1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

I sometimes get a solid alarm. I guess that means overheating. I have water coming out of the '****' hole and I have plenty of oil in the VRO tank. I was wondering how to tell if it is my thermostat or an electronic sensor? If I shut the engine down for about 10 minutes and start it back up, I can run without getting the alarm again. I'm just so paranoid about ruining my engine, that as soon as I get the solid alarm, I just shut it right down. I don't try to do much trouble-shooting. Should I carry a melt-stick with me and use it the next time I overheat to see how hot my engine really is?

If it is the thermostat, how difficult is it to replace? The manual says to pull the powerhead, but I don't want to do that. I've also read that the 90 Hp is easier than my 115 Hp.

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

Firstly find out if it is actually overheating. Melt sticks will work but an infra red thermometer would be the best way. You can then check multiple areas of the motor to see if you have a "hot spot" where you may have a blockage somewhere.
Go from there.

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

What manual do you have?

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

Just cause you have water from "p" indicator does not mean you have water in block. You could have debris holding t-stat/s closed,blocked or stuck poppet valves or salt build up in heads restricting water flow. I would try flushing it with salt away first, if you need to get to t-stat you can drill two 3/4 holes in rear of cowling to access the outter bolts and intall a nylon 3/4 plug from home depot to cover holes.
http://www.saltawayproducts.com/EngineFlushPage.htm

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

I bought all of the thermostat parts, but haven't had the motivation to try. Access seems next to impossible, but I like the idea of drilling access ports!

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

Did you ever try an infared therometer to see if it's actually overheating? You could have a bad horn or something grounding in the horn wiring system. Did it go into SLOW ?

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

I had a clog in the p1ss hole tubing that I unclogged and now I get water flow. I still don't know if I have the overheating problem though. My forward doesn't work (see my other post), so I'll let you know when I get my forward working.

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

So, I swapped power heads with a working lower unit and in the process I installed new thermostats. I tried it out yesterday and it works fine (no over heating). So, I don't know what the problem was, but it is working. I'd rather be lucky than good.

Re: 1990 Johnson 115 Hp solid alarm with water pump working

Astamp....you have a PM.