Re: Evinrude 200 ?
It definitely has a reg/rectifier. It is equipped with a 35 amp charging system. The reg/rect is mounted into the top rear of the block, and it is water cooled.
You could run the reg/rect tests as described in the OMC service manual, or you could just shotgun replace it and hope that that was your problem.
They are not cheap...I am guessing $150 to $200 bucks. Don't forget to get the gasket.
More like $250 for the part, at least at my local boat shop (and I felt very fortunate they even had it in stock!) But not a difficult DIY. Maybe $100 labor for a shop to do it. But it's definitaly something he doesn't want to throw parts at unless he's fairly sure.
To OP:
I'm not an expert, but went through a rectifier problem last year on my J-200. If you search this forum for that word and/or "regulator rectifier", you'll find a lot of troubleshooting info.
first thing to do for any charging problem is thoroughly check the battery terminals and connections. Use a little wire brush and clean everything up so it's shiny, then connect back onto the battery VERY SNUGLY - with a wrench or pliers.
Then, with engine running at fast idle (in water preferably), put a multimeter on the battery terminals (+to+, - to - of course) and check the Volts DC should be, what? around 14 I believe, more than 13 for sure. If it's not charging properly, there's several possibilities, one of which is the rectifier.
If the charging system is working, it can still be the rectifier, but can also be a problem with the battery itself. make sure the battery is good. You can bring it in to an autoparts store for a load test. Bu a new one if it's bad at all, they are not expensive in the "big picture" of boating costs!
Also check if tach is working. Tach not working - check all wiring to make sure it's not the wiring, or substitute a known working tach. If the tach is good, wiring is good but still not working, very likely it's the rectifier.
A typical scenario for a bad rectifier is both Tach and Charging aren't working, but that's not always the case. Mine showed bad tach, but was charging perfectly. This had to do with something about the (??) poles (??) on the rectifier and only one part being bad. But it needed replacing none the less.
There's actual tests for the rectifier - that I'm not really expert in. I think what convinced me to replace the rectifier is that I figured out which terminals on the rectifier itself (it's easy to find the rectifier - see quote above) ran the tach, and then I clipped a known good tach right there and it still didn't work. Therefore eliminated the tach and the wiring as culprits, therefore I went ahead and spent the money on a rectifier.
It's best to have an OEM shop manual when you get to this stage or get explicit advice from people here - or just have a shop do it. Like I said, I did it, it wasn't tough, but I had a shop manual and a few hours to kill and basic tools and mechanical know-how (VERY basic).
But first, post the results of your charging checkup and info on the tach functioning.
