YSM8 electrical issue

[csoule13]

Here is the situation. After hooking my battery cables back up, I flipped my battery selector knob on to make sure all was right with the world. Immediately, the yanmar's blaring alarm went off. Turn selector switch off, confirm I hadn't submly left the key in the ignition all winter. Nope, that was fine. Reconfirmed the battery cables were set up correctly. Turn selector (1, 2, and both, all the same). When putting the key in and turning it to, I guess it would be stand by, I assume the low oil pressure alarm joins in the chorus. Which is what I expect to happen.

Guy at West Marine casual suggests a possible short somewhere. Getting to any of the wiring in the engine compartment is a fool's errand on this boat, and everything in there is pretty much covered in 40 yrs of grime and crud. Short of calling the local engine guys, any thoughts on how to troubleshoot that doesn't involve rewiring an engine I'm hoping to replace at the end of the season?

Thanks,
Chris

[SVFayaway]

Is there any chance it's a low voltage alarm? It's a long shot but that's what I thought of off the top of my head. Another more likely possibility is that a sensor has gone bad. If you can, figure out where the different senders are, I imagine you have at least one temperature sensor in addition to the oil sender, and try jumping them out one by one and see if you can isolate the one that's causing the problem. You can get a set of alligator clips from Amazon for a few dollars if you don't have some already.

[Boyd]

Another possibility is the key switch is shorted out.

Boyd
S/V Cat-A-Tonic
Prout 34
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[csoule13]

The latest working assumption is the alternator is the culprit, since it was smoking when the engine started. Will update the thread when the final outcome is nailed down.