VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Engine has always performed very well. We took her out just last week at the same boat ramp with no issues. This morning,
all of the sudden the NO OIL alarm went on ( Beeping every 1-2 seconds) after I took off from the ramp. Immediately, I turned the key off, check the oil injection tank primer bulb, and it was still hard, no leak. Turn it back on, still beeping. I can still see smoke from the engine, so I'm not why what's the heck's going on. When I turned the key switch just to a the right a bit, the alarm went off.

I filled the oil tank reservoir last night (may have over filled it). What could it be? Bad VRO pump, faulty key switch, reservoir sensor overfilled shorting it out (should beep the LOW OIL if I am not mistaken though)? I'm thinking of disconnecting the VRO pump at this point. the NO OIL alarm didn't make any sound anymore so we went on with the fishing trip. Idles and drives very good, we just got back after 4-5hrs on the water. Had the VRO pump failed, the engine would have seized if I continued using it I assumed? Any advice what I should check out now?

VRO pump replacement is 200-300 vs disconnecting it =(. Engine is '95 johnson ocean runner 60 degrees 115hp V4. Thanks.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Boater83, check out my post from yesterday regarding VRO and alarms there is a lot of good info there. I would have been a nervous wreck hearing the alarm.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Get some premix in your fuel tank until you get it figured out.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

If No-Oil alarm starts beeping after turning key off and then ON again without engine running, something is wrong in the alarm system.
The No-Oil alarm should only be activated when engine is running and earliest about 20 sec after 'no oil' has been detected by the sensor on the pump.
Make a mark, tape or marker pen, at the VRO oil tank, add about 1% oil in the fuel tank directly, do a test run and check if consumption from VRO oil tank matches around 2% of your fuel consumption.
Quite some people likes just to disconnect the oil side of the VRO and run pre-mix, but then remember you get no alarm if you forget to add oil to the fuel when filling gas!! Another 'hidden' alarm you get from the VRO system, is if your fuel side of the pump starts loosing capacity, normally the oil consumption relative to fuel starts increasing with more smoke as result. That is a sign to rebuild the fuel side of the pump or check for air-leaks. If running pre-mix, you may end up leaning out the engine from not getting enough fuel and your first warning will be a melted piston or more.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Haffiman said:

If No-Oil alarm starts beeping after turning key off and then ON again without engine running, something is wrong in the alarm system.
The No-Oil alarm should only be activated when engine is running and earliest about 20 sec after 'no oil' has been detected by the sensor on the pump.
Make a mark, tape or marker pen, at the VRO oil tank, add about 1% oil in the fuel tank directly, do a test run and check if consumption from VRO oil tank matches around 2% of your fuel consumption.
Quite some people likes just to disconnect the oil side of the VRO and run pre-mix, but then remember you get no alarm if you forget to add oil to the fuel when filling gas!! Another 'hidden' alarm you get from the VRO system, is if your fuel side of the pump starts loosing capacity, normally the oil consumption relative to fuel starts increasing with more smoke as result. That is a sign to rebuild the fuel side of the pump or check for air-leaks. If running pre-mix, you may end up leaning out the engine from not getting enough fuel and your first warning will be a melted piston or more.

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Will try it this weekend by adding oil to my oil to be safe.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Boater, I recommend a 50::1 mix (I differ in opinion from Haf), until you verify oil injection is working. If oil injection is not working at all, a 100::1 ratio may not be enough to lubricate motor properly.

Re: VRO alarm went off this morning on Father's Day fishing trip...

Chris1956 said:

Boater, I recommend a 50::1 mix (I differ in opinion from Haf), until you verify oil injection is working. If oil injection is not working at all, a 100::1 ratio may not be enough to lubricate motor properly.

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I've decided to disconnect the whole VRO. My Mckee has a 64 gallon tank, so I'll fill it up to 64 gallon and put in the right oil and that will be the end of the VRO. Going to drop by auto shop to buy a 5/16 rubber cap to block off the oil port. Thanks all.