Ignition beep on Suzuki

diver 1 · 05 July 2016, 13:50

My rib is driving me nuts. The ignition beeps a long single beep when I turn the key to put the ignition on. The ICOM IC411 radio also emits a long beep when turned on and again when the ignition is switched on.

Therefore if the radio is already turned on when I go to start the engine I get two annoying long beeps

I know I'm starting the engine because I'm turning the key. I don't need stupid beep alarms telling me so.

How do I cancel either or preferably both of these beeps before I lose my temper and get the wire cutters out!

jyasaki · 05 July 2016, 15:09

The beeps are simply to tell you the alarm is working.

You're getting the second from the radio because the started drags the voltage down and the radio thinks it's being powered up again. You can lose one tone by turning the radio off during engine start.

jky

diver 1 · 05 July 2016, 17:15

Thanks , so the only way to cancel the engine one would be wiring modification which would then also do away with proper engine alarms too? Seems really stupid.

I really don't want to alert the whole world to my comings and goings and silly O clock in the morning

jeffstevens763@g · 05 July 2016, 18:31

The same beep comes when you loose water to the water pump you will be glad of it then.just before you cut stuff it's part of the engine warning system.

Cheers

willk · 05 July 2016, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by diver 1

Thanks , so the only way to cancel the engine one would be wiring modification which would then also do away with proper engine alarms too? Seems really stupid.

You could try a larger capacity battery and decent wiring to the VHF - overly fine or corroded cables could be an issue. Or just switch the VHF off before you fire the engine. Why have you got the instruments on before you fire the engine, if low voltage alarms sound *scratches head*? Possibly your battery is not fully charged? So many things to check before you bypass your alarms so as not to disturb people who will be disturbed by your outboard noise anyway...

#firstworldproblems

diver 1 · 05 July 2016, 21:57

So this is a standard suzuki thing then? Just seems so loud. I do lots of safety cover and other things that require lots of start / stop so radio etc is normally always on, but engine often on / off regularly.

Boat has two newish massive high capacity batteries both are fine and wiring although not perfect seems adequate. There's a sensitive analogue voltmeter display on the console and that doesn't dip when ignition is turned on on either battery.

I will have to look at the power supply to the radio carefully, I think there might be an ignition jumper lead to fire the radio up when the engine is started. If so that might be causing the second beep on the radio?

JA1000 · 05 July 2016, 22:03

2 Batteries - 1 Aux 1 Engine? - battery switch should allow aux battery to cross over to engine in emergency only other than that they should be separate is this how it's configured ?

willk · 05 July 2016, 22:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by diver 1

Boat has two newish massive high capacity batteries both are fine and wiring although not perfect seems adequate. There's a sensitive analogue voltmeter display on the console and that doesn't dip when ignition is turned on on either battery.

I will have to look at the power supply to the radio carefully, I think there might be an ignition jumper lead to fire the radio up when the engine is started. If so that might be causing the second beep on the radio?

Your ICOM VHF knows that the engine is being fired up because something odd happens to the power supply - this is nothing to do with Suzuki...

jyasaki · 06 July 2016, 15:02

You're pulling a large number of amps from the battery when you crank the motor to start it. That pulls the voltage down to the point where the VHF thinks it's in a loss of power state, which trips the alarm. Essentially, you're power cycling the VHF when you hit the key, which triggers the "power on, everything's OK" beep.

It could be caused by a lowish battery, too-small battery capacity, resistive battery cables/connections, slightly oxidized fuse connections, poor wiring connections, and probably a few other things that I haven't thought about. Easy way to test it is to put a voltmeter on the VHF power input and see what happens when you hit the starter.

I would shy away from an auto-on setup for the VHF running off the motor - what happens when the motor dies and you need to yell for help?

jky

Chris · 06 July 2016, 16:49

Wrap some tape round the beeper ;-)

ShinyShoe · 06 July 2016, 18:37

I will put money on no-one else notices the bleep!

Bit if you've got two batteries you should be able to config it so the VHF doesn't drop out. The engine will always bleep unless there is a manufacturer setting to disable the bleep. But the bleep is for a reason... ...its like your oil warning light on your car being on for 1 second at the start - it proves it works.