Conference vicki::boats

    Jim, I assume that your talking about the oil injection system.
    I would first look at the wiring harness and insure all conections
    are intact, one of the blade connections may be loose, and causing
    an intermintent short.
    I would also suggest that you disconnect the oil line from the engine
    and purge the system, to insure that there is not dirt/obstruction in
    the oil lines. Another possibility is the pump assembly in the oil
    tank, there may be an obstruction as the oil is pumped out through the
    hose.
    One other thing to check would be the wiring harnes at the actual horn.
    Those connections can loosen up, I like a little liquid electrical tape
    to protect against corrosion, and with a set of pliers, close the 
    spade terminal to make the connection tighter.
    Good luck, I would guess that if you still have a problem, you should
    have it checked out by OMC.
    
    Joe.

    
      From the way you described the horn, I would say it was the
    *overheat* warning that you heard. I believe the horn on that motor
    has 3 *different* warning sounds, which are:
    
    	once every 20 seconds = low oil tank oil (no real problem  
    					 should be ~1/4 tank left)
    
    	1/2 second on, 1/2 second off = no oil getting to the motor
    				(shut off motor right away and check)
    
    	constant = high temp (slow down to idle at *least* and check)

     			Now, what *did* it do?
    				Kenny

    
    Jim, unless you *know* what you're doing, you should NEVER disconnect
    the oil line fron the motor. To do so will admit air into the system
    which must be purged properly to aviod starving the engine for
    oil. There is a particualar procedure to follow for this which involves
    running the engine *WITH* a 50:1 mixture of fuel and oil until it
    is completed.
    
    					Kenny
    

    Thanks, Kenny - I think you got it.  The instruction manual is in
    the boat so I can't look it up.   The guy who sold me the boat just
    said it meant an oil problem so I skipped that part of the book when
    coming up to speed on the motor.
    
    The near-shore waters are full of kaka from the marsh runoff of all the
    rain we've been having.   Just before the horn went off I had
    unavoidably traversed a dense area of floating marsh grass.  I'll bet
    I had a temporary water intake blockage.
    
    Moral of the story.  Read the WHOLE book.
    

    Before reading Kenny's reply i had a notion you were overheating,
    and not having an oil pressure problem, as you don't have any
    oil pressure as we know it in an inboard.
    
    If for any reason you hear this agian, SHUT DOWN, 
    (if you can, without endangering yourself), and check
    for the blockage. Your outboard is an aluminum block
    it don't tolerate much overheating...................
    
    
    Jim.

    Not to nitpick but with oil-injected two cycle engines you do have
    oil pressure.    Not the same as a four-cycle engine but it's still
    oil pressure.
    

    Since I own the same motor and have had the same problem, I thought
    I would jump in here.
    
    The first time was with the motor only 2 mos old and on a run from
    Orcas Island up to Canadian waters.  Enough to really scare the
    h*ll out of you.  I shut it down, did all of the looking around
    that all amateurs do and started it up again.  Same thing.  After
    three tries, disconnecting and reconnecting the alarm system (read
    your owners manual and it explains the procedure) it worked fine
    and no problems for the rest of the vacation. - 2 weeks.  When I
    got it back to the dealer and he checked it out, the reason was
    in the oil.  You can't use "artificial" oil in that motor.  It must
    be Johnson or OMC - I'm sure there are others, but that is what
    they told me.  The artificial oil does not mix as quickly with the
    gas when it is injected, so the sensing unit detects this and sounds
    a warning.  They showed me a sample that showed the two not mixed
    well and they assured me that was the problem.  I switched and the
    problem went away.
    
    Two years later it happened again.  Again on Puget Sound - I wonder
    if there is a pattern here.  I shut it down and squeezed the bulb
    on the oil line to push the oil into the motor.  Problem went away
    and has not surfaced again.  I have the motor completely gone over
    every spring for the salmon season and nothing has come up to indicate
    and lasting problems.  I do carry some oil in the boat for an emergency
    in case I have to mix it myself.  Off the Oregon coast it can get
    pretty nasty, and I'd hate to have to come in over the bar with
    just my 10hp kicker.
    
    
    Ken