C30 Low Oil Pressure Buzzer

[wonkodsane]

My 89 C30 MkII doesn't buzz when I turn the ignition on, so I investigated and found that when I removed the panel and looked inside that either a) a PO removed the buzzer or b) it never shipped with one. There is a yellow wire with a ring-type connector that is not connected to anything and is zip-tied to the harness to keep it from touching anything.

Recommendations for getting a buzzer on and working? I'd like the added safety of at least the low-pressure buzz or idiot light, if nothing else.

I'll head out there tomorrow and try to locate the pressure sender to see if one of the wires is yellow, I'll drag along my multimeter and check for continuity, too. Are the senders just switches that are closed when the pressure is low and open when it is where it is supposed to be?

Catalina Direct doesn't sell the buzzer, so I'll probably just order one or pick up a piezo from RadioShack.

Anything else I should be doing?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Get in touch with Seaward, they made the panel and can help you with the guts.

 

[wonkodsane]

Thanks Stu, I will. I also need to see if they make a conversion for their LPG locker lid from non-OPD to OPD. I'd rather not have to buy the whole thing.

When I looked at the engine (Universal M3-20) I couldn't even find an oil sender, though, so I may be SOL. The engine manual doesn't show an oil sender in the pictures.

 

[mortyd]

i found out, after many talks with both catalina and seaward and no definite answere, that my alarm has been wired to work only with the blower switch on, and since the blower goes off when the key is turned off i see no harm in always leaving my bloweer switch onn. try this and see if your alarm works when the blower is on.

 

[wonkodsane]

mortyd, there's no sound with or without the blower switch on, unfortunately. There's no buzzer, and as far as I can tell, there's no oil pressure sender on the motor itself. What year / mark C30 do you have?

I need to ask Bad O and Hermit what they've got, too.

The engine wiring diagrams show a "lt blue" wire, but I don't have a light blue wire in my engine compartment or behind the motor instrument panel in the coaming. In my very near future I see a day spent with a continuity meter tracing wires.

 

[mortyd]

after i figured out my alarm works fine with the blower on (why a blower on a very late - 5961 - diesel boat i have no idea) i informed both frank butler and seaward and got what i interpret as a shoulder shrug; seems like panel wiring wasn't of the highest of priorities at catalina. before that i did not recognize the buzzer as a buzzer by sight. by the way, my boat was just fine the three years before i found out it even had an low oil pressure/high water temperature alarm.

 

[wonkodsane]

On our girl, there's a tiny little grille on the engine instrument panel that has nothing behind it. It is clearly the right size and shape for a buzzer.

You make a good point, though, that maybe there's an aftermarket buzzer built into a relay or something in the blower circuit. I didn't see anything like that when I had it open, and I still wonder where the heck that darned oil pressure sender is on the engine itself, if there's one at all.

http://www.seawardproducts.com/upgdinfo.pdf Says the sender is next to the oil filter on everything after 1993, so I need to double-check the next time I'm out there.

Something else interesting is there as well: "LOW OIL PRESSURE ALARM - The pulsating tone of the 2-tone alarm, on the face of the panel. Prior to 1990, a small mechanical buzzer was mounted BEHIND the panel. 1990 through 1991 models used an ALARM CIRCUIT BOARD mounted on the BACK of the temperature gauge. The circuit board concept was discontinued at the 1993 model year." Well, I've got a 1989, but I know yachtmakers are sloppy about change management (and frugal about using what's already on the shelf), so it's possible that I've got an '89 panel with '90 guts. I'll take a good hard look at that temperature gauge circuit board for an alarm buzzer, because I know I saw a circuit board when I had the panel off. Interestingly enough, that yellow wire with the ring-type connector was cycling between 12V+ and 0V when I had the key turned to the on position.

 

[Inter20sailor]

I was just going to post a question about oil pressure (indication) on our 1991 MkII. The manual states that after starting, you should look to verify that the oil pressure light goes out. We have no light!

We have the standard 4 display panel. Tach, Temp, Fuel, Battery. That being said, when I turn the key on, there is indeed a buzzing sound. Is that the low oil pressure buzzer? When the key is turned to the right (glow plug) it is a solid sound), then I back off, hit the start button, and no sound. Am I correct then in assuming that should the oil pressure drop, I would get that pre-start sound?

Furthermore, there is indeed a blower switch on the panel.

Thank you all,

 

[wonkodsane]

I was just going to post a question about oil pressure (indication) on our 1991 MkII. The manual states that after starting, you should look to verify that the oil pressure light goes out. We have no light!

They quit installing the light in 89, which is one more reason why I think I've got a different panel than their documentation shows, no light on mine. What year is yours?

We have the standard 4 display panel. Tach, Temp, Fuel, Battery. That being said, when I turn the key on, there is indeed a buzzing sound. Is that the low oil pressure buzzer? When the key is turned to the right (glow plug) it is a solid sound), then I back off, hit the start button, and no sound. Am I correct then in assuming that should the oil pressure drop, I would get that pre-start sound?

That buzzer *is* your low oil pressure buzzer and yes, it should come on if your pressure drops too low. The reason why it buzzes when the key is turned but the motor isn't on is because the motor doesn't develop any oil pressure until it is running. I don't know about the solid sound, though, as I still haven't heard mine in action. (-:

Furthermore, there is indeed a blower switch on the panel.

I'll defer to the smarter folks on the board, but I think that the bilge blower isn't optional for any inboard engine, all boats should have one. I could be wrong, though.

-Scott

 

[mortyd]

inter20 sailor, the sound you hear is confirmation that your alarm is working, just like the lights on your car dashboard go on when you insert the key. the buzzer going out is the equivalent.

 

[Bob S]

Type A panel

Not sure if this helps but I got it from Kent @ Catalina.

 

[wonkodsane]

Re: Type A panel

Thanks, Bob!

It's a little clearer than the others I had found.

-Scott

 

[wonkodsane]

Found the sender hiding behind the oil filter. It is connected to a light blue wire in the engine compartment, unfortunately there are no light blue wires behind the instrument panel. The harness comes to an electrical-taped junction bar behind the panel and there are no light blue wires there, either. I will track it closer this coming weekend.

As for the buzzer itself, I *do* have the water temperature instrument with the circuit board behind it, unfortunately the place on the board that should have a buzzer on it appears to have had the buzzer snipped off!

Going to try alligator clips and a piezo to test it.

I guess at the end of the day I shouldn't complain much, considering how well I'm getting to know my boat. (-: