oil alarm!!!

[VDB]

took the boat out today for a trial run and as soon as i started it up the oil alarm started yellin at me. never got it on plane i was too nervous too do so. i idled around a little bit everything seems to be fine, no overheat or any other alarms. has anybody had this happen to them or have any suggestions before i take it in   oh, its a 98 225 opti

[Firefighter Jeff]

  Dumb question.... was the oil tank low on oil   lol  Does your oil line have a primer bulb ??  Oh and I doubt, if the alarm was going off, if you'd have been able to get it on plane.  The protection system won't let you go over 2,000 rpms usually.  Good luck  !!

[bassfan586]

I have had it happened once before.  The oil had gotten a little low and wouldnt let me get  on plane.  I was up in st clair and had to get back to north channel launch.  It was the oil sloshing in tje tank because if I gradualy t on plane i was fine.  Needless to say I carry a reserve with me now.

[VDB]

Thanks for the info guys, but i think i have it figured out. the reserve tank in the motor has a sensor on the tank right on the top.  the oil in that tank was about 2 inches low. somehow air got in the line, so to get the air out i was told to start the motor and loosen the cap. this let the air out of the system as the oil rose to the top of that tank and hit that sensor. haven't taken a lake run yet but no alarm while running in the driveway.

[Redbone]

If thats it, that sure was an easy! If only everything was that easy to fix!

[djkimmel]

If you have oil in the main tank and haven't had much problems with the motor otherwise, when this goes off, especially after a long spell of sitting / cold weather, it is almost always the oil in the motor container being low that causes this and you did the easy and correct fix. This has been the problem almost every time I have ever seen this happen with other people's motors.

I agree - if everything was that easy to fix!

[thedude]

Thanks for the info guys, but i think i have it figured out. the reserve tank in the motor has a sensor on the tank right on the top.  the oil in that tank was about 2 inches low. somehow air got in the line, so to get the air out i was told to start the motor and loosen the cap. this let the air out of the system as the oil rose to the top of that tank and hit that sensor. haven't taken a lake run yet but no alarm while running in the driveway.

beat me to it. The air cap is a good trick if you ever run it dry. fill the main res, start the motor and let some air in through that cap, it will fill right up.

i would also check your oil lines, probably some dry rot or wear at the nipple connections somewhere causing the air leak.