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2014 Honda Bf60a overheating

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Richo97

New member
Gday everyone,

Having drama with my overheating alarm going off. First went off about a month ago, used the boat a few times after that with no issues at all.

I’ve recently set up a NMEA 2000 network to my humminbird Helix, took the boat out yesterday to test it out and see some data and coincidentally the alarm went off again.
The engine temperature was getting up to 115-120 degrees Celsius according to the humminbird which seems quite hot? Can anyone else with a bf60 confirm what running temps they are getting please. I have no yet had the chance to test the block with a heat gun.
Turned it off, let it cool down and it was getting around that similar temp operating again but the alarm never sounded again for the session.

I have changed water pump, thermostat and cleaned inside the water jacket when changing the anodes in there. Upon inspection there was multiple old bits of perished impeller from previous owner throughout and have had them block up the tell tale prior. I have had no recent issue with the tell tail blocking again assuming I’ve ridded all of the old rubber in the system.
Could it potentially be blocking elsewhere not allowing full flow although the tell tale is strong?

What next could I look at what could potentially be causing my issues?

Regards,

Richo
 
Hi,

I don't have any experience with the 60hp Honda but 120°c is way up there and worrying.
You should be very cautious about running this outboard in that condition.

Just my opinion but I think that you indeed may have a blockage still in the passages. Sometimes a "reverse flush" forcing water pressure from the top down can help but not always.

Removing the lower end and thermostat and directing full hose pressure through the passages behind the stat will sometimes dislodge debris back out the bottom.

The tell tale is just a bypass and indication that the pump is moving water. Nothing more. It won't cause overheating if it is the ONLY thing plugged. Therefore, you can't use that to diagnose overheating.

Good luck.
 
Hi jgmo,

Scary considering I have previously not been able to see temp, it’s possibly been running high temps for a while now. Maybe just running slightly under the temperature limit for the sensor to not be commonly alarming?

I’m going to try flush the passages in hope to dislodge something that would be causing this, would not be surprising after seeing what I’ve previously pulled out.

I will report back my success,
Thanks for the reply.

Cheers
 
Little bit of an update, still experiencing the high temperature so I’ve looked further and found that the flush valve is completely blocked up. I have always used muffs to flush and not the starboard side flush hose.
Upon removal I have discovered heavy build up blocking the passages and the spring is stuck in from heavy corrosion.
I’m going to clean this up and have ordered new parts to reinstall.

Just curious if anyone knows if water flows through this on the cooling return or somewhere along the line other then just flushing? And could potentially be causing my high temperatures?

Cheers
 

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Hi,
As I often say up front, I have no experience with these so definitely no "intimate" knowledge of this cooling system's flow pattern.

But...
Pretty much any outboard's cooling system is."open". Meaning that ALL the water enters at the base of the block, travels through the various passages then exits out the engine's exhaust system except the very small amount that exits through the tell-tale bypass.

The deposits in your pic look to me to be mineral deposits from incoming lake or sea water. Nothing more.

In my opinion, your outboard might benefit from an extended flush in a strong vinigar/water mix running in a trashcan or tank. There are folks here that have written about having good success doing that and I hope that they will chime in with their suggestions since I haven't done that procedure myself.

Meanwhile, I will see if I can locate something helpful for you to read from the archives.


,
 
Member NSDON has posted many times about doing a vinegar flush in a barrel.

Just hit the search button (magnifying glass symbol top right of this page) type vinegar in the subject box and NSDON in the member box. Read some of his posts about doing this.

I started flushing in a trashcan years ago because:

1. It's the most thorough way to have flush water push through the system. I have always found Honda flushing valves to be a hassle and they often leak under the cowl.

2. It affords you the opportunity to use cleaning methods like the one NSDON describes.

3. I often had problems using muffs. Especially when I was working on several different outboards.

4. It provides for the ability to run the outboard up to temperature and do testing and adjustments. You can be certain that the thermostat(s) open when it/they should.

5. It's a good, quick way to assess the output of the water pump.

Just be aware that it's possible to overheat the outboard when running in a tank and you can't just walk away while you're doing this. Closely monitoring the water and outboard temperature is a must.
 
Normal range on my automobiles is about 90C, 100c is boiling temperature of water, a car has a mix of antifreeze and water and is pressurized so that boiling temp is higher than on a boat. Boats run much cooler than cars so 120c is very hot. Your block temperature will get hotter than the water, if you feel your water from the telltale, in my experience it barely gets warm to touch when operating in water.

Do the major flush in a barrel with vinegar or other cleaner, vinegar won’t hurt anything. Remove the thermostat to do the flush. Let me know if you can’t find my flushing post.
 
Looks to possibly be a faulty sensor or the humminbird is reading out the data incorrectly. On the test run I got the humminbird display reading 115°c, I then tested with a infrared thermometer on port side of block and getting about 65°c on bottom and middle cylinder and reading a bit higher on the top at 73°c.
So im guessing the temp data I’m seeing is very incorrect.

Can anyone confirm if it’s normal to see slightly higher temps up top or should it be even throughout?

Cheers
 
I use the thermostat housing for my infrared contact point, you should be reading water temperatures not block temperatures imho. That temperature should usually be in the 82c (180f) or under range on the outboard.
 
I would still do a flush, you may have bits of who knows what floating around in your cooling system based on that flush port picture and if you had pieces of impeller missing.
 
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