1988 XR4 150 s/n 0B363520 (several questions)

red95gtcoupe

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I purchased a project boat ~2 years ago (1988 Lund Tyee) and am in the process getting it ready for the water. From what I was told, the original owner bought the boat and ran it for 2 years. After that he moved all over the place and took the boat with him, but never used it. The second owner received the boat as payment for some work and the interior was shot, , but the motors (150 and 9.9 kicker) were clean with looked like they were hardly used.

I bought the boat as a project and would like to check everything out prior to launching for the first time. The engine ran when purchased, and I started it a few times since then. I just finished rebuilding the interior (new foam, wood, consoles etc.) and when I went to start it last week, it would not start. It had spark and would fire with a little fuel squirted in the cylinder.

I rebuilt the carbs today and it started right away, but noticed there was no tell tale. I pulled the thermostats and started it again and there was no water.
I assumed it wasn't pumping water, so I ordered a new water pump kit and will install once it arrives (it was old anyways).

Since I had the thermostats out, I tested the thermostats on the stove and they opened around 150*F.

The oil reservoir cap and wires were broken, so I ordered a replacement. I want to check the oil injection and alarm system prior to running on straight gas (hooked to a premixed tank right now), but I am having issues with some wiring and the alarm.

The boat was partially torn apart and reassembled when I purchased it. I hooked the gauges up and everything was straight forward, except for the temp gauge and a leftover wire (tan/blue stripe).

I labeled everything prior to disassembly (assuming the previous owner had the gauges wired correctly). I have a tan wire that was originally hooked to the temp gauge, and a tan/blue wire left over. How should these be hooked up?

Also, the control box was not beeping when first turning the key, but now it has a constant beeeeep for 10-20 seconds when the key is turned on. What could cause this? Is there a way to test the alarm system?

From what I have read, a constant beep is overtemp , and beep beep beep is oil injection. I see one sensor in each head. One is just a black wire going to ground, the other a black wire and tan wire. I assume the tan wire is the alarm. If I ground the tan wire should it beep?

For the oil injection, there is the level (broken cap) and pump senor. How can I test each of these?

Also, how can I test that injection system is injecting enough oil?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to make sure everything is working prior to launching.

Thanks,
Brian
 
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Dukedog

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my deal with oiler on motor such as yours would be ta do away with it. reasons being its old, oiler module ($$$) sounds like its toast, no prior knowledge of motor history (no mater how it looks)...any over heat weakens and/or kills oiler gear....all your choice though.

temp stuff... sensor in starboard head is over temp only should be termed at plastic block along with 2 other wires, 1 from oiler module, 1 in motor side female harness. sensor in port head is temp gauge only. it will make up with short, matchin' wire stickin' outta tha "male" side of main harness....same wire should be at temp gauge sensor terminal...T-stats sound fine. they are 143*.....and yeah, ya got tha beeeeep and tha beep, beep, beep right.....

just a suggestion...doin' all your own stuff an OEM (no after market junk) manual really works.......jmo and gl with it.
 
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red95gtcoupe

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Thanks. I just checked again and you are right, the starboard sensor doesn't ground, but goes to a small junction with the other wires you mentioned. Where should the tan/blue wire go to on the dash? Also, where does it come from? Does the alarm module on the motor only control the 2 oil alarms? Is there anyway to temporarily disconnect this to test that the overtemp alarm will sound? I found the oil injection block off kit and will think about getting that. Since I just bought a new oil cap, I would like to at least test the rest of the oil system before going to premix.

Thanks,
Brian
 
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red95gtcoupe

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I just traced some lines with my multimeter (I remember better when I go through everything like this).. The tan temp gauge wire from the head goes to the control box and back out to the temp gauge (all gauges go through the control box?). The tan/blue wire goes from the junction (alarm module and over temp sensor )on the motor to the control box and back out to the where the gauges are (currently not connected to anything, where should this go?). I also grounded the over temp sensor and got a constant tone. When I turn the key on, there is tone that is constant, but then begins to waver after a few seconds, then slowly fade away. If the alarm module is bad, is it causing this? Or could it be the broken wires to the oil cap float sensor? If I disconnect power to the alarm module, will I still get a confirmation beep when the key is turned to run? I assume the over temp alarm would still work if disconnected since it does not go through the alarm module. I will try to find a manual for my motor.

Thanks
 
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Dukedog

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tha extra tan/blu under tha dash is just that. some hook up led light for warning along with buzzer. oiler module has one purpose. it makes any signal going thru it oscillate, including "power up" initial beeps. solid tone pretty much says its junk.
yeah, all goes thru control box. should have been small harness comin' outta tha box goin ta gauges. make sure sender wire at temp gauge goes ta PORT head and "spare" tan/blu goes ta STARBOARD head.....
 

red95gtcoupe

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Thanks. I was worried the wire was supposed to be hooked up to something and would cause something (like the alarm) to not work. Who knows what it originally went to on this boat. The temp sensors/wires appear to be wired correctly. I just pulled the lower unit since I ordered a water pump kit. The impeller was intact, but the fins were pretty stiff. Also, the water pump base under the metal plate was melted a little near the shaft. Would that be enough to cause no water pressure? The kit contains a new housing and base so I will replace those once they arrive.

Thanks,
Brian
 

red95gtcoupe

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I finally got a chance to take the boat out. It started up and idled great. When I finally went WOT it seemed to be bogging and the RPM's were only ~4200 (my tach may not be working correctly though). I tried to fish a little, but the wind was howling and I gave up. While fishing I was thinking about what could be wrong with the engine and at first throught the stator or a coil, but started wondering if maybe there was too much oil. I premixed the gas 50:1 just in case there were oiling issues, but left the injection hooked up. I ended up pulling off the linkage to the oil pump and ran WOT again. It seemed to run much better and the tach read around 5000 rpm. The tach did seem to jump around a bit with no change in the sound of the engine, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it definitely felt like the engine ran stronger. As for the oil injection, I was able to verify that the reservoir was filling and I could see the oil in the line pulsing near the pump. However, the alarm module works intermittently (have a new one ordered), and there was some air in the clear oil line that I was unable to bleed in the driveway so I didn't trust it. When I pulled the engine cover on the water I noticed that there was no air left in the line, so it must have bled out when running around earlier. I have an alarm module ordered, and it seems like the injection is working, but I am having second thoughts and may just remove it and buy the delete plug. Would too much oil (~25:1) cause this issue?

Thanks,
Brian
 

Dukedog

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mixture shouldn't effect it that much. be more safe if ya lose tha oiler.......tach actin' up might be regulator (on top of block, between heads) and/or rectifier (beside solenoid)..
 
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red95gtcoupe

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Thanks. I just put the new (used) alarm module on and now it is a constant beep when running. The sensor wires were colored differently so I tried swapping them around but didn't stop it. Looks like I'll be buying the block off kit.
 

red95gtcoupe

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Well I took it out again today and it still didn't run right at WOT. It is hard to explain, but it just didn't seem to sound or run right. What happens with the timing modules go bad? Is that the black box on top the port side head that looks just like the oil alarm module? I am thinking about pulling it tomorrow and setting the timing without it.
 

red95gtcoupe

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I ended up pulling all the oil injection stuff today and replaced it with the mercury plug. I also pulled the timing module and plan on resetting the timing. I started another thread asking a few questions about setting the timing.

Thanks,
Brian
 

red95gtcoupe

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Pulled the timing module and timed according to the book. Runs great now without any hesitation/bogging at WOT.
 
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