Hey mechanics out there. I have a 1985 Stratos with a 1986 Evinrude 150 XP. The last time I took it out I ran it up and down the lake about 3 times and the alarm started going off. It is not a steady alarm but probably a 1/2 second alarm every 2 seconds or so. I bought a SELOC Johnson/Evinrude manual for years 1973-91 and read in section 5-2 and 5-3 about the alarms. It says there is only 2 reasons for the alarm. First is temperature and second is oil. The temp alarm said it is a continuous alarm, so I narrowed it down to oil. There was also another alarm that said fuel resriction to the power head. Has anybody had this happen to them and if so, what was the fix? I just need some help. I don't have the money to spend to take it to a mechanic right now. Hopefully it wont be a big issue to fix. Crossing my fingers. Any help would be appreciated.

That happened to me one time. I had let the oil in the reservoir get down and it pulled some oil from the tank inside the motor cowling. Check that and see if it is full. IF not, top it off and make sure the air is out of it. Fill up the On Board Reservoir in the boat too.

That fixed my problem. Hope it helps

I filled it up and took it out this afternoon. Still alarming and was smoking a little but not overheating.

If your oiler (VRO)or whatever it is called is failing don't run it until you solve it. Otherwise you will also have to R&R the powerhead. I used to have an 86 Evinrude 150XP . I removed the oiling system and premixed all my fuel at 50/1. My mechanic at the time told me those systems have a nylon part that fails and I didn't have the money for a rebuild so I just took the oiling system off of the motor. A little less convenient but it let me sleep at night.

I think that's what I'm going to do. I just don't know how to figure out if that's really what's going on. I ran it one other time to see if adding oil to the reservoir to see if it helped. It alarmed while idling and I put it on the trailer.

I pulled the drain screws on the carbs. Should the gas that comes out be clear or should it look like mixed gas (blue/green)?

When you pull the top cowling is there any oil down in the bottom part of the cowling towards the transom ? I had a similar prob with my 96 115 rude. There is a 90 degree neck off the vro pump that had a hairline crack in it. Look for some oil drips. I had to pull the air filter off to see this. I could see where the oil had leaked but I actually had to start the motor to be able to see it spraying out of that neck. When I was diagnosing mine I think I read something about the pros and cons to disconnecting the vro pump. Go over to the Bass Boat Central to the Evinrude forum and they will help diagnose your problem. Be sure and read the info they need before posting Serial # off the engine and some other stuff they can probably help you diagnose your problem.
Thanks Rob

Samething happened to mine along time ago. It sounds like your VRO pump is starting to go out or failing on you. Get ready, part runs about $400.00. I took my VRO pump out, added a fuel pump to my motor. Been working fine ever since. Just have to add my oil to the gas now. Saved lots of money. Good Luck

my 86 Johnson gt 150 did the same thing. I disconnected the oil pump side and started mixing mine 50:1 also and have been running it for around 5 years like that and have had no other issues.

strange as it might sound, it seems to me like it runs better now that I mix it myself

I have a 89 Evinrude 150XP and had the same alarm turned out to be a fuel restriction and I needed to replace my fuel lines. You might want to check yours if they haven't been replaced.

Thanks guys. I knew I could get good info here. I appreciate all the info.

I did notice a little oil inside the cowling. That was my next step, mix oil with gas and put the water ears on to see if I could see any leaks. I guess I'm on the right track.

I let mine get low on oil. It kept alarming after filling main reservoir. The mechanic told me to start it and crack open the cap on the small tank under cowling and let it run till it overflows and then tighten cap. That's all mine was... Good luck..

techsan here is the link to the bbc when I had my similar problem as yours. thereare some pics showing the vro pump and the leak I had. good luck
http://www.bbcboards.net/evinrude-johnson-motors/17720-oil-leak.html
thanks rob