BRAVO 3 LOW LUBE ALARM

jhofmann

After putting my 2000 Bravo 3 outdrive on and off several times during the week, I leaked out enough lube to drop the level in the resivoir so the alarm (steady ringing) went off when I went to plane off. I filled the lube back up, but the alarm continues to sound. I have oil pressure (40lbs at idle) and the engine is cold. I disconnected one lead to the sensor, but the alarm still sounds. Should I jump the 2 wires to see if it quiets the alarm there by confirming a bad sensor, or could this damage something? 

Black_Diamond

You might try draining and cleaning out the outdrive reservoir. The oil will get cruddy from sitting and might hang up the float in there. 

raybo3

Believe it or not make sure the res cap in on correctly. That could sound the alarm also. Ask me how I know..........LOL Not sure about the wires......

Dream_Inn

Actually, you'll want to disconnect one of the wires.  Alarm should go off.  But I agree with posts above as well.  Clean it out and make sure the cap is on ok.  Oh, and that little seal in the top of the cap is ok as well.

zaverin1

In theory
not sure if they use normally open or closed switches 

Dream_Inn

well, I've had the issue and it is normally open.  So, the alarm goes off when the float makes contact. 

zaverin1

Then it would been something else is wrong since one wire is off and alarm still present 

jhofmann

From what I read, the steady alarm sounds means 1 of three things, low oil pressure, high coolant temp, or low outdrive lube. Since I have good oil pressure, and low coolant temp, I am assuming it is the low outdrive alarm. Will try jumping the 2 wires going to the sensor and see what happens tomorrow.

jhofmann

I discovered that there is a delay in the alarm system. When I disconnected the low lube sensor, the alarm kept sounding for about 20 seconds, then quit. As soon as I plug in the sensor, the alarm sounds right away. Same thing if I connect the 2 sensor wires together, the alarm sounds then when disconnected, the alarm continues to sound for about 20 seconds, then stops. Circut is normally open, and closes when the sensor is low. Will try to clean, or replace. Thanks for the tips.

Black_Diamond

Dump out the oil from the reservoir. You can rinse it with mineral spirits or brake cleaner. Bet you will find it full of sludge making the float stick. 

Trashman

I agree with BD when it comes to the tank.   My oil was like sludge in the bottom of tank.   I turned upside down over a bucket and sprayed with brake clean using the red tube on the nozzle.  Then GENTLY  wiped out with a paper towel.  You have to be careful not to knock the white float off the post inside tank. If you just installed outdrive you are probably bleeding the line of air and adding lube at first is typical. I couldn't believe the amount of sludge i had. 

zaverin1

I cleaned my tanks this spring 
full of sludge 

jhofmann

Thanks for the info, it makes sense once the float bottoms out it gets stuck in the sludge. 

Michael T

Be very careful when working around the float. It travels up and down an SS pin. Most of the floats are held on with an SS "e" clip that can come off fairly easily. If this happens you will not be able to get it back on and have to buy a new reservoir. I have cleaned a dozen reservoirs. I do not use any solvents to do so. I do not want any future contamination. I use a meat baster to suck-up the gear lube in the reservoir - I used to use a small pump but it was just too much wasted time and clean-up. Then I wrap a lint-free, shop cloth around a screw driver to wipe-up the remainder. Only once did I encounter gear lube that was too thick to do this and I used a hair dryer (carefully) to heat the lube then remove with the meat baster and shop cloths. I did knock an "e" clip off once and had to buy a new reservoir.

jhofmann

Thanks Michael T, I'll give it a try.

J3ff

jhofmann said:

I discovered that there is a delay in the alarm system. When I disconnected the low lube sensor, the alarm kept sounding for about 20 seconds, then quit. As soon as I plug in the sensor, the alarm sounds right away. Same thing if I connect the 2 sensor wires together, the alarm sounds then when disconnected, the alarm continues to sound for about 20 seconds, then stops. Circut is normally open, and closes when the sensor is low. Will try to clean, or replace. Thanks for the tips.

Interesting. I am having this exact problem. I even bought an entire new piece. Couldn't figure out why it was still going off with the sensor wires unplugged, engine oil pressure showing fine and water temp being low. 

rasbury

Disconnect the other sensors until you find the one is sounding..oil and temp?

J3ff

rasbury said:

Disconnect the other sensors until you find the one is sounding..oil and temp?

So oil and temp are reporting normal values. And at the same time VVM is reporting low gear lube. Had it come and go twice while motoring through the channel. Throttled up, it stopped about 10 seconds later and didn't hear it the rest of the day. 

No clue what the deal is. 

aero3113

Air bubble?

rasbury

Sensor for gear lube then?

J3ff

rasbury said:

Sensor for gear lube then?

replaced bottle with a new one, sensor is brand new.. the alarm came and went at the exact same throttle position once today.. 

PickleRick

Does your system have a flow sensor?   

rasbury

I don't think so @PickleRick...

J3ff

Nope. 

PickleRick

Well, I'm glad we could rule that one out easily.  

rasbury

I would check than harness connection...maybe there is a fair safe if it does not make the connection it sounds? Float stuck?

J3ff

from what others say, if you unplug the wires, it "cannot" sound the alarm.. 

I think I tried this before and it still went off, but will re-verify this on Saturday...

Assuming that it's still going off when wires disconnected.. where does that leave us?

rasbury

I would guess that if it still goes off it's not communicating and that would kind of prove there's something wrong with the sensor in the bottle

J3ff

Well. Wires are disconnected. People are saying there's no way it should be going off.

I dont know what to think. 

J3ff

welp, after diggingfor an hour, I'm going to cut the wires to the buzzer.. have friends coming out today. How annoying. 

J3ff

didnt have to cut the wires, it's a purple wire that comes off of the ignition switch.. just unplugged it. Oddly enough I turned the key to the running position, it alerted that it cant sound the horn in VVM. Turned the key off. Reconnected, it then wouldn't do the alert for the next 15 mins. 

I let it sit for a while, came back, turned the key to the run position and sure enough here was the alarm again. 

I also put some foam tape over the hole for the sound and then electrical taped around that. It's still loud enough to hear but not so much so that you'll lose your hearing. 

For today it's disconnected. 

I dont know what else it could be aside from corrosion or a bad ECU? 

To date I have:
- disconnected the wires from the lube sensor, everyone says this should stop the alarm, it did not.

- replaced the entire resi. with a new one, sensor, and wires, still happening.

- I've looked for broken wires, reseated the main connectors, looked for a bad fuse...

Boat starts and runs fine.