Three alarm beeps when starting engines

[Mark Sweeney]

I have a 2006 Sea Ray 38 with Mercruiser inboard gas engines. I recently had maintenance work done (at the local dealer) to replace the water pumps, impellers and an oil change. Now when I start the engines I get 3 beeps with about 1 second delay between each beep. You can watch a video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UmdZ246z2Zqh2Qy5. (Note, the very first beep is from turning on the ignition and is completely normal.)

When this first started happening, only the starboard gauges would drop to zero, now after a few weeks of checking on my boat, both the starboard and port gauges drop to zero during the beeps. After the initial start, the boat is good for about 5 minutes then I get a single beep and the engines stall. Afraid to take it out now...

My uneducated guess is that this is an electrical problem and not a result of the recent maintenance work. The local dealer mechanic could not figure out the problem so I'm desperate for help from this forum.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Little Ducky]

Take it back to who ever did the work and tell them to fix it.

I bet there's a wire off a sensor or something simple like that.

 

[Mark Sweeney]

Thanks, but the tech did check all the sensor connections.

 

[beasterdamas]

I have a 2006 Sea Ray 38 with Mercruiser inboard gas engines. I recently had maintenance work done (at the local dealer) to replace the water pumps, impellers and an oil change. Now when I start the engines I get 3 beeps with about 1 second delay between each beep. You can watch a video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UmdZ246z2Zqh2Qy5. (Note, the very first beep is from turning on the ignition and is completely normal.)

When this first started happening, only the starboard gauges would drop to zero, now after a few weeks of checking on my boat, both the starboard and port gauges drop to zero during the beeps. After the initial start, the boat is good for about 5 minutes then I get a single beep and the engines stall. Afraid to take it out now...

My uneducated guess is that this is an electrical problem and not a result of the recent maintenance work. The local dealer mechanic could not figure out the problem so I'm desperate for help from this forum.

Thanks,
Mark

Did you get the issue resolved? If so what was causing the issue. I’m having exactly the same thing occur with our 2010 SeaRay 370DA.

 

[Korkie]

Check the condition of your batteries. Low voltage, but particularly amperage can cause this. I have had the same problem and occasionally still do. It seems to occur when my Port Battery bank (the SmartCraft gets it power from the Port ignition when turned on) gets low due to over usage of my bow thruster. If I have the genny running while maneuvering at engine idle rpms, it doesn't seem to happen. Coincidence ? Maybe - but that has been my experience with it.