Vro/oms

[piers]

I launched my boat for the first time this season. twin 1997 Johnson Ocean Runners. One engine was very difficult to start. When I did get it started I needed to run it at fast idle to keep it going. The no oil light came on, so i shut it down right away. Full oil tank, and oil bulb is pumped up and hard. I drained all the carb bowls as I suspected I may have flooded it and they were all full of fuel. I pumped the fuel bulb while the drain plugs were out and fuel did flow from each drain. I started it up again and was able to keep it running, but only if I pumped the fuel bulb. I also noticed when I wasn't pumping the bulb theat the fuel flow was was quite a bit below normal flow and eventualy went to 0 followed by the engine quiting. The no oil alarm went off again just before it quit. I think it is the VRO/OMS. any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Vro/oms

Sounds like time to throw away the POS VRO system before you fry your engine, and mix oil and gas.

Sorry but I have nothing positive to say about them from a boat owners POV, from a mechanics or shop owner's POV they are great for creating overhaul business.

 

[daselbee]

Re: Vro/oms

With everything assembled back....think on it this way.
Pump the primer til the bowls fill up, and the primer bulb gets firm.
Start the engine. Now....you have 6 bowls full of fuel....it should run at idle for about 2-3 mins til it runs out of gas.
That is if the fuel pump is bad...as you suspect.
Just as it starts to die, pump the bulb up again. It will run another 2 -3 mins....

Sure sign the fuel pump is bad.

DO ALL THIS USING PRE-MIXed 50-1 GAS/OIL, just in case you are not oiling either.

Regarding the VRO/OMS design issue....I have been using the VRO on my V6s for years, and went to pre-mix about 3 years ago. Frankly, I am going to re-set it up to run the VRO oiling. Mixing the oil with the gas is just a pain. It seems to be much easier to add oil to a tank, and watch the tank usage.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Vro/oms

I would think that 1997 motor will have the OMS system, with the 4 wire pump. That is a very good oil injection system. I would mix up some premix in a 6 gal can to use while testing + fixing your problem. I would inspect the fuel and oil lines on the motor. Especially check out the main strainer under the airbox. See if you can find a massive air leak or other issue. Check the pulse limiter that runs the OMS pump. It has the vacuumline from the block to the pump. Sometimes they clog, causing the OMS pump to stop pumping.

Before going back to using the injection. run the premix until you are sure the OMS pump is pumping oil as well as gasoline.

 

[jeffersondodson561]

Re: Vro/oms

You need to verify that the motor is oiling definately, mix a 50:1 premix for that tank, open up the oil tank and inspect the oil intake screen for water/debris and clean it also the oil pickup may screw into the top of the oil tank like Mercury's do (I can't remember) but if it does make sure you are not leaking air at this point, you will have to get a container to put the oil in. Their is a test for monitering oil consumption that requires you to be able to monitor the pulses this can be done with a stethescope or fuel pressure/vacuum gauge. I am not sure if you have a vacuum switch on your motor or not but this will cause alarm to go off as well. Need to pull the cowl off and inspect, if you have a vacuum switch it will be on the port side and should be close to the VRO and be a white color with a fuel hose going to it and a black and tan wire. If you service your VRO make sure you mark the tank oil level, run a 50:1 oil mix and watch to make sure engine is consuming oil. The test will determine if your VRO is working properly good to know since a new VRO could cost you between 200-350 bucks depending on what kit you buy.

 

[piers]

Re: Vro/oms

Thanks guys for all the help. I replaced the VRO/OMS pump and the pulse limiter valve. I verified the oil consumption by first making sure the main tank was at 50/1 and then ataching a clear 1/4 in hose to the oil inlet of the pump. Ran the motor and checked the rate of consumption based on the manual. Its all good. It was not a hard job to replace this pump. A little tough to get a torque wrench in on the pulse limiter, but if you had the right tool it would not be problem. I am not sure what part of this pump failed, I know that they have been quite reliable despite what people say about them. It looked like it was the fuel side of the pump that failed. I did get a no oil horn twice during my trouble shooting. Not sure if the malfunction on the fuel side would throw off the oil side and cause the horn or not. I will take it apart when I have time and see what happened. Thanks again!