05 Optimax 115 - Won't Come out of Guardian Mode

[NumberOne]

I can't get my serial number but here is the story. I dropped a cylinder back in May. The damage wasn't very bad so I had a shop rebuild that one cylinder (cylinder one). They couldn't figure out why I lost compression in cylinder number one which had be concerned. Either way got the boat and did the break in. They recommended 6 hours of break in on that one cylinder. I did it for 7 hours. Everything seems good to go. Holeshot was the same but I never got it over 4,000 rpms during the break in obviously.

Fast forward a month. I didn't have the opportunity to take it for a while after I broke it in. I took it out about two weeks ago and idled out to the main lake and got it up on plane. Soon as I got it up on plane I noticed it didn't have the juice it normally does. I trimmed it up a bit and it was bogging down. I thought I was down a cylinder. I shut it off and fished for a bit then tried it again. Same thing. I could only it up to 4,700 per my tach.

I checked the compression after getting off the water and I had 104, 109, and 110 compression on the cylinders. So ok there. I ended up taking it to the shop that did my rebuild. They called me yesterday and said it was in guardian mode and they don't know what's going on with it. I told them I didn't hear it beep and they said the alarm module wasn't working. I don't think a fault is being thrown which is causing them an issue in getting it out of guardian mode. They said they were leaning towards the ECU going bad or wire harness issues.

Other stuff to consider they also said the oil pump was almost running continuously. Another thing I have noticed is that my trim switch goes out intermittently when I try to trim the engine up. It has a slight delay then kicks in. Some times when the boat has sat for a while it won't trim up at all. I have to put the batteries on the charger to trim it up. Thankfully its never given me an issue on the water.


So in summary, the boat is stuck in guardian mode (no faults I don't think), alarm module isn't working, oil pump is running on overdrive and my trim switch is going out intermittently. First I need to figure out why its in guardian mode but I provided the other issues to see it these things are all related to a battery issue or wire harness or they are all independent issues. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I really hope its not the ECU.

[JOE54]

well the warning module is the pcm , does the beeper /horn work at key on , from your post it does sound like a pm problem

[NumberOne]

well the warning module is the pcm , does the beeper /horn work at key on , from your post it does sound like a pm problem

The beeper/horn doesn't work at the key.

[JOE54]

warning should sound at key on , does horn work ????? test it

[NumberOne]

When you turn the key you don't get any beep or alarm. I am not sure on the horn.

[JOE54]

beep /WARNNING HORN should sound at key on every time , if beeper doesnt work you wont know if you have problem

[NumberOne]

Why wouldn't the beep or warning alarm not work? Would that automatically be the PCM?

[EuropeanAM]

Why wouldn't the beep or warning alarm not work? Would that automatically be the PCM?

Exactly the opposite. Would almost certainly NOT be the PCM, but rather a bad warning horn or wiring at the warning horn. Very simple device, 12V+ power on purple wire, and tan w/blue gets signal from PCM to sound horn (grounding signal). If you remove the horn you can test it by connecting directly to a 12V battery as just described.

I'm just a tad (ok, understatement) concerned that someone who rebuilt your engine is telling you these types of things. It's quite obvious that either they're not communicating with you well, or they know very little about the engine they're working on.

My suggestion at this point is to look for a reputable, WELL trained Optimax Technican. JMHO... (IT) might save you another powerhead.

[NumberOne]

Exactly the opposite. Would almost certainly NOT be the PCM, but rather a bad warning horn or wiring at the warning horn. Very simple device, 12V+ power on purple wire, and tan w/blue gets signal from PCM to sound horn (grounding signal). If you remove the horn you can test it by connecting directly to a 12V battery as just described.

I'm just a tad (ok, understatement) concerned that someone who rebuilt your engine is telling you these types of things. It's quite obvious that either they're not communicating with you well, or they know very little about the engine they're working on.

My suggestion at this point is to look for a reputable, WELL trained Optimax Technican. JMHO... I might save you another powerhead.

Yeah I couldn't agree more with your statement. I honestly think they are stalling on this because they messed something up with the rebuild. Hopefully they make it right if so. They are pretty reputable around here.