overheat dash warning

[sergio75]

hello guys, greetings from mexico,
I own an Yamaha ar-230 2006, which lately has been having this problem that the port engine temp light comes on, more often when I am an low speed or "no wake mode" however the light does not go off if I throttle it... the only way that I can turn off the light is by switch off the battery for a few seconds....
I had touch by hand both engines and both are not hot at all, seems that the starboard engine is hoter than the port one, but not hot at all but regular...
what can it be the problem? maybe the temp sensor? or other advice from you guys?
thanks a lot!
Sergio,
Mazatlan, mexico

 

[Marvin willis]

Do you have good water flow out the side? If so I'm betting temp sensor

 

[Bruce]

Welcome Aboard @sergio75. I had the overheat lights come on last year after sucking a bunch of trash into the jets. But it sounds like your problem is a faulty temp sensor.

 

[Scottintexas]

you should invest in a Yamaha Diagnostic System (YDS) you can hook it up to your engines and see what is happening internally, especially the temperature.

they are fairly cheap on ebay,

as stated above make sure you have good flow out of your cooling holes, from there if you can confirm it is hot we can help you narrow it down on your cooling lines.

I'm guessing your boating in salt water, are you flushing the engine after every outing?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

My vote is the temp sensor is probably bad I had one go bad, it's common. I fooled with the cooling lines the thermostat etc. then after being convinced it was none of those I took it to the dealer and sure enough it was a bad sensor. Same symptoms and the engine was never actually running hot checking with a non contact thermometer .

 

[sergio75]

Thanks for all your answers!

I flush both engines with Fresh water and salt away...

When the boat is running both peeholes throw good amount of water. But not when going at low speed such as no wake mode. Buy i think thats the way it works...

I bought the yds diagnostic today will use it...

Thanks again,

 

[itsdgm]

Welcome aboard @sergio75. Another ting to do would be to change your spark plugs. Sounds crazy, but for your vintage boat, it's the number one root cause of many issues including a low idle overheat indicator. Plugs are cheap and I change them (like many other guys) every season to eliminate many of these types of issues. I've had the same over temp light at low rpms and changing the plugs worked for me. Hope you get it resolved soon !!!

 

[Scottintexas]

@sergio75 update you profile with your location and it will automatically add you to the member map, we need some representation down south!

this is a link to the YDS help thread from the reference/FAQ section, the YDS can be sensitive sometimes about connecting to a lap top, be sure you have a good com port.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/yamaha-diagnostic-system-yds-how-to-read-your-hours-and-errors.84/


if you change your plugs be careful taking out #3 some people have found it rusted/seized in place and have broken the plug off trying to remove it. Be sure to use anti-seize when you reinstall them. There is a good help topic in the reference thread on this also,

 

[sergio75]

thanks for the advices about tnhe spark plugs, I did chage them when I bought the boat last year... anyhow I will first use the YDS and check what is wrong...

 

[buckbuck]

Welcome Sergio,
Here is a video explaining the cooling system on your boat. It will tell you where the sensors are.

 

[sergio75]

hello again.... so, I bought the YDS and found that I had "irregular" engine temp sensor.... I bought a new one and installed, cheched the YDS and the result was "normal" engine temp sensor..... used the boat and the problem appears again... when moving at low speed such as "no wake zone" the overhart light appears on the port engine....

as you guys said it may be something about the spark plugs. but how that can be related? spark plug and engine overheating?

other thing to check is the cooling lines, but don't want to go that way, because it is difficult to unbolt all that pipes, lines, etc etc...

thanks!

 

[ToddW850]

Hey @sergio75 did you ever get this issue solved?

 

[sergio75]

Yes! Someone told me that i had to change my spark plugs, so i did that and beleive it or not, problem solved!

Thanks to that guy

 

[sergio75]

Welcome aboard @sergio75. Another ting to do would be to change your spark plugs. Sounds crazy, but for your vintage boat, it's the number one root cause of many issues including a low idle overheat indicator. Plugs are cheap and I change them (like many other guys) every season to eliminate many of these types of issues. I've had the same over temp light at low rpms and changing the plugs worked for me. Hope you get it resolved soon !!!

Thanks!

 

[itsdgm]

Thanks!

That's awesome. Glad it worked out for you @sergio75. I go as far as keeping a spare set onboard just in case I have issues on the lake. Heck, it only takes about 10 minutes to swap them out if there's an engine issue.

 

[Gym]

That's awesome. Glad it worked out for you @sergio75. I go as far as keeping a spare set onboard just in case I have issues on the lake. Heck, it only takes about 10 minutes to swap them out if there's an engine issue.

As @itsdgm stated, keep a set of 4 used, good plugs in the glove box. I just changed my plugs 2 days ago. Both engines were running perfectly so I boxed up a set of used plugs removed from the port engine and wrapped them in plastic. They will stay in the glove box for the season. If not needed, I will exchange them for another used set the next time I install new plugs. Glad you're back up and running @sergio75.

 

[ToddW850]

@sergio75 and @itsdgm Well, funny thing is I had my temp light come on while I ran the engine on the hose to warm up my oil (doing oil change). Light only came on my port engine. Wasn't flashing and wasn't beeping. Changed the oil and ran on the hose again....light came on again. Already had my new spark plugs in hand to install (new plugs every season). After changing my plugs, the light has not come back on. I have run on the hose several times since then.

I know changing the spark plugs on these things do fix a lot of issues, but had no idea this could be one.

 

[taylr222]

Hello All! We have a 2011 AR210 that keeps showing a light on the dash (solid light on starboard side) for water temperature. My hubby has changed plugs, thermostat, looked at the intake filter, changed the engine temp sensor and thermo sensor. What the heck else could it be? I want to ride in my boat for more than 5 minutes.

 

[ToddW850]

Hello All! We have a 2011 AR210 that keeps showing a light on the dash (solid light on starboard side) for water temperature. My hubby has changed plugs, thermostat, looked at the intake filter, changed the engine temp sensor and thermo sensor. What the heck else could it be? I want to ride in my boat for more than 5 minutes.

Welcome @taylr222 ! You guys have actually done everything I could suggest to do. My only question is do you have water coming out of the pee holes? If no water, then you'll have a place to start. Have you run it on the hose? If so, does the light still come on? But might be worth hooking up the YDS Cable. Either purchasing, or know someone that has one.

 

[ToddW850]

Also would like to add I ran my boat for 15-20 minutes in the bayou today and my light did not come on. So apparently changing the plugs did in fact do the trick. Crazy.