50hp Mercury 4-Stroke problems

[Dave Hardy]

The problem with our '99-'00 outboard persists, even though we have put a lot of money, hired "expertise" and patience into it. I would love any insights or suggestions you might have.

The two main problems are:
* Problem #1 - Outboard makes a loud, continuous high-pitched beep
* Problem #2 - When pressing the start button on the outboard, it only clicks and the rear depth finder (Lowrance 527Ci DF) turns off. At this point, we need to pull start the outboard to get it going.

Regarding problem #1, we have replaced the thermostat and water pump on two different occasions--last week was the most recent. However, the problem continues. Anyone have this issue and found a way to resolve?

Problem #2 appears to be a power and/or electrical issue. In the off-season, we had all of the wiring and fuses checked and replaced the starting battery with a brand new bigger size battery. Alas, after a few months of use, the problem persists.

Again, if you have tackled similar issues in the past, I would appreciate your suggestions/insights.

Thank you, Dave Hardy

[curleytail]

I'm not sure what problem 1 could be. Regarding problem 2, is the alternator charging like it should? Sounds like a plain ol' dead battery to me. If you started out with a new battery and it took two months for the problem to start, maybe the alternator is not charging at the rate it should. OR, maybe you just need to put a charger on the battery every few weeks if you aren't already.

Good luck with the repair. Must be frusterating having a problem that seems impossible to solve.

Tucker

[Jax]

Not sure about #1 but #2 definitely sounds like the problem i had earlier in the year. I had to replace my battery even though it was less then a year old. It would start fine for awhile then all of a sudden I would go to turn the key and "buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" and my lowrance units would turn off. Not a fun thing to mess with when you are out on the flowage at 11:30 at night and a couple miles from the dock.

I took my battery out a couple times and put it on trickle charge for a day or so and it would work fine for a couple days then bam......."buzzzzzzzzzzz" all over again. I think it was a bad battery. Anyway, I bought a new battery and haven't had a problem since. Goodluck!!

[twells]

For issue #1 have you checked the oil levels. I would also check the manual if you still have it that ight steer you in the right direction.

For issue #2 a couple of things to check would be your connections that they are clean and tight. Also putting a charge to it before your trip and once in a while when on it. We forget how long our motors do not run the outboard some days while still having the electronics going that can drain batteries. The other option would be to have a seperate battery for the electronics if it is possible.

[Dave Hardy]

I wanted to thank you guys for your ideas and help. We have the boat into a mechanic right now and he said he would check several of the things you all mentioned (alternator, connections, etc.). We also talked about the feasibility of adding another battery in the back to run the electronics. This guy mentioned something that acts like a "bridge" between the starting battery and our new battery, so that while the outboard is running, it is charging both starting and electronics battery. Anyone hear of this part?

Thanks again.