Suzuki 115 Overheat Nuisance Trips

Bill3558

New member
Greetings Fellow Brats,

Just got back from a trip to Bimini in the Bahamas. Before I leaving I replaced the water pump kit and test ran the boat. Running wide open and trimmed out for 5 minutes or so the overheat warning alarm sounded and the engine dropped back to 3000 RPM as the manual states. I shut down the engine and restarted. It ran fine for the rest of the day no matter what power setting I had. I figured it was a fluke and a few days later trailered the boat to Lauderdale.

We had another overheat alarm about 20 miles off shore on the way to Bimini. Water temp was 87 degrees. Again it restarted fine and had no further trouble.

On the way back to Lauderdale after 3 hours of running it tripped again just off shore. It restarted fine and got back to the dock.

I just dropped the foot to see if I could see any reason but everything looks fine. My question is has anyone else had this problem and what do you think it might be? I am thinking the over temp switch may be faulty, but I would appreciate any thoughts you guys have.

By the way Bimini is a great place to visit. Friendly people and fantastic snorkling.

Thanks,
Billl
 
I'm thinking sticky thermostat(s). Marc from Wefings knows these motors pretty well. Be careful about drinking any coffee he might offer. You might never sleep again.
D.D.
 
I seem to remember a friend of mine having a similar alarm scenario. He ended up delaying his vacation and took it to a dealer only to find out it was a normal service reminder that used the same alarm as the temp buzzer. Just a stab in the dark.
 
I just googled "suzuki outboard overheat alarm" and saw lots of threads on the 115. It also reminded me that it was a flashing oil light sevice reminder not an alarm buzzer. Sorry!
 
I have that trouble on the boat I run in the summer. It has Suzuki 250's, it's real easy for a piece of kelp or other debris to plug the water intake causing the engine to go into the overheat mode. I just shut it down and tilt it up, set it back down and go on. If this is just happening randomly, I'd think debris, with a thermostat sticking, the engine isn't likely to randomly overheat after running for a while
 
Bill,
Recently one of my Johnsons (actually a Suzuki), experienced intermittent overheat alarm problems. I changed the thermostat and have had no problems since.

For more information about it, look up the thread entitled "50 HP Suzuki Overheat" on this site.
 
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