Fish Finder says "High Voltage"

[comfun1]

I have a 1996 Tracker Targa with a 60hp Mercury. Yesterday I noticed a message that would occasionally flash on the screen of my fish locater. It would appear in a box in the middle of the screen and say "High Voltage". When I looked at the voltmeter on the dash it would be almost 18 volts. After a period of about 1-5 seconds it would go back to a little over 14 volts, this is where it usually is. Incidentally, the last couple of years my tach sometimes gives faulty readings. Could my battery be going bad? Mike

 

[hkeiner]

Re: Fish Finder says "High Voltage"

Assuming that you have a regulated charging system on your motor, I would conclude that a failing voltage regulator is causing the intermittant voltage spikes. I had the same symptoms on my motor a while back and I replaced the voltage regulators and it fixed the problem. I first tried cleaning all of the connections/grounds at the regulators and the battery but that did not help me. You might give it a try, though, before spending big bucks on replacement voltage regulators.

 

[comfun1]

Re: Fish Finder says "High Voltage"

I replaced the regulator and it works fine now. Thanks, Mike