troubleshooting chart on page 3C-16 of the Mercury Service Manual. I'll follow the proceedures outlined see where we are then.
O.K., so we could change the title of this thread to: "Mercury Optimax Low Oil Warning System Works as Advertised". I took the cowl off this morning and the oil level on the engine tank was much lower than yesterday. I filled it by siphoning some out of the remote tank. Oil siphons extremely slow by the way.
After filling the tank, I thought it would be a good idea to purge the oil system per the service manual instructions. Basically, this involves pumping the fuel primer bulb, then turning the key to the "ON" position and withing ten seconds, moving the shift lever from "Nuetral" to "Forward" 3 to 5 times. The oil system then primes itself and puts the engine into the 120 minute break-in mode.
After this completed (about three minutes later), I started the engine on the muffs and loosened the plug on the engine oil tank to purge all of the air out of it. This time it worked as it should. I secured the cap and then checked for oil leaks with a powerful flashlight and an inspection mirror. I didn't find any. The engine ran for a full fifteen minutes with no oil alarm. When I have the problem, it would sound almost immediately, likely within the 25 second spec, although I wasn't timing it.
I beleive what happened is this: When I filled my remote tank I didn't get a good seal on the fill cap. With air leaking from the tank there was not sufficient pressure to keep up with the oil demand of the engine, and the engine tank eventually ran below the level where the alarm is triggered. By the way, there is a sticker on the remote tank that says: "the caps must be tight!" I guess they mean it.
No harm done, and I got to learn a few things about my engine's oil system. Nice to know that it works as it should.
