Hello,
Have a 2003 Yamaha F225 that was showing high charging voltage on the volt gauge at 3500 rpm over the past several trips. Showing high 15 - 16 volts. Checked it with my multimeter at the battery today at the dock. And at the battery is is actually about 1 volt higher than the dash guage! At idle it is 14.4 and about 3000 rpm it is 16+ volts. So scared to think what it's cranking at higher cruise speeds. I used the multimeter to check battery terminals, as well as on starting cables, and where they terminate on the engine, and all the same volt readings..so doubt any loose connections. Also I haven't had any secondary symptoms of burning out any electronics, lights, or the radio.
The battery came with the boat. Never changed it out and I have a few season on it myself. Never had a problem with it...starts no problem, and runs electronics with the engine off for hours. It is a marine cranking battery and has caps so it's not maintenance free. (Have three blue top optima's beside it to drive my 101lb trolling motor but they are completely separate.) Never pulled the caps and check electrolyte..yet. No other sign of boiling over visable. I expect to give it a "feel' after the next run and see if it is getting hot...but haven't done that yet.
Read tons of posts about possible rectifier/regulator problem. However, because I don't know the real condition or age of this battery, I am posting today to ask if the battery itself could cause such over charging if there is something wrong with it? Can't find a straight answer on that.
Also, just how common is it to have a rectifer/regulator failing on a 2003 vintage F225 with about 450 hours on it?
Finally, before I start dumping $200 to $500 on a battery and/or regulator, is there any other elements that would result in high charging voltage that I should look for? Any recommendation on how to approach this?
Thanks
Have a 2003 Yamaha F225 that was showing high charging voltage on the volt gauge at 3500 rpm over the past several trips. Showing high 15 - 16 volts. Checked it with my multimeter at the battery today at the dock. And at the battery is is actually about 1 volt higher than the dash guage! At idle it is 14.4 and about 3000 rpm it is 16+ volts. So scared to think what it's cranking at higher cruise speeds. I used the multimeter to check battery terminals, as well as on starting cables, and where they terminate on the engine, and all the same volt readings..so doubt any loose connections. Also I haven't had any secondary symptoms of burning out any electronics, lights, or the radio.
The battery came with the boat. Never changed it out and I have a few season on it myself. Never had a problem with it...starts no problem, and runs electronics with the engine off for hours. It is a marine cranking battery and has caps so it's not maintenance free. (Have three blue top optima's beside it to drive my 101lb trolling motor but they are completely separate.) Never pulled the caps and check electrolyte..yet. No other sign of boiling over visable. I expect to give it a "feel' after the next run and see if it is getting hot...but haven't done that yet.
Read tons of posts about possible rectifier/regulator problem. However, because I don't know the real condition or age of this battery, I am posting today to ask if the battery itself could cause such over charging if there is something wrong with it? Can't find a straight answer on that.
Also, just how common is it to have a rectifer/regulator failing on a 2003 vintage F225 with about 450 hours on it?
Finally, before I start dumping $200 to $500 on a battery and/or regulator, is there any other elements that would result in high charging voltage that I should look for? Any recommendation on how to approach this?
Thanks