How to test if battery is being charged?

[diver_down]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

some of the stators have 2 output wires. check the manual.
clean all terminals.
disconnect stator output wires and check the coils for continuity then for isolation to ground - the first number will be very low Ohms(multimeter on Ohms), the second should show no continuity (multimeter on MOhms).
If is checks out than leave disconnected and check output while cranking / running.
one way to check the regulator it to apply voltage to the input and see if the output is in specs. you can apply either AC or DC current. if you use DC switching the poles on the input will have no effect on output. do NOT put serious loads on the regulator while the engine is not pumping water - it will overheat.
a bad regulator WILL fry the stator pretty quickly, beware. and YES, BOTH of them tend to be rather expensive, even used.

 

[gfuller40]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

well i did the output test while cranking. I did not disconnect the two yellow wires, not sure if you need to do that or not.

I Averaged 24 volts but it jumped up to 40+ at times... Again this was using a voltmeter set on AC/200. I did this test with the engine idling on muffs.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

Sounds like the stator is fine. R/R is the bad boy.

 

[gfuller40]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

Ok - I re-tested in the water (in neutral) at low idle it was about 18 volts, high idle was 24....

 

[wilde1j]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

Stator is fine.

If you have wing nuts on the battery terminals, remove and throw as far as you can, then replace with SS hex nuts and washers. Running the motor for an instant with an open circuit guarantees smoking the R/R or stator.

Replace R/R.

Done.

 

[diver_down]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

your stator seems fine, now check the regulator. do not power up the regulator while the yellow stator wires are connected to it. do not start the engine for this. just disconnect the regulator input wires and power it up with an external power source; check output. (you will need an a/c source, i made one out of an old printer power supply - 24V, all I had to do was to "short" the diodes in it).
p.s. I also disconnected the output of the regulator and "loaded" it with a 12V lamp than checked the voltage across the lamp.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: How to test if battery is being charged?

Way easier to check R/R diodes with ohmmeter. R/R functionally is just diodes connected in a bridge arrangement.

See shop manual for specific to your motor procedure. Below is a general idea for water cooled R/R's:



Remove the rectifier wires from the terminal block. Using a ohm meter, connect the black lead of the ohm meter to the rectifier base (ground), then one by one, connect the red lead of the ohm meter to the yellow, yellow/gray, then the red wire (some rectifiers may also have a fourth yellow/blue wire. If so connect to that also). Now, reverse the ohm meter leads and check those same wires again. You should get a reading in one direction, and none at all in the other direction.

Now, connect the black lead of the ohm meter to the red wire. One by one, connect the red lead of the ohm meter to the yellow, yellow/gray, and if present, the yellow/blue wire. Then reverse the leads, checking the wires again. Once more, you should get a reading in one direction and none in the other.

Note that the reading obtained from the red rectifier wire will be lower then what is obtained from the other wires.

Any deviation from the "Reading", "No Reading" as above indicates a faulty rectifier. Note that a rectifier will not tolerate reverse polarity. Simply touching the battery with the cables in the reverse order or hooking up a battery charger backwards will blow the diodes in the rectifier assy immediately.