www.iFourWinns.com

Hi - I've got a 2005 Horizon 210. When the ignition key is turned on I get a loud beep that I guess is supposed to alarm everyone on and around the boat that the engine is supposed to start. Can this beeper be disconnected without causing any other issues?

I know it is a safety issue but we have a 2 year old and a 6 month old and the beeper is rather annoying when the children are trying to sleep and we have to start the engine.

Thanks.

Tim

I would like to know also!

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Current Boat:
2005 Horizon 190

Previous Boat:
1999 Sundowner 225

The beep is actually an oil pressure/engine temperature/drive lube alarm (the combination of alarms depends on it being a Mercruiser or Volvo drive) that is there to warn you of problems. It comes on for a second when you start the boat because the engine has no oil pressure for the first few seconds (while it is cranking) until it is running. For sure it can be disconnected, but I don't think it is a wise idea.

I hear what you are saying about the kids being annoyed for a few minutes when you start up, but you might be really annoyed if you are not watching the gauges and the engine overheats, ceases due to lack of oil pressure, or your drive self-distructs. A bad enough situation could make the kids go from annoyed to terrified in a big hurry.....

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

That's funny. Thanks for your reply. I guess I will not disconnect it. How about turning down the volume??

No problem!

I would try wrapping some electrical tape around it to take some of the "bite" out of it's sound. You don't want too much though... you still want to hear it while you are running on plane.

It is a loud little bugger though, isn't it?

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Thanks - I'll try that. Where exactly is the bugger located and what does it look like? I'm sure it's under the dash, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

Btw, it's a Volvo Penta.

I totally agree... Volvo's alarm is great when you have a problem.... but it was totally unnecessary for them to run the thing every time you start the boat... extremely annoying... it makes your boat starting sound like a jet ski on steroids!!... if you turn the key real fast, sometimes you can get away with only one of these annoying beeps... one would think they could have at least shortened the duration of the tones for the "all systems go" sound....

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A

I wrapped the front face of my beeper in foam and it has muffled the beeping quite a bit. Maybe too much as it's barely audible. Like a few other's here, I'm torn between the safety aspect and the annoying 100 decibel alert it announces to the entire marina when I am going to start my boat. For now, I'm sticking with the muffled sound. Perhaps a visual alarm light on the dash would be a compromise...

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Great idea!!! I will try!

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2006 FW 203 FS
2005 Dodge Laramie 1500
2003 CRF 247F SuperMoto racer
2001 CBR1100XX

To be honest I went through about five iterations to get what I wanted. I originally popped the cap/cover off (not easy) and put a circular piece of cardboard between the speaker and the grill...that didn't work - as it was still insanely loud. I think I finally ended up using a piece of sound-deadening foam (about 2" diamter) and attached that to the grill face. If I had any left, I'd send it to you. From my experiences, it takes quite a bit to deaden the sound. Like I said above, I may have gone a little extreme, as now it is extremely muffled, but it has stopped causing everyone in the boat to jump out of their skin when i put the key in the start position.

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+1 to the electrical tape... knocked the sound down to something I could tolerate on a quiet lake...
One or two wraps around it was enough.

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2008 H180 3.0L Volvo/Penta

Good suggestions everyone. I am going to tackle it next weekend. Is the alarm obvious under the dash?

Stick your ear up under the dash, have the wife start the engine, you WILL find it without a problem.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

lol.. that is so true.

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Heres an idea if you want to go to this much work. Install a spring loaded push button in dash. Break 1 of the wires going to the alarm through the push button. push button when starting to silence alarm, after engine starts let go of button and alarm will sound if it needs too. Make sure you wire it correctly. test once in awhile without pushing button make sure alarm sounds.

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2010 F224 Volvo Penta 5.0 GXi/DP