OptiMax 150 Alarm

[985crabs]

I've got a '98 Optimax 150 on my v1900. It runs great, but it gives me sporadic alarms relating to the oiler. It never happens at idle or slow speed, but when I punch it to get on plane it does. If I shut down and start up again it is fine. Very annoying.

Had it in the shop last week and the mechanic could not make it alarm even after running it in the tank for 20 minutes.

Anyone hazard a guess?

[Juan]

I'm sure someone with an Optimax will chime in with suggestions and I don't know if they're even similar, but I had a Yamaha once that had the same problem.... Turned out to be the sending unit in the reserve oil tank causing the alarm.. the float thingy in the tank that tells it when to send more oil from the main oil tank was malfunctioning...It got enough oil at low rpms, but not at higher rpms. If your's has the reserve tank and an oil sending unit in the tank, you might want to check the oil level or try pulling it out and cleaning it.

[985crabs]

Thanks. It has to be something like that, but the mechanic did say that the reserve tank is full. I bought the boat from a friend recently so I've never personally filled the main oil tank. It is likely that my friend did not put OptiMax oil in it. Is it possible that the motor is smart enough to know this (viscosity, temperature, pressure) and is alarming because of it?

[Juan]

I'll make another guess.... Even with the reserve tank full of oil, the sending unit could still be the problem if the float thingy in the oil reserve tank is sticking and I'm guessing if the previous owner put the wrong viscosity oil in it, the float might not float at the level it would with the right oil.. If I rememeber correctly, it's pretty easy to check...the sending unit was attached to the cap on the reserve tank, so all I had to do was pull the cap off the reserve tank to get to the sending unit and then manually move the float. Again, this was on a 2 stroke Yamaha, so it might not be the same on an Optimax... Good luck... those sparadic alarms are sometimes hard to figure out.

[Deleted]

1. Remove oil tank
2. Empty oil tank
3. Clean oil tank, pickup tube
4. Replace oil hose from tank to engine
5. Replace inline oil filter

This will almost certainly fix the issue. At worst you will not have a problem with those parts for many years to come. One of my Optis had the same problem and it was the hose but cleaning the tank is a good recommendation as they do build up sludge if unknown oils were used or if trash got in the tank when filling. The pickup tube also has a screen on the end and that can clog.

For the future use a good synthetic oil like Amsoil. The Optimax oil is too expensive and the Amsoil is as good or better, plus much cheaper.

[985crabs]

Thank you gentlemen. I've purchased some real oil and I will follow both of your suggestions as soon as it warms up enough here to get involved with such a project. I appreciate your taking the time to give me some direction. I will update this thread when I have completed the tasks and know the outcome. In the meantime, if anyone else has additional information, I will welcome it.

[Deleted]

A little late, but I'll chime in anyway.... Me and the ol' man had a 26' whaler w/ twin 225 opti's.......did the same exact thing my man.
Every one said oil...oil....oil.....add oil.......but the oil reservoirs were ALWAYS FULL.... We had put into multiple shops, replaced every thing from the turning key switch, to the sensors on the motor....had every thing broke down and replaced.....And never could get that 'gremlin' out and stop the alarm.
It never once stranded us, but just a pain in the rear to have to come off plane almost every time and re crank ya know.
We ended up selling the boat to buy some thing bigger, one of my buddies bought it and it did the same thing to him the 3-4 yrs he had it.......Those opti's ran hard and fast, but you had to deal with that issue....
Also from the research i did I believe this was a problem with 'most' of the opti's made in the mid nineties up to 2000-02......(ours were 1999 models)

[985crabs]

Thanks JP. It is encouraging to know that this is a "real" problem that others have experienced. I did drain the oil tanks and replace the oil with DFI oil. Now the oil alarm sounds 60 seconds after I start the motor. I'm getting ready to take it to my mechanic to have him replace the inline oil filter and jump across the sensor to see if it's just bad. He did suggest that this whole VRO thing is an uncertain convenience and that I might benefit from simply disconnecting it and premixing. Anyone have an opinion about that. I hate premixing, but peace of mind is important and I think I could spend a lot of time and money diagnosing and solving this thing. Time and money that might otherwise be spent chasing redfish.

Hey, I grew up in Mobile by the way.

[985crabs]

Hey,

I know it's been a while, but that's how long it took my mechanic to get to the bottom of this (for whatever his reasons are, and I question them). Anyway, for the benefit of other Sea Pro/Optimax owners, I feel I should post the resolution in case it helps someone else in the future. As suggested by the members here, the problem was the reserve oil tank. The little sensor inside had failed and was telling the motor there wasn't any oil in the tank. New tank, new sensor.

I ran the boat all day on Sunday and it ran great. What a relief.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to try to help me out,

985crabs

[Deleted]

better late than never ......again....... glad to hear you got it fixed 985crabs, lord knows that some aggravating crap to listen to, lol... Mobile ehhh......that's where I am

until the weekend hits any way, and then I'm finding some water to get into some where, you better believe it ...