250 Opti Alarm

Two things come to mind concerning this that Ill chip in with. Im sure more knowledgeable and experienced folks will have plenty of advice on this subject for you, but here goes: I had a little problem with my 250 XS on the second day following picking the boat up new. I would get an over – rev alarm and warning while coming out of the hole, even though I was only in the 1 – 2K range when the alarm would go off and the limiter would kick in. My particular problem turned out to be a not – tight – enough cranking battery cable connection that was driving the “smartcraft” system crazy —- end of problem after tightening that up! I couldnt believe how a snug – but not really tight – battery connection could wreak so much havoc on an engine. And this took a trip to the dealer, diagnostic testing that showed NOTHING, and the dealer going to the lake with me to finally figure out! Big relief when a quick twist of the pliers was all it took to put the life back in that two-fiddy! 19 hours later and not the first hiccup since that incident! Ive also seen some posts regarding the engine oil injection system and the oil level sensor going crazy under certain conditions. If your main tank has plenty of oil and the small run tank under the engine cowling (which is the one that the engine actually runs off of) is full and the cap is good and tight, then Im out of ideas. Sounds like you didnt have any problems until you were on an incline trying to load the boat on the trailer, so check out both of these items first……theyre cheap and easy I havent noticed any overheating issues from idling, personally, so I sort of doubt thats the problem….thats all Ive got—good luck! PS: Youre gonna love that motor…………oh yeah! John Helms Hot Springs,ARLast edited by 2008 silver bullet on July 28th, 2008, 3:03 am, edited 1 time in total.John Helms Hot Springs, AR

Not sure if this is your problem but did you idle for awhile and then turn the motor off by chance? Ive been told this could cause the motor to overheat in some of the XS series. You idle around, then shut the water flow off and crank it back quickly and the temps on the gauge will go up until the water is pumped back to the motor. I had this happen to me and two dealers told me it was normal. they called it heat “sync” or something like that. The highest Ive seen in this situation is around 175 degrees. It worries me but Ive been told it isnt hurting anything although I wonder what it would do in a warranty situation when its been recorded on the computer as being hot. Of course I wouldnt have ever known if not for the Smart Craft gauges.

Merc has a guardian system and if it is alarming for certain things it will not allow the motor to make power. You really need to take this in to your dealership and let them figure this out. A buddy had a coil pack go out and it acted the same way as you describe. So it could be anything mentioned and these motors are way to expensive and complex for us weekend warriors to diagnose…take it in and let the professionals figure out what is wrong. Good luck and I hope they get it fixed soon for you. Judd Lasiter

Talked to my good friends at Bowden Marine today and it could very possibly be the little switch that keeps you from over revinng it while in neutral. The switch tells the motor the eninge is in neutral and want let you over rev. If its bad when in forward the engine still thinks its in neutral. I will be putting in their very capable hands first thing in the morning. Appears to be a very minor issue.