Alarm Sounds in Rough Water
 

I have a 2003 Rinker w/ a Merc motor and Bravo3 drive
While navigating in rough water, the alarm occasionally sounds
Engine Temp, Oil pressure and Gear Lube levels are all acceptable

Very un-nerving:confused:

Any ideas as to cause and solution would be appreciated

I would bet your drive oil is a bit low and sloshing around, setting off the alarm. I had a boat do the same thing. Drove me nuts and it was only a little low.

or a loose connection...
 

...in any one of the 3 systems. I'm not sure how its designed and wired, but if is set up so a ground at the sensor sets off the alarm, you could have a chafed wire grounding on the block...

This is exactly what I was thinking, and I was thinking it's most likely the gear oil in the reservoir.

Also, if the water pickup on the drive gets out of water, even momentarily, an alarm will usually go off.

Disconnect the alarm wires(tan with blue tracer) on the drive oil bottle and try it again. That's my bet;)

Bilge pump float...
 

I have also had an alarm go off in rough water. It was my high water bilge pump. The float would be jarred and set off the alarm. Check the floats as well as the other engine fluids like the previous posters....

Thanks for all the good advise

The drive lube resevoir was my suspect as well, never thought of the bilge pump or chafed wire

I will give these a try over the upcoming weekend

Gear Lube Resevoir
 

I have a Bravo III on my boat -- similar problem a few years back. Turned out the float was faulty in the gear lube resevoir.

Rinkleyguy,

I have a few ideas of what it could be.............I'll need your boat for a weekend.....with a full tank of fuel.......... a place to stay.................food........

And I'll let you know what I find on Monday. :laugh:

CZ

But really, I think it is one of the above listed items. Good luck.

I have an '04 Rinker with a Bravo III as well. We had to have the drive replaced in '05 (to the new design thankfully) due to a defect. Our first outing with the new drive was met by an alarm almost immediately. The drive lube was about 2 ounces shy of full due to an air bubble in the system. Just goes to show how sensitive the newer stuff is.