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  1. #1
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    1989 Johnson GT 150 continuous warning horn in accessory position

    Hello All,

    I have been lurking here for a bit and now need some help.

    My situation is as follows:

    1989 Johnson GT150 - J150STLCEM

    Brief History..........I have a 1994 Hurricane deckboat with the 1989 GT150 installed with the original OEM Remote control that had an integrated warning horn. All seemed to work well, ran all last season without mechanical issue and zero warning horn issues. Now I have a continuous buzzer when I turn the key to the accessory position.

    Recent History.......I needed to replace the OLD Remote Control due to a bad TRIM/TILT switch at the handle. I bought a NEW BRP side-mount remote control that came with a separate, TWO-wire warning horn. So I have a pre-1996 engine, pre-1996 wiring harness, and post 1996 Remote Control.

    The swap of the OLD remote was pretty straight forward. The only difference in the wiring from the old 8-wire harness and the new 6-way connector was the black ground wire is coded with a white stripe on the new and plain black on the old. Easy enough. Trim/Tilt was also simple.

    The new SEPARATE warning horn is a two-wire unit with one purple and one tan wire out the back. I added a small pigtail for the purple wire to give power to the horn and put the tan wire directly to the horn. All should work well. But alas it does not.

    After replacing the remote I get a continuous strong buzz from the new horn when I simply turn the key to the accessory position. So I disconnected:

    BOTH the PORT and STBD temp sensors at the small bullet connectors.
    The 3-way connector that leads to the VRO2 pump assembly.
    The black VRO2 tank bullet connector from the tan bullet connector that connects directly to the LARGE RED connector.

    Removing all of the connections there was obviously ZERO buzzer noise when I turned on the key to the accessory position. Next, I plugged in the STBD temp sensor and turned the key........zero buzzer noise. Then I connected the PORT temp sensor and still zero buzzer noise.

    I thought great!!!! That eliminates the temp sensors. Moving on I connected the single bullet connector that goes to the VRO2 tank and the buzzer turned on as soon as I turned the key. I have the two-wire, black lamp cord style. One end goes to the tan wire and the other is ground to the block. So I thought I would check continuity between those two VRO2 tank wires. ZERO continuity.

    I then disconnected the 1-wire to the tan and tank connector I used in the last test.

    Then I connected the 3-wire black plug and the buzzer made the same continuous noise as it had been. Being stumped I disconnected the tan wire that goes to the vacuum switch.........still buzzing in the accessory position. HUMPH!!!!

    Just for clarity....the continuous buzzer in the accessory position happens as soon as I turn the key. The engine is cold and has NOT been run before this happens. AND........the temp sensors not causing the buzzer to sound makes me think the horn, which is brand new BRP, is functioning properly.

    The VRO2 tank is full, the engine starts and runs well, but this darn buzzer is trying to tell me something.

    I do not know what to do next. Any thoughts.
    Last edited by gavinator68; 06-18-2021 at 08:51 AM.

  2. Member
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    #2
    Your engine should also have a fuel vacuum sensor switch. Have you disconnected that?
    All the sensor switches complete a circuit to ground to activate the horn - the same in the new and old horn. Something is grounding out.

  3. Member
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    #3
    Yes, I believe I did. In other words, I had to look up what that switch looked like and where it was located then disconnected the tan wire from it and the buzzer still sounded when I turned the key. I do know on that "side" of the sensor circuit there are 3 things interconnected, the vacuum switch, the 3-way black plug to the VRO2 pump, and the tan wire to the VRO2 tank. Before leaving the boat and coming home I was starting to peel off all of the electrical tape on the sensor harness to verify that all wires were in good condition and no hint of possible grounding. I will need to pull the remainder of that tape to see the entire harness, but it certainly seems like is a grounding issue in that part of the circuit. After plugging in both of the temp sensors and getting zero noise from the horn I was hopeful that I would be able to quickly determine what was causing the horn to buzz. But then I get a buzz when I "individually" connect the 3-way black plug going to the VRO2 pump and the same when I connect the tank wire. That is why I did the continuity test on the tank wires thinking that must be why it would make the horn buzz when I turned the key.

  4. Member
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    #4
    The oil tank level sensor is a simple float inside the tank. If you remove the pickup away you will see and can manually manipulate the float. The float is intended to signal low oil at 1/4 full.
    There could be a stuck no oil warning inside the VRO. You will notice a small potted sensor box on the short / small end of the Vro.
    Here is a great article on the VRO operation.
    https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/VRO.html

  5. Member
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    #5
    Hello All,

    I just wanted to bring this thread to a close so it will be helpful to others that may be having issues.

    I wanted to install a new remote for my old engine and boat since the tilt/trim button at the remote stopped working. I purchased a new BRP side-mount remote control that included a new TWO-WIRE alarm buzzer. I thought I was all set after swapping out the original OMC remote with the new one, but then the strange long-continuous beep immediately when I turned the key to the ON position, not start.

    As it turns out BRP also sells a wiring harness adapter kit for connecting the pre-1996 engine to the post 1996 new remote control. That is 300'ish dollars. I tried to get by simply hard wiring the new remote into the original harness, but the "adapter harness kit actually has a horn installed to the harness. BUT, that horn has three wires. A Tan, Purple AND A GROUND wire. Had I known that before swapping out the old remote I would not have tried to hard wire to the old harness.

    Apparently, BRP ONLY sells that 3-wire horn as part of the 300'ish dollar kit. The horn cannot be purchased new all by itself. One MUST buy the harness to get the horn. And now, everything is back to functioning properly.

    I hope it helps someone along the way.

    Cheers,

    David

  6. Member
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    #6
    Thanks for following up with your findings.

  7. Moderator SEAHORSE's Avatar
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    #7
    Probably the main issue is that the pre-1996 oil tank pickup assembly contains electronics to activate the warning horn with a beep about once every 30 seconds to indicate a low oil level. 1996 and later oil tanks have to be used with the 1996 and later SystemCheck wiring harness as the oil tank senders have no electronics in them, just an on-off switch in the oil pickup assembly. The earlier model pickup assembly electronics allowed a small current flow and that is what "confused" the alarm horn with 2 wires as the 3 wire alarm contains electronics in it also to activate the self-test beep. The 2 wire horn is for the System check gauges with their four LED warning lights and internal electronics to activate the alarm horn.
    -----


    A Technical troubleshooter possessing more tools than talent !

  8. Member
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    #8
    Seahorse,

    Thank you for that more thorough understanding.

    Cheers,

    David