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HIGH TEMP WARNING LIGHT! HELP!


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Hey everyone, I am kind of a newbie to the crew. I have a 98' Sportster with the standard 310hp motor I just purchased last fall/winter. I had it out for the second little cruise of this season and after a low speed (just off idle) cruise the high temp warning light came on. The engine temp gauge showed normal (170 or so) and I lifted up the cover and felt all the hoses and everything felt cool enough. What things can turn that warning light on? I am a VW dealer mechanic so checking things over isn't hard for me, it is just knowing what to check... Thanks for your help!

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Hey everyone, I am kind of a newbie to the crew. I have a 98' Sportster with the standard 310hp motor I just purchased last fall/winter. I had it out for the second little cruise of this season and after a low speed (just off idle) cruise the high temp warning light came on. The engine temp gauge showed normal (170 or so) and I lifted up the cover and felt all the hoses and everything felt cool enough. What things can turn that warning light on? I am a VW dealer mechanic so checking things over isn't hard for me, it is just knowing what to check... Thanks for your help!

Might start by checking the impeller. Most here replace theirs every season for piece of mind. http://www.skidim.com/products.asp?dept=1096

Also removing the cooling hose that goes into the transmission and check for a blockage (lake grass, milfoil etc.) If there is stuff clogged in those lines it can be as simple as that.

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Maybe you just weren't going fast enough to shut the light off? I know that the light will come on just over idle, but under the speed of actually going anywhere. Doesn't make sense, I know :Doh: Hopefully someone else chimes in and can understand (and can explain) my half-a#$%d explanation. I'm gonna stop now Cry.gif

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Maybe you just weren't going fast enough to shut the light off? I know that the light will come on just over idle, but under the speed of actually going anywhere. Doesn't make sense, I know :Doh: Hopefully someone else chimes in and can understand (and can explain) my half-a#$%d explanation. I'm gonna stop now Cry.gif

I hear you. My first trip out in my VLX we idled around trying to figure out why the v-drive light wouldn't shut off. The warning sticker said not to run above an idle with the light on... so I didn't... I idled it right back on to the trailer and let my mechanic smirk when I told him the "problem".

I assume Rossikid is talking about a different light, but it sure sounds like a worn impellar that keeps it cool enough until the RPM's drop. Dontknow.gif Charlie.

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Well IIRC there is no high temp warning light on a boat of that era, it would just be a general warning light, which can be oil pressure, tranny temp, voltage, or engine temp on a carb motor.

I doubt 170 would set off the alarm anyway. How were the rest of the vitals besides temp?

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I have an Echelon LX (1997) and the "High Temp" light came on for me as well. It's got the 265 HP Mercruiser Magnum.

The water temp gauge on my boat was reading around 180^, which for a boat seems high to me. Since this was my maiden voyage (other than a quick test drive) and I was screwing around with a fake-a-lake that did not work so well, I am pretty sure I did some impeller damage. I ordered a new one yesterday from SkiDim, which should be here Thursday and will swap it out then and try again.

The 1997 Malibu owners manual says that the high temp light indicates a high water temperature condition. But I have no idea what temp it's configured to illuminate.

Someone suggested in this post it could be a blocked or clogged transmission cooling hose. I will check that as well to see if there is any blockage, if the impeller swap doesn't help.

Keep us in the loop!

-- Mike

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Maybe you just weren't going fast enough to shut the light off? I know that the light will come on just over idle, but under the speed of actually going anywhere. Doesn't make sense, I know :Doh: Hopefully someone else chimes in and can understand (and can explain) my half-a#$%d explanation. I'm gonna stop now Cry.gif

I hear you. My first trip out in my VLX we idled around trying to figure out why the v-drive light wouldn't shut off. The warning sticker said not to run above an idle with the light on... so I didn't... I idled it right back on to the trailer and let my mechanic smirk when I told him the "problem".

I assume Rossikid is talking about a different light, but it sure sounds like a worn impellar that keeps it cool enough until the RPM's drop. Dontknow.gif Charlie.

There should only be one light for that year of Bu. "General problem light" :unsure:

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Well IIRC there is no high temp warning light on a boat of that era, it would just be a general warning light, which can be oil pressure, tranny temp, voltage, or engine temp on a carb motor.

I doubt 170 would set off the alarm anyway. How were the rest of the vitals besides temp?

My Grandparents have a 91 Sunsetter. It's got all the warning lights. Low Fuel, High Temp etc.

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I have the same problem as Charlie. My 04 VLX, the v-drive warining light is always on while under idle. As soon as I speed up the light goes out. Anyone else have this problem? Is this normal?

Gordon

Edited by GORDON
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If you read the metal collar around the light it say it's normal for the lamp to be illuminated below 1200RPM. There isn't enough v-drive oil pressure at idle, which is why the light is illuminated.

Unless the light is staying on ABOVE 1200RPM, everything is operating correctly.

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If you read the metal collar around the light it say it's normal for the lamp to be illuminated below 1200RPM. There isn't enough v-drive oil pressure at idle, which is why the light is illuminated.

Unless the light is staying on ABOVE 1200RPM, everything is operating correctly.

Sorry - I should have clarified. My mechanic told me it was normal and only worry if the light didn't shut off when I gave it throttle. My wife and I both had a good chuckle as soon as we learned the v-drive was working just fine. Lesson learned. -Charlie

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If you read the metal collar around the light it say it's normal for the lamp to be illuminated below 1200RPM. There isn't enough v-drive oil pressure at idle, which is why the light is illuminated.

Unless the light is staying on ABOVE 1200RPM, everything is operating correctly.

Sorry - I should have clarified. My mechanic told me it was normal and only worry if the light didn't shut off when I gave it throttle. My wife and I both had a good chuckle as soon as we learned the v-drive was working just fine. Lesson learned. -Charlie

Yes.gif:lol:

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Thank you for the info... I did double check the impeller and it was brand new (it was replaced when it was winterized). There was no blockage at the Trans cooler. This model does have full gauges and multiple warning lights, so it is not just a general warning light. It is a high temp light. Anyone know what temp the trans should run at? I plan on checking that tonight when I take it out for another test ride.

Edited by Rossikid
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Rossikid,

Sounds like you have the MEMS (Malibu Engine Management System) option. I do believe 98 was the last year for that particualr option, but I'm not positive. I used to have on obvious issue with the high temp light coming on in non-overheating situations. I added a separate ground wire from the grounding bar up under the dash directly to the negative terminal of the battery. Definitely helped as the light would come on all the time before. It still seems to come on once in a while, but like others have said, it goes off as the rpm's increase...or occasionally a restart is needed to clear it but that has been rare the past few years.

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SETHRO, that was exactly the weird kind of thing I would have tracked forever but I knew somenone would have run into before. I am going to try to get the light to come on tonight and then check the voltage drop from the gauges and grounding bar to the battery ground. Thank you!

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SETHRO, that was exactly the weird kind of thing I would have tracked forever but I knew somenone would have run into before. I am going to try to get the light to come on tonight and then check the voltage drop from the gauges and grounding bar to the battery ground. Thank you!

I had this trouble in my old "98 Response LX with the Monsoon. The light definitely said high temp. I found it happened after a "heat soak" where the engine had been run warm and then idled or shut off for a short time. Even though the water trmp showed fine, I thought it had to do with the temp sensor getting hot. Opening the hood for a bit and running the boat at high speed seemed to always make it go out.

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Rossikid,

Sounds like you have the MEMS (Malibu Engine Management System) option. I do believe 98 was the last year for that particualr option, but I'm not positive. I used to have on obvious issue with the high temp light coming on in non-overheating situations. I added a separate ground wire from the grounding bar up under the dash directly to the negative terminal of the battery. Definitely helped as the light would come on all the time before. It still seems to come on once in a while, but like others have said, it goes off as the rpm's increase...or occasionally a restart is needed to clear it but that has been rare the past few years.

My boat has full warning lights. What exactly is the MEMS option? I have a 91 f3 skier.

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Malibu Engine Management System was an option from 1996 (I think) through 1998. It included warning lights for a number of conditions such as high engine temperature, low oil pressure, low voltage, etc.

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