Hit Pool 4 last weekend,
started out at 4 degrees above zero.
I’ve got a 150 Optimax,
let it warm for 30 min. before we took off up river.
Then an alarm starting going off under the council,
I’m assuming it was the low oil pressure buzzer.
Have any of you guys experienced this problem when its this cold out.
Looking for any comments/feedback for this situation.
Opti’s don’t have an oil pump, so that’s not it. For what you have invested in that motor, you really should take advantage of and get one of the SmartCraft monitors, Tach/Speedo, or the new MecrMonitor to give you some idea what’s going on with your engine.
Which oil are you running in it, some flow better than others at those temps.
HRG
http://blogs.mercurymarine.com/messenger/wp-content/uploads/899883363MercMonitorSS.pdf
Was it a steady constant alarm, or a beeping on and off alarm?
-J.
I had that happen once with my 135 Optimax on the River in the cold and something plugged the water intake for cooling. Idled fine, but when you tried to go faster the water was not cooling the engine thus the alarm would go off. Just an idea! 
was the boat peeing? Had my alarm go off a few times when i did not let it start peeing before i opened her up….only issue I had with alarms
It was a constant alarm,
seemed to go off when I’d raise the RPM’s.
I use the Optimax Oil.
It wouldn’t go off while in neutral,
only when in gear (4 or 5 mph or higher). I tried to get it up on plane,
and the motor would idle down on its own and the alarm would start going off again.
It always had water flowing out the pee hole, water was warm.
Around noon and after is when it finally started running properly, I knew right away when it was back to normal,
that’s finally when I put it up on plane to see how it handled and sounded. Seemed just fine after the air temp. warmed up a little, 15 degrees out???
I’m taking it to the shop tonight to have them hook the computer up to it. Just want to make sure I’m not doing any damage to her.
The constant alarm is the over heat alarm. Your motor was not getting enough water to cool. Could be:
– A worn or stiff impeller not pumping enough water.
– Damaged water pump housing not allowing a water tight seal to the impeller. (Letting water freeze in the water pump can cause this type of damage.)
– Stuck thermostat not allowing water to one side of the motor. You have 2 t-stats on that motor.
– A blockage at the intake not allowing enough water to be pulled into the motor.
or other????
-J
blockage of intake would not allow for the motor to pee though would it?
My “Guess” would be worn, stiff impeller not pumping enough water on plane or at the higher RPM’s. Personally, if the impeller is 2 years old, has more than 100 hours on it, I’d get it changed. I’d bet a cold beer on a hot day that solves the problem.
-J.
It’s a 2007 and I’m probably flurting with 100hrs of use.
Another thought,
Why would it just snap out of it after the air temp warmed up. 
don’t shoot the messenger, but a 150 Opti has a YEARLY impeller change requirement. Check your manual.
HRG
Any idea what that cost to replace or
is that covered under the warranty?
Thanks for all the info.
It’s around $100-120 if you have a shop do it. $50 for Parts, $80 hr shop time. Most shops can do it under an hour or have a standard fee for that service.
The every year recommendation is over kill in my opinion. I put on a 100 hours every year and do mine every other year. I don’t run into problems.
Water pumps/impellers are basic maintenace not covered under warranty.
-J.
Just another note. If you want to do it yourself, it’s not too hard. Takes me about an hour. Here are directions:
Good Luck,
-J.
Well,
My baby’s back in the garage, the mechanic hooked the computer up to it.
It came back that it was over heating. 
Both sides of the block were over heating,
they say the lines where freezing up and the proper water pressure wasn’t reaching the motor.
Supposedly, they don’t think it did any damage,
it didn’t get hot enough is what they said! 
They said it would’ve shut itself down if it got to hot.
Hopefully for the FYB tourney, it isn’t near as cold.
The forecast is looking farely decent. 
Thanks for all the info boys!!! 
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