Beeping noise from my 2002 Malibu wakesetter

[BethJ]

Hi there, our boat has started doing a 1/2 beep, then two beeps and a pause noise. It does this consistently when the ignition is running. It doesn’t matter what speed or if the boat has sat and we just turned it on. Any help on what this means would be wonderful!

[Tanker0074]

My 2002 Sunscape is doing something similar. It beeps three time with a pause in between at idle then nothing between 2000-3000 rpm... above 3000 rpm it’s a constant beep, beep, beep. I have changed the oil pressure sensor and it still does it... all of my gauges read normal and when I unplug the new oil pressure sensor it goes away.

[Steve B.]

I have an 02 Sunsetter. My alarm was always on like that too. Cold with just the key on also. All gauges good when running. Well, this summer I said the heck with it and cut the wire at the buzzer alarm. Only was out once so far, but boat ran like a champ !!  Good luck in tracking it down, keep us posted.

Steve B.

[formulaben]

45 minutes ago, BethJ said:

Hi there, our boat has started doing a 1/2 beep, then two beeps and a pause noise. It does this consistently when the ignition is running. It doesn’t matter what speed or if the boat has sat and we just turned it on. Any help on what this means would be wonderful!

My guess is the oil pressure switch (not sensor or sender.)

29 minutes ago, Tanker0074 said:

I have changed the oil pressure sensor and it still does it

Which one did you change?  Which one did you disconnect?

 

3 minutes ago, Steve B. said:

My alarm was always on like that too. Cold with just the key on also.

That is normal.  Alarm is seeing ignition on, and no oil pressure.  After start, it sees >6psi oil pressure and turns it off.  Probably just the oil pressure switch or wiring...and now with no alarm at all you won't know if you have a transmission overheat, back knock sensor, water overheat, or just about anything else.

BEEP CODES — the 4 maintenance items that can trigger the beeper are:

•  High engine water temperature (>203*)
•  Low oil pressure (<6 PSI)
•  High transmission temperature (>140?*)
•  A diagnostics trouble code

[Steve B.]

2 minutes ago, Tanker0074 said:

I replaced the switch and also unplugged it after I had replaced it. The beeping stopped after I unplugged it with the new switch on.

I replaced the switch and the sender. Even when I pulled the wire, my alarm stayed on. Again, hope you guys track it down.

Steve B.

[Tanker0074]

6 hours ago, formulaben said:

Which one did you change?  Which one did you disconnect?

BEEP CODES — the 4 maintenance items that can trigger the beeper are:

•  High engine water temperature (>203*)
•  Low oil pressure (<6 PSI)
•  High transmission temperature (>140?*)
•  A diagnostics trouble code

I replaced the switch to the ecm. It continued to beep after the new one was installed and stopped after I unplugged it with it running. All temps and pressures read normal.

[formulaben]

22 hours ago, Steve B. said:

I replaced the switch and the sender. Even when I pulled the wire, my alarm stayed on. Again, hope you guys track it down.

Steve B.

That tells me it is something else and NOT the oil pressure switch.  Although temps might be fine, a bad water or trans temp switch could trigger the alarm.

 

16 hours ago, Tanker0074 said:

I replaced the switch to the ecm. It continued to beep after the new one was installed and stopped after I unplugged it with it running. All temps and pressures read normal.

Seems unlikely, but I'd consider the new switch was bad or that the oil orifice is clogged, since this seems to confirm what is triggering the alarm.

[Tanker0074]

10 minutes ago, formulaben said:

Seems unlikely, but I'd consider the new switch was bad or that the oil orifice is clogged, since this seems to confirm what is triggering the alarm.

New switch is on order as well as new sending unit... there isn’t a clog I took the switch off after running it and had oil coming out. 

[justgary]

If I'm not mistaken, you can put a simple test lamp on your OBD port and jumper the ECM into service mode and it will flash out any engine codes.  The code should tell you what the ECM thinks is going on.

[Tanker0074]

Does it need to be an LED bulb? I have a test lamp with the positive and negative prongs on it and from what I understand I would need a paperclip cut in half to make it work?

[tvano]

 

[Steve B.]

8 hours ago, justgary said:

If I'm not mistaken, you can put a simple test lamp on your OBD port and jumper the ECM into service mode and it will flash out any engine codes.  The code should tell you what the ECM thinks is going on.

As a complete rookie on working with ECM's could you mess something up going into service mode?

Steve B.

[justgary]

49 minutes ago, Steve B. said:

As a complete rookie on working with ECM's could you mess something up going into service mode?

Steve B.

Probably not.  Basically, it should set the base timing to 10 degrees BTDC and flash the codes.  If you don't start the engine, the timing won't even matter.  If you do start the engine, grab a timing light and check to make sure your timing is set correctly.  Code 12 is normal, and I think (from memory) code 42 is ICM, which may happen in service mode because you are bypassing it.

[electricjohn]

There are two modes you can put your ECM into.  Diagnostic mode or service mode.  Diag. mode is for retrieving diagnostic codes and testing IAC motor, and service mode is for setting base engine timing .  Diagnostic mode is done with the key on, engine not running then jumping out terminal A & B on the ALDC and service mode is done with key on and engine running and jumping out the terminals..

[Tanker0074]

Will I need to have the code cleared in order for it to stop beeping or if it is a faulty switch will the new part clear it?

[Tanker0074]

Ended up finding that the automotive oil pressure switch will not work and was causing the beeping. I bought a marine version and it has stopped.

[formulaben]

Weird, I swear others here have used auto versions for both the ECU switch and the oil pressure sender...I swapped my sender with an auto version a few years ago.  Anyway, worth noting for future reference.  Thanks for the update!

[justgary]

On 7/3/2020 at 6:56 AM, Tanker0074 said:

Ended up finding that the automotive oil pressure switch will not work and was causing the beeping. I bought a marine version and it has stopped.

Did you use teflon tape on the threads?  Generally that's not good since the sender completes its circuit through the threads.

[Tanker0074]

My beeping is back 😭. It came on at high speed and above 3000 rpm. I wonder if it’s a bad transmission temp sensor but I have no clue where it is located to in plug it and see. I stop and shut the boat off then restart and the beeping is gone till I go above 3000 rpm again.

[minnmarker]

Could be your knock sensor is unplugged or malfunctioning.

[Tanker0074]

It’s brand new but I will swap it and see. I also did not use Teflon tape on anything.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Tanker0074

[Tanker0074]

So I took the boat out tonight and it ran like crap. It was running really rich and backfiring and popping. No beeping until I got over 3000 rpm. The only thing I have done is put a couple bottles of sea foam in  to help clean everything up since it sat most of last year with the previous owner. I’ll take any suggestions.

[Steve B.]

Sorry to hear. You'll figure it out. If I was taking a look at it, I would first go over the basics. Correct wires on the plugs. Make sure the cap is seated right. Connections to coil ok. Coil ok. Around 14 volts to battery. Verify fuel pressure. Verify knock sensor and it's connection. I may drain tank and start over too. After that I would look into fuel injectors. Best of luck ! Keep us posted.

Steve B.

[Tanker0074]

Did the DIY code reader and got 44, 44, 12. Anyone know what that’s means?

[justgary]

1 hour ago, Tanker0074 said:

Did the DIY code reader and got 44, 44, 12. Anyone know what that’s means?

12 is timing pulse OK.

44 is Knock Sensor: No knock detected. 

Like @Steve B. said, verify that your knock sensor is present and working.