Warning Systems
In the beginning there was just the plain old Mark 1 human eyeball watching the tell-tale water outlet
from the cooling system. All production outboards are raw water cooled so there’s always the chance
of getting weeds or other debris in the water inlet, or with age and dirty water, a worn water pump
impeller. Most operators sat or stood right
alongside the engine and the slightest change
in engine sound would attract their attention.
As most cooling water exited with the
exhaust for noise reduction, any reduction in
cooling water flow made a noticeable change
in exhaust noise, especially when you’re
sitting next to the engine. If a quick glance
showed (for example) no water visible at the
outlet, the operator could react quickly and
avert possible damage. No other warning
system was fitted or considered necessary
back then.
But as we became more demanding of our
boats we wanted more comfort and less noise
so we fitted forward steering and more seats.
Now the engine is mostly hidden from the
operator and its noise is muffled by “sound
barriers” of seats and drywell. Some form of
remote warning was required and because
these engines had a battery powered electrical system it was natural to use warning lights, just like our
cars of the same era.
While better than nothing, unfortunately a
warning light just does not have the impact
to get your attention on a bright sunny day,
when you’re out there enjoying yourself.
Overheat
warning light
The light only came on to signify trouble,
and because that happened rarely, it was
very easy to miss it. So in the early 1970’s
an audible warning system using a horn or
buzzer replaced the light. This had the
potential to get your attention anytime you
were near the helm. A simple overheat
switch on the cylinder head closed a pair
contacts when a pre-determined temperature
was reached, completing the circuit and
sounding the horn.
Push-button electric shift remote control as used in the
1960’s.
Simple enough, but like the light, you only knew it was really working when you had a problem, and
for most of us that was rare, so how you could you be
sure it was working? In the early 1980’s a method of
easily testing the horn was incorporated into the remote
control box where the horn lived.
By lifting the warm-up lever and inserting your spare
key into a slot, you could ground the horn circuit and
sound the horn.
By the mid-1980’s outboards were getting more
sophisticated and more warning signals were
necessary. By now engines also had an oil injection
Inserting spare key to test horn
system, so we wanted to signal the operator when the
oil tank level was getting low, and if the system for any reason, stopped pumping oil. Larger size
engines now also had a fuel vacuum switch to warn of potentially dangerous restrictions to fuel supply,
especially from a dirty fuel filter, so that also needed to use the horn.
But how could you to tell these different signals
apart? Thankfully by the late 1980’s integrated
circuits were easily available so we could ensure each
type of warning used the horn in different ways.
Unlike fighter pilots, most boat operators do not want
to accurately remember several different horn signals,
so to help those without the owner’s manuals
onboard, a decal with the various signals was
attached to the remote control (shown at right).
In the late 1980’s the Piezo electric buzzer became
commonly available and being solid state with no
moving parts, it was more reliable than mechanical
horns or buzzers. With the addition of a small transformer and some simple circuitry, a self test feature
could be added. Now when the key switch was turned on, the rising battery voltage via the transformer
windings at the buzzer
would generate a short ½
second horn signal.
Every time you turned the
key switch on you
received an automatic
buzzer self test.
By the 1990’s our boats
had grown in size and
appointments to where a
simple buzzer was no
longer enough. Research
showed boaters reacted
better to audible and
visual warnings so in
Small and large SystemCheck instruments
1996 Evinrude and Johnson announced their SystemCheck gauges. 4 lights on the Tachometer face, or
on a separate small gauge, now worked in unison with the horn. Any signal from the engine would
result in a 30 second horn, to get your attention, and one of the 4 lights staying on until the problem
was corrected, to indicate what required action.
By the beginning of the 21st
century, multifunction gauges
are becoming the norm. Now it
became possible to not only
have an audible and visible
warning, but the gauge can spell
out for you just what is the
problem, albeit limited to the
same 4 circuits/messages used
for the SystemCheck gauges.
In 2005 CANBus gauges arrived
and removed that limitation.
Commander series gauges with combination analogue and LCD digital
faces.
Each CANBus gauge is part of a
computer network and communicates with the engine management module, so the number of messages
that can be displayed is almost limitless.
The software shared by the gauges and the Engine Management Module can now display multiple
messages and simultaneously on all dash
instruments. See below for a full list of the
possible fault codes for current Evinrude E-TEC
outboards when using I-Command Digital
instruments.
Have we at last arrived at the “fix it over the
phone” era now? Well not quite, although some
of the messages below indicate a problem that
could be fixed by the operator, or at least indicate
if it is life threatening to engine or not. For
example code 21 “Auto Winterization” just means
that the operator has moved the fast idle or warm
up lever in such a way as to tell the EMM to
inject more oil for storage. This is in no way
harmful to the engine and you can keep on
boating.
Early prototype Evinrude I-Command CANBus
gauge showing a typical warning
Now if you really are having such a good time
that you ignore all warnings and the engine
eventually shuts down due to high temperature or no oil, the gauges will even tell you (and the
technician on monday morning) exactly why!
List of I-Command Digital Instrument fault codes
Shown on Gauge
THROTTLE_POS_FAULT
SYS_VOLTAGE_BELOW
SYS_VOLTAGE_ABOVE
AUTO_WINTERIZATION
OVERHEAT_SW_CLOSED
EMM_TEMP_ABOVE
BAT_VOLTAGE_BELOW
ENG_SHUTDOWN_EMM
ENG_TEMP_ABOVE
ENG_SHUTDOWN_OIL
OIL_SOLENOID_OPEN
NO_OIL_PRESS
EV_WATER_IN_FUEL
NO_OIL_PRESS_PUL
OIL_SYS_FAIL
ENG_TEMP_SNS_FAIL_P
ENG_TEMP_ABOVE_P
ATM_PRESS_SNS_FAIL
AIR_TEMP_SENS_FAIL
CYL_1_INJECTOR_OP
CYL_2_INJECTOR_OP
CYL_3_INJECTOR_OP
CYL_4_INJECTOR_OP
CYL_5_INJECTOR_OP
CYL_6_INJECTOR_OP
HI_SPD_LO_THROT
CYL_1_INJECTOR_SC
CYL_2_INJECTOR_SC
CYL_3_INJECTOR_SC
CYL_4_INJECTOR_SC
CYL_5_INJECTOR_SC
CYL_6_INJECTOR_SC
ENG_TEMP_SNS_FAIL_S
ENG_TEMP_ABOVE_S
OIL_PRESS_CIRCUIT
WTR_PRESS_CIRCUIT
ANA_5V_OVERLOAD
START_SOL_OPEN
CYL_1_IGN_OPEN
CYL_2_IGN_OPEN
CYL_3_IGN_OPEN
CYL_4_IGN_OPEN
CYL_5_IGN_OPEN
CYL_6_IGN_OPEN
EXHAUST_PRESS_CIR
FUEL_PUMP_OPEN
EXHST_VAL_SOL_OPEN
WTR_INJ_SOL_OPEN
Full code as stored in Engine Management Module
Code 12: Throttle position sensor fault detected
Code 17: System Voltage below expected range
Code 18: System Voltage above expected range
Code 21: Auto-winterization routine activated
Code 22: Overheat switch closed
Code 25: EMM temperature above expected range
Code 26: Battery voltage below expected range
Code 29: Engine shutdown due to EMM above maximum temperature
Code 31: Engine shutdown due to engine above maximum temperature
Code 33: Engine shutdown due to excessive no oil fault
Code 34: Oil solenoid open circuit
Code 35: No oil pressure
Code 37: Water in fuel detected
Code 38: Oil pressure pulses in distribution manifold not detected
Code 39: Oil system prime failure
Code 41: Engine temperature sensor fault detected - Port
Code 43: Engine temperature above expected range - Port
Code 44: Atmospheric pressure sensor circuit malfunction
Code 47: Air temperature sensor fault detected
Code 51: Cylinder 1 injector open circuit detected
Code 52: Cylinder 2 injector open circuit detected
Code 53: Cylinder 3 injector open circuit detected
Code 54: Cylinder 4 injector open circuit detected
Code 55: Cylinder 5 injector open circuit detected
Code 56: Cylinder 6 injector open circuit detected
Code 57: High speed, low throttle, non-transient condition detected
Code 61: Cylinder 1 injector short circuit detected
Code 62: Cylinder 2 injector short circuit detected
Code 63: Cylinder 3 injector short circuit detected
Code 64: Cylinder 4 injector short circuit detected
Code 65: Cylinder 5 injector short circuit detected
Code 66: Cylinder 6 injector short circuit detected
Code 67: Engine temperature sensor fault detected - starboard
Code 69: Engine temperature above expected range - starboard
Code 71: Oil pressure circuit fault detected
Code 74: Water pressure circuit fault detected
Code 78: Analog 5V supply overload detected
Code 79: Starter solenoid circuit open-circuit
Code 81: Cylinder 1 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 82: Cylinder 2 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 83: Cylinder 3 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 84: Cylinder 4 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 85: Cylinder 5 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 86: Cylinder 6 ignition primary open circuit detected
Code 87: Exhaust pressure circuit fault detected
Code 91: Fuel pump open circuit detected
Code 92: Exhaust valve solenoid open circuit detected
Code 93: Water injection solenoid open circuit detected