Mercury smart craft

[stoneyxc]

Hey guys, I have an issue with an alarm going off on my optimax, was thinking it would be a good idea to invest in a smart craft unit for it, just wondering if anyone on here has any experience with them. Any info would be appreciated!

[Skippers Trophy 01]

Cant help with any info on the upgrade, but do you know which alarm is ringing, or what is causing it?

We have been thru a few of these with our Opti.

[sammyslayer]

I have them on my verado. They have soo much information accessible. Greatly helps fuel efficiency by telling you gph. I have not had any codes or alarms yet but they will display the code. Love the troll mode. The verado is more efficient than my 9.9prokicker at speeds over 2.3mph. I would recommend it.

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[stoneyxc]

it is a 2004 optimax 225. I ran a shakedown cruise 2 weekends ago out of Oswego and another trip sunday on Oneida lake with no problems. last weekend we headed to olcott for our annual fishing weekend and the I got a 3 beep alarm right as soon as I launched the boat, the boat would run fine up to 4000 rpm then it would shut down anything over that. I have a 9.9 pro kicker that I just had installed so we trolled with that and just ran the opti in and out to fishing spot. Saturday morning I started the boat, alarm still doing 3 beeps, ran out about a mile and it shut down to 1000 rpms and the alarm goes solid. it is stuck there now, it idles fine, starts fine and will only run up to 1000 rpm and the gaurdien system kicks in. I checked the oil tank on the motor and that is full as well as the reserve tank has about 2 and a half gallons of oil in it. the water pump is working fine and I have a very good stream of water coming out. the motor is not overheating and it is getting oil so I am thinking it is either an  oil sensor or one of the temperature sensors. thank god I bought the pro kicker this year, that kept us fishing for the weekend! any ideas on the alarms?

[Kuba]

Yeahh, troubleshooting stuff over the net might be expensive. Take it to a mechanic who can diagnose it properly. Otherwise yoy might end up wirh a very expensive boat anchor.

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[sammyslayer]

Check your air filter as well. Know of an optimax that the air filter designated and sucked it into the motor. Caused back pressure in the oil system. Same type of symptoms with the rpm.

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[stoneyxc]

I am having trouble finding a mechanic in the Syracuse area that isn't 4 weeks out on service, I was just trying to figure out the basics before I take it somewhere. I will check the air filter, I haven't done that yet. thanks for the info.

[Skippers Trophy 01]

Check these two things:

Fuel filter - it has a water separator canister type, when the water in it gets to a certain level, it trips the alarm.  Easy to just spin on a new one, and should be done with regular maintenance anyway.

Oil level alarm - there is a magnet in the small tank (on motor) that comes unglued from the float, causing false alarms.  Remove the one screw at the top of the tank and pull the sensor out.  Put a strong magnet at the top of this sensor and see if the alarm goes away.  If the alarm stops, you need a new tank. 

[stoneyxc]

Finally got back to take boat out after fixing it. Ended up being the oil tank that is on the motor, I unplugged oil sensor and jumpered it, it shut alarm off so I bought the new tank assembly and she runs like a top. Thanks for the info!