VRO oil injection bypass?

[Maverick49]

I have a 89 or 90 johnson 40 hp with oil injection on a Bass Tracker 17 pro boat, the problem is the warning buzzer for low oil is obviously defective account it's will buzz all of the time even when the oil tank is full, the pump is working cause I can see that the oil level has dropped after using the boat, I am thinking about deleting the oil injection unit and just mixing my oil and gas, I have talked to a local boat shop and they said I had to replace the VRO oil pump that's located next to the power head with a fuel pump and then I could mix my gas & oil, is this correct or can I just plug off oil line and run a gas/oil mixture in my gas can? is the VRO pump also a fuel pump?
Certainly someone has had this same dilemma, I would appreciate and help.
Rick.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

1/2 the pump is, read the links in the engine faq forum on this subject.

 

[mikesea]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

just as you mentioned,plug the oil line,also disconnect the elec connections to the vro pump,be sure the alarm you are hearing is the oil sending unit,not the heat ,or some engines have an alarm for fuel pressure loss,but
i dont think your eng has the latter,you may have a oil line plug attached to a hose somewhere in the eng.omc provided a disconnect plug on may engines,if not a bolt and zip tye do fine to plug the oil line

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

Be sure to mix the 50:1 oil and gas before you switch and run both until you are confident that the premix is reaching the engine.​

Seal the engine end of the VRO harness. There is a cover made for that purpose, Part 513366, or you can just use a sealer. If the VRO pump used as a premix pump ever does go bad, there is a similar pump that is only for premix, and you can also convert to the old style conventional pump.​

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

I can't just plug it from the resevoir/tank side, after I've made sure that I've ran a mixture of 50 to 1 through it?

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

I do see a plug attached th the main hose coming from the vro pump, also there are three hoses coming from this main hose I assume two go to the carbs but where does the third go?

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

The only hose that you will need to plug or change is the one from the oil tank.

The harness is the electrical wiring harness.

Go here and scroll down to the diagram. Yours will be a little different but the functions are the same:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/VRO.html

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

Wow! makes me think I'd be doing the wrong thing by bypassing it. I know it pumps cause I had it on the snake river friday and ran it for about three hours. Maybe the cause for the alarm sounding constantly is something else. I'm not much good with electrical stuff so I don't know where to start. I do appreciate your help though.
Rick.

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

If the alarm you hear is constant, that is an overheat warning and should be treated as such. The motor should be stopped and the water pump and thermostat inspected before running again.

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

I got the boat used from my father in-law, he thought the alarm was from the VRO oil-injection unit, after reading the link that you provided it made me think that the VRO unit was not my problem. The motor runs fine when at WOT I get about 5200 rpm I have no idea if it is overheating (no temp gauge) I have never checked, the motor to feel or smell if it is hot, I've always assumed the alarm was for the VRO unit. I have unplugged the buzzer account even at idle the sound of the buzzer was deafening, it was constant. After reading the link that you provided it lead me to believe that maybe it was a heating problem. Like I said, I got this boat used with no instruction what-so-ever. I have purchased an OMC manual for the motor, and I do have some mechanical ability and I think maybe the water pump may need replaced, I did replace the lower gearcase oil and it did show signs of water in it, so I assume it does need a new gasket set, and probably a water pump. I DO appreciate every bit of advice you can give me about this.
Rick.

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

It is possible that the VRO is the cause, but. with the horn disconnected you don't gert any of the other signals to tell you when you do have a problem. That is a recipe for disaster.

The signals from the VRO are: No oil - continuous short pulses; Low oil - short pulse every 20 seconds; Fuel restriction - constant horn at or near full throttle.

The temperature switch in the cylinder head gives a constant horn at overheat, but that is at around 210 degrees when your engine is at serious risk.

You have a 3 or four wire harness off the VRO, and a tan wire off the cylinder head that is the overheat lead. All of the signals feed into the tan wire going to the horn.

If you temporarily disconnect the harness from the VRO and get a constant horn, you will know it is not the VRO.

There should be a disconnect for the tan wire in a sleeve off the cylinder head a few inches. If you temporarily disconnect that and get a constant horn, you will know it is not the overheat switch.

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

I get a constant horn when ever I turn the key on, I can't do the test you suggest, the manual says to test my warning horn, which will give me a constant horn if it is defective, also I should check the temperature switch, which I think I'll test first, but right now I've been awake for 28 hours and am ready for bed, ( I work for the Union Pacific Railroad, Freight Train Conductor, no schedule, away from home for 30 to 36 hours at a time) so I will test it and get back to you later, Once again I REALLY do appreciate your time and patience.
Rick.

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

Obviously the horn works. It gets its positve voltage directly off the ignition switch or it is hard wired to a panel, so that is not the problem.

The rest of the system consists of grounding the negative feed to the horn - the tan wire.

You could have a short to ground in the tan wire, in which case, neither of the checks that I mentioned before will work. If you disconnect both and still have a constant horn, you will know that you have a short.

 

[hoeser]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

If its giving you a solid tone as soon as you turn the key on it sounds like you have a faulty temp sensor - they are build to ground out and send an alarm after a certain temperature, and then break the ground circuit after returning to a lower temperature. From what I understand about VROs, it never sends a "constant" tone. Always some form of pulse tones.

 

[ezeke]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

Just reading from the OMC service manual, hoeser; 40HP-55HP page 9-5 says "Fuel restriction - continuous tone at or near full throttle". It also says "depending on the engine model".

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

Sometimes it's the circuitry inside the horn itself that fails...

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

If this horn is defective will it keep my motor from starting?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

No, it will not keep the motor from starting...

 

[Maverick49]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

what would cause my motor from starting and my voltage meter in the dash from working all of a sudden

 

[Marc III]

Re: VRO oil injection bypass?

A poor connection on either end of your battery cables sounds likely, or your battery itself may be going bad. Check for 12+ volts at the battery and (with the battery disconnected) remove and clean every connection you can reach.

Ezeke has given you good advise on the "horn" issue.