mercury 250 efi issues

[scubad]

Hey I have a 2003 efi saltwater series motor I am having a couple of problems the fiest problem is that it seems to be having is with the oil tank on the motor I have a mercury scan tool and it keeps reading that the oil tank is low.I purchased a sealoc manual followed their diagnostic tree and sure enough it pointed to the tank level sensor replaced still have same problem the tank is full and staying full
the motor is getting oil it does smoke slightly at start up . I am getting a 3 beep signal wich nobody seem to be able to explain what that is then next it gives us a four beep tone then when we have had the boat we got a steady tone we idle it back that goes away but the three tone and four beep tone still constantly keep re accuring it has never to date triggered the guardian but motor seems choppy and low on power compression is well within its spec according to sealoc water psi seems to be in spec. any help would be appreciated

[EuropeanAM]

First of all... Sounds as though you're going to need to replace the Oil Tank AND the sensor. Likely, you have an issue with the tank "swelling", and preventing the float from traveling properly. This will cause your "exact issue".

Of course, the engine mounted tank MUST be COMPLETELY FULL... with NO AIR space at the top of the tank. As little as 1/4" can trigger the "four-beep" horn strategy.

As for the power issues- START WITH THE OBVIOUS FIRST. Guardian is not always going to show as a "fault". It actually displays as a "data line" called "available power". Anything less than 100% indicates that "the engine IS INDEED IN GUARDIAN".

Might also want to verify that you have no water in your fuel/water separating filter. Dump contents into a glass jar- and verify that no water "separates out" to the bottom of the jar.

You can (for a couple minutes testing) disconnect the oil tank sensor, and "jumper" the harness leads. This should signal a "full oil tank" to the PCM, silencing the horn strategy. DON'T RUN THE ENGINE THIS WAY FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE MINUTES.... should the "worst case" occur (oil system failure)... you'll have NO IDEA until it's "too late"!

If you need and oil tank and/or sensor, feel free to give us a call. We'll get you set up!

[scubad]

hey thanks for the information first i guess what i thought was full wasn't there is
air space at the top i will bleed the oil tank and see if that cures that problem
also the boat sat for a while before i got it so the fuel is questionable so we had all of it removed and fresh put in and according to the scan tool the available power is 75% so the guardian is activated. when i corrected will the guardian reset or is there a procedure to do so we are going test run it tonight and see what happens i will let you know how it turns out thanks . thanks for your help .Well we ran it and found out the oil feed system is not feeding oil up to remote tank on the pressure side heading to the hull tank is there supposed to be a check valve some where i pulled the fitting off the block and it is just a nipple with screen in it and the screen was partialy gone i noticed when it was running that it produces positive pressure and vacumm so i dont understand how it can pressurize the feed tank.


Modified by scubad at 3:53 PM 7/17/2009

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scubad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey thanks for the information first i guess what i thought was full wasn't there is
air space at the top i will bleed the oil tank and see if that cures that problem
also the boat sat for a while before i got it so the fuel is questionable so we had all of it removed and fresh put in and according to the scan tool the available power is 75% so the guardian is activated. when i corrected will the guardian reset or is there a procedure to do so we are going test run it tonight and see what happens i will let you know how it turns out thanks . thanks for your help .Well we ran it and found out the oil feed system is not feeding oil up to remote tank on the pressure side heading to the hull tank is there supposed to be a check valve some where i pulled the fitting off the block and it is just a nipple with screen in it and the screen was partialy gone i noticed when it was running that it produces positive pressure and vacumm so i dont understand how it can pressurize the feed tank.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Replace the fitting you removed from the block with the appropriate check valve (Part# 21-878105-1). This would be your problem!

The check valve allows only pressure to enter the pressure-feed line.

Once the engine is shut down, it allows the pressure to bleed off "slowly" (over a couple minutes time).

Engine Guardian will go away when the issue that "caused it to be active" is rectified (provided the throttle setting is BELOW the Guardian Threshold - in this case 75%).

[scubad]

Thanks for all your help motor runs perfect went 60 miles in it sunday didn't miss a beat pushes my 23 past 50 mph . I have analog guages in my boat is my 2003 250 efi new enough for a merc monitor.


Modified by scubad at 3:21 PM 7/20/2009

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scubad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for all your help motor runs perfect went 60 miles in it sunday didn't miss a beat pushes my 23 past 50 mph . I have analog guages in my boat is my 2003 250 efi new enough for a merc monitor.


Modified by scubad at 3:21 PM 7/20/2009</TD></TR></TABLE>

Be glad to check, if you can provide your serial number.

[scubad]

Hi just want to say thanks for all your help my engine is running great went offshore a couple of times and it hasnt missed a beat. My question is in guages my boat was rigged in 1998 so it is analog mercury guages can my engine use a merc monitor my engine is a 2003 250 efi saltwater series serial number 0T748890. If not what can i upgrade to thanks.

[EuropeanAM]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scubad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hi just want to say thanks for all your help my engine is running great went offshore a couple of times and it hasnt missed a beat. My question is in guages my boat was rigged in 1998 so it is analog mercury guages can my engine use a merc monitor my engine is a 2003 250 efi saltwater series serial number 0T748890. If not what can i upgrade to thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your engine IS SMARTCRAFT COMPATIBLE!

Any of the Smartcraft Instruments can/will communicate with your engine.

We have the basic Mercmonitor kit (Instument, data cable, and gender-bender) which allows you to install the "basic system" in your boat- current BBC member price is $428, shipped to any continental US address.