Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

[jdlloyd_iboat]

I have a 1989 Evinrude V-6 150HP that I have run for about 20 hours since last July when I bought it. From yhe start the regulator was not working and therefore not charging the battery. I was reading in these forums that not having a regulator that is operating might be detrimental to the stator (causing it to overheat). I also read that replacing the regulator w/o replacing the stator will likely result in a failed regulator. My motor seems to run well. I don't really need the battery to be recharged the way I operate. Since it seems that I would need to replace the stator if I replace the regulator, should I just wait for the stator to fail? These parts are expensive -- several hundreds of dollars and it seems like preventive replacement would only avoid a possible need to be towed. What is the advice?

 

[todd foster]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Hey jim.I just bought my boat about 3 months ago 98 johnson 200 looper motor,and my regulator was inop too.I have a 35 amp system like you do and my tach would be all over the place too.I was looking at replacing hundreds of dollars in parts too so i took my regulator out and inspected it saw nothing wrong,cleaned my electrical connections before reassembling took boat out the other day and walaa i was getting 14.2 volts like i should and tach was working.I took sandpaper to all of my battery connections,replaced wing nuts on battery posts with nuts with locking star washers and now I'm charging again.All in all about 2 1/2 hours of work to save about 600 dollars in parts.Hope you can do this and get the same results as I.

 

[Jquest]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

OUt of curiosity.Is that 14.2 at WOT or idle?

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

If the cleaning doesnt work just be aware that it is possible that the reg/rec may be shorted internally. If so it's possible that it could catch the wiring on the motor on fire. We've seen that more than once.

 

[jdlloyd_iboat]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Thanks for the responses. I will check out all the wiring and connections this weekend, including making sure that the wires are connected to the proper places and checking the voltages after assuring the wiring is correct and connections properly cleaned. Would it be helpful as a diagnostic to check temperatures of the rectifier and the wiring after operating the motor for several minutes? I don't like the idea of wiring fires under the hood.

 

[canadian_fisher]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Hello Cap'n Jim.<br /><br />I just had the same problem on my 88 150XP last weekend. <br />Mine was cooked and needed replacing.<br />Also, the STATOR was just fine after a quick OHM and VOLTAGE test, also taken from the wisdom of the forum.<br /><br />The grey TACH wire will work off either of the Yellow wires for testing purposes.<br /><br />Good luck. Corey

 

[todd foster]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

the 14.2 volts is at high idle,about 1200 rpm's.

 

[Jquest]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Originally posted by meauxjeaux:<br /> the 14.2 volts is at high idle,about 1200 rpm's.

Mine is 14.8 at around 900 and stays there all the way up to WOT. ONly when I turn on the lights on the boat does it affect it. Then it only goes down to about 14.6.

 

[todd foster]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Just as long as it's above 14 volts thats plenty to keep a battery charged.If your battery is weaker,low on water,lower cranking amps,different ambient temperature,and several other factors,a good charging system will adjust accordingly.If your charging volts are higher than mine then something in your electrical system is drawing more current from your charging system(drawing more amps)which will in turn make the alternator /rectifier/regulator push out more volts.Current draw needs more volts to opperate if you can understand that.

 

[jdlloyd_iboat]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

Sorry but I was sidetracked by another problem with my motor. If you care to read about that problem go here:<br /> http://forums.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=28;t=040818#000000 <br /><br />In the meantime I have cleaned almost all of the electrical connections I could easily remove and inspect ... but did not have an opportunity to check voltage from regulator. I'll do that this weekend. My main lesson is that connections are important and they must be clean. This should be a routine step in diagnosing any problem related to primary and secondary circuits especially if you have just purchased a used motor or have not done it in years. I believe it fixed my other problem with no money spent on parts!

 

[jfranklin58]

Re: Evinrude 35 amp water cooled rectifier failed

It looks like I have had the ultimate happen. I just purchase the boat from a family member who had passed away. I took the boat out to see how it would run after doing some servicing to it and the rectifier caught fire. I put it out with the extiguisher and was towed back in. I had no idea about this. Should it be replaced with the stator or just test the stator and replace the rectifier. This is all new to me