Friday I put my boat in for a sea trial after doing winter maintenance and 300 hour service. All went well but because of sea state I didnt stay out long. Well today I put the boat in to make the run to my slip and about halfway there I got a critical low oil warning. I immediately shut down and pulled the cowling to find that there were no leaks and the level was a few inches below completely full. I did a quick google search and a lot of guys are talking about the magnet failing and it being a false alarm. With that in mind I decided I would cruise for another 10-15 minutes to see if the oil level got any lower to hopefully confirm false alarm. Well about 10 minutes later the motor sputtered differently so I cut back the throttle and as I did that the motor smoked quick and then I shut it off for fear of damaging the motor. I checked the engine mounted tank again and the level didnt appear to have changed. Once in the slip a few hours later I fired the motor up, the alarm was still present but the motor seemed to run normal at idle, no sputtering. I didnt let it run for more than 5 seconds. I then cracked the cap on the small engine mounted tank which was still the same level as before and there was pressure that was released when I opened it.
I guess first and foremost I am afraid I did serious damage to the motor, but I am also really hoping this is just an issue with the sensor in the engine mounted tank. Has anyone experienced this, does anyone have any advice?