The Chump has been stumped.....again. **WARNING ALARM**

[oldmako69]

2014 F300XCA's

Shortly after turning on the KEY but prior to hitting START, the YAM engine gauge panel will come to life. And then the ALARM horn sounds. The pre-start VOLTAGE is fine. The OIL LEVEL is fine. The engines then start fine and idle like glass. Both cooling telltales stream water. The OIL PSI is fine. The indicated TEMP is fine. Yet the alarm continues.

When I then select CURRENT ALARMS on the panel, there are NONE present. When I hit TROUBLE CODES, there are none present.

What the hell is going on?

[DennisG01]

Could it be something like a high water alarm? Do you have a secondary (mounted higher) bilge pump? Check for water in the bilge, of course - but also check to see if the float is stuck.

Could it be a cabin alarm for a carbon monoxide detector?

[oldmako69]

No high water alarm that I am aware of. I bought it used and there was zero mention of it. Furthermore the boat has horrid bilge access (one spot aft) so if there was an alarm I'd surely see the sensor. Boat was on the trailer and just launched so no time for it to take on water unless it had a massive hole in it. No cabin, so no alarm. Plus, I would THINK that those two you mentioned would have a stand alone horn and not the one tied into the YAM system. But, what do I know?

[99yam40]

rain water could collect in the bulge if the boat sits outside.
does the alarm go away when you start the motor?

[DennisG01]

No high water alarm that I am aware of. I bought it used and there was zero mention of it. Furthermore the boat has horrid bilge access (one spot aft) so if there was an alarm I'd surely see the sensor. Boat was on the trailer and just launched so no time for it to take on water unless it had a massive hole in it. No cabin, so no alarm. Plus, I would THINK that those two you mentioned would have a stand alone horn and not the one tied into the YAM system. But, what do I know?

I was kinda wondering the same as your "THINK" sentence... and I came up with the same answer as your last sentence

Oh well, it was worth a shot!

If nothing is showing up anywhere on the gauge, then you might need to get it scanned... but see my "answer" above.....

FYI, a high water bilge alarm is typically wired to the float switch of the secondary pump - not just a "sensor". Although I suppose some companies could only use a sensor.

[oldmako69]

Boat sits with the bow up and garboard drain pulled so the hull is bone dry.

Alarm does not go away when the engine is started. Then, eventually it goes away.

The alarm going ON before the engines are started (with a dry hull, with adequate voltage) tells me that there is a high likely hood of it being a bogus alert.

[99yam40]

I have read that some motors will alarm on low voltages to the motor, but you would need to figure out what circuit that might b and verify that a bad or weak connection to that screw is the cause.
just because the battery is good does not mean all connections are good

[oldmako69]

I haven't dug into the batteries all season so its time to get after them. I'll go over there and get the batts on the charger. Then I'll pull all the lugs off the posts and get all of them pristine. Then follow the cables to the engines and clean all the connections. There are extension between the YAM leads and those that run to the console/batteries. They of course, are buried and a hassle to address. Then I'll poke around some more under the helm in the console. There a world class mess of spaghetti mess in there.

I am leaning toward the voltage issue but when I google it the only two items that show up are low oil pressure and high coolant (cylinder head, I assume) temperature. But I get an alarm before the engines are even started, so who knows. I have read others suggest that ii will also alarm for low V.

Thanks for the ideas. If I reach a reasonable solution I'll post it.

[DennisG01]

Many engines WILL alarm when you just turn the key to "on", but not start - sort of a self-test of the alarm system... on some engines it's simply because there's no oil pressure, yet. NOTE: I do NOT know if that's normal for YOUR engine, or not - maybe something to check into?

I guess the better question is... is this a NEW issue, or has it always done this?

How long does it take for the alarm to go away after the engine is turned on?

[oldmako69]

Brand new issue. Owned the boat since '20. First time it went away after about 5 mins. Second time it was almost twice that. As mentioned, no alarm "screen" displayed (as shown in the owners handbook) and no alarms or codes listed on the engine panel.

Sucks out loud.

[DennisG01]

Brand new issue. Owned the boat since '20. First time it went away after about 5 mins. Second time it was almost twice that. As mentioned, no alarm "screen" displayed (as shown in the owners handbook) and no alarms or codes listed on the engine panel.

Sucks out loud.

OK. Thanks for answering the last thing I asked - that helps clear things up for us that it's not just the normal startup horn. Obvioulsy 5 minutes is way too long and not normal

Does it make a difference if you're just in idle at the dock or moving right away at higher RPM's?

It does "seem" like a low voltage issue since it goes away - presumably after the battery gets charged sufficiently to satisfy the computer.

But... measure the battery voltage AT each battery (with switch off) before you do anything. Also note what the screen reads for voltage at the same time. Do the same about 30 seconds after starting. Do it again after the alarm stops. I know you said it was "fine", but it will help to know what the actual voltage is.