How many volts to battery at idle??

[Mikemaster]

1982 Johnson 70, reading 30 volts from the engine going to the battery. When I throttle up, it peaks in the 70 volt range according to my voltmeter. Is this normal? Seems way too high.....<br /><br /><br />Appreciate any help or thoughts.

 

[DJ]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

WAY to high. Should be around 13.5-15

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

It is WAY high. Better get a different voltmeter or your reading the one you have wrong..<br /><br />DJ is on the ball tonight

 

[Mikemaster]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

Darn. I connected between the cable and the battery to get the reading, so I'm pretty sure that was an accurate reading. What do I need to replace? (Just got this outboard, manual on the way, new to outboards but not to boating )

 

[DJ]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

Are you saying that you connected one lead to the cable and the other to the battery post with the battery cable disconnected? If so, that's not the way to do it. That type of connection would read amps.<br /><br />Just put the tester leads across the battery with everything connected up..

 

[Mikemaster]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

OK, thanks.

 

[cajun555]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

If in doubt, use meter on car while running. Should be 14.5. If still reading 30 to 70 volts throw meter away.

 

[russeller]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

i would check the battery in the meter mine did that and the battery was dieing

 

[lark2004]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

you should be measureing across the battery. Make sure you have your meter set to DC volts and put the red(+) lead on the positive terminal of the battery and the black(-) lead on the negative terminal the battery. you should be reading around 13.8vdc, if your regulator was supplying 30 to 70 volts then all your elecronics would've been toast by now, not to mention your battery would've exploded.

 

[FishHog]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

I agree, meter or operator error. Not meant as an insult, but 70volts would have caused some serious problems by now.<br /><br />FishHog

 

[ED21]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

I was using my voltmeter this weekend to check some batteries & was getting a reading of 14.9 volts. Way to high for even a fully charged battery. Then I noticed the low battery icon on the meter. A new battery fixed it right up.

 

[lark2004]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

what type and what brand of multimeters are you guys using?? My Fluke DMM never reads wrong due to a low battery (never reads wrong ever!). If you are use analog meters then the battery shouldn't even worry it, the battery on those is for OHM's measurement only, as for DMM's, any good quality meter should still be acurate even if the battery is getting low. IF it is causing problems with the readings, I have difficulty believing you would even be able to read the LCD. <br /><br />P.S. I have 12 years of Electronics servicing and manufactureing behind me, so I do know what I'm on about when it comes to test equipment.

 

[cajun555]

Re: How many volts to battery at idle??

Yes, I've had it happen to me with my DMM. Got on a 115 volt circuit and was reading 187 volts. Went out to my truck to retrieve my trusty backup meter and it read circuit correctly, 115 v. A low battery in DMM can cause wackey readings.