Control panel alarm/ buzzer, "85 27FC, P Lehman 61

[pnloud]

First cruise of the season. Low rpm, all gauges normal, buzzer/light combo just left of key and above glow plug light went off....continuous until we reached the dock and shut it down. I believe it might be a general engine alarm that includes oil pressure, alternator...
Any thoughts ?

albin dash.jpg

[hetek]

I had a different panel but mine used to "chirp" at low RPM (idle). It was an oil pressure alarm. Oil pressure was good per the gauge but the sender unit was failing.

Also tied into the circuit was a high temp sender. Not much else on the Lehman 4D61.

Wanted to add... I see you're a supporting member. You should have access to the Documents Library of this site. There is a Lehman 4D61/4D50 Owners Manual there. It has the wiring diagram for your engine. Worth a look but like I said, oil pressure and high temp are the idiot light/buzzer annunciations.

And WELCOME!

[DCatSea]

We experienced pretty much exactly the same thing ago years ago on one of our early trips. The buzzer started beeping intermittently half way across the widest part of the Chesapeake Bay, by the time I was able to get alongside it was continuous and scary, and my oil pressure was down in the single digits. Opened the engine compartment and found that the oil filter top had been worn away by vibration from the cooling system and I had lost oil big time. This was messy but quickly fixed by moving the cooling hose over about 3". Never had this problem since.

Just went out for a quick fish-scaring operation, OP was, as always, steady at 55, and engine ran at 160 degrees for several hours.

Cooling pipe rerun.JPG

Here's a pic of the jury rigged cooling hose from 4 years ago; you can see the top of the oil filter has been rubbed out. This was changed shortly after but I cant find the pic. Whole thing looks a bit better now; I'll post a pic soon.

[hetek]

That's an odd arrangement. My cooling pipe ran straight and down low. Seems you would have had to manhandle the pipe away from the filter each time you changed your oil.

At least I had confidence it was the low pressure switch because my pressure gauge was live and giving me good numbers. And the gauge sender and the low oil pressure switch were on the same "T".

...Down low, behind the coolant pipe, where it's hard to get at.

Jeez! Sometimes you just can't win!

[WillieC]

Doug raises an interesting point. Perhaps, just perhaps, the alarm is working and needs your immediate attention.

Our Ancient VP MD17C had no audible alarms and spending all my time at the helm having to stare at the gauges drove me nuts. So the Starfleet Commander drives, providing me with a healthy case of plausible deniablity. And I added an audible alarm originally made for high exhaust temp. I adapted it for low oil pressure and have one more point for another alarm if I get a round tuit.

Drill, baby drill. I "coached" the SC on what the audible alarm indicates and what to do if it ever goes off. First launch a couple years ago, the SC is at the helm, with me on shore dealing with the truck and trailer. She is tootling around in our little bay waiting for me to dinghy out when the alarm goes off. As instructed, she kills the engine...with her at the farthest point from me in our bay with the wind carrying her down (up?) Canal. More instruction is warranted to be sure (Aim the boat back at approaching rescuer BEFORE killing the engine...etc.) but she did exactly the right thing. Raw water impeller let go setting off the high exhaust temp alarm. Something that would have taken several more minutes to show up in the VP coolant temp gauge, or for the rubber exhaust hose to ignite.

Know your gauges and alarms. Check them always. Fix the busted ones. Use them.

(Edit: I forgot to welcome you, pnloud. Welcome! You'll find no shortage of opinion and bloviation here. Maybe even good advice from time to time. Now about your moniker...follow up questions may ensue.)

[DCatSea]

There are a few 27FCs with this “odd arrangement” (Sprig?). It was a bit awkward to change filters, and just a tad scary until I moved the cooling pipe to its current position, which is where the jury rig put it.
Regarding alarms - always handy to have ‘em as long they work. I just installed a High Water alarm below the engine supports. If it gets that far there’s something very wrong, but in theory our main 2000 gallon pump should mean the HW alarm won’t be too much of a (really noisy) feature. (Touching wood as I write)