Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

[BrianD1973]

Ok, so from a little research on here.... disconnecting the battery cable while the boat/engine runs is a bad thing.... at least SOME of the time.... and I happen to be one of those cases.... grrrrrr.... why mechanics can't be similar with all engines is silly to me! :-(

Soooooo, thought had drained battery after sitting at an event for a while with the radio running.... went to start,,,,, click.... click..... ok, so tried jumper cables, no go... took out my batt. used someone elses.... that's when the fun began.... still no go, so figured tap on starter.... Vrooom... ok... good.... soooo, good samaritan guys figure disconnect their batt. and put mine back in (while engine ran).... sounds good to shade tree auto mechanic me.... no go, stalls.... they figured alternator bad.... greeat! sounds like a fun $500 part that requires a possible kit to make it easier says one guy that seems to be familiar with this engine!.... soooo, they charge up my batt on their boat, (because I guess they were able to start their boat and disconnect their batt. for me and put mine in place to charge).... I put mine back in and starts up... tried the battery disconnect one more time while it ran.... no go..... I concurred on the alternator possibility..... get home, check battery and it's good.... put load to it... good! check voltage while it ran, does seem to be charging.... get on here and see that disconnecting cable bad while running.... argh! meter did seem to go up higher than 13 volts after checking battery.... and after taking the boat out this past weekend, volt meter on boat seems to spike at times.... sometimes it's fine, other times it's up... when up, just turned on everything electrical (blower, bilge, lights, radio) to bring it down more normal! seemed ok but did wonder about blowing that stuff up..... but figured if I didn't try that, battery is gonna burn up?!?

Sooooooo, I'm guessing starter probably is on way out and was probably original problem and now I have a regulator problem as well!?!? wonderful.... any suggestions on where to get these parts online? As stated, more of a auto guy but most of the time, mechanics are mechanics! Know where the starter is and think I know where the regulator is... guess a manual at this point mite be a good thing... or can I just disconnect this garbage and put the new in?

Thx! Brian

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

What voltage is at the battery with the engine running measured with a DVM? Maybe you got lucky.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

When my voltage regulator died I was getting almost 15-volts out of it.

If and when you decide to replace the regulator, most upgrade to a belt driven alternator. The 3.7 never used a belt driven alt. for charging only that stator under the balancer and the voltage regulator. I made my own brackets and bought a marine grade delco 10si alternator. Measured for a belt with a piece of wire and been working great all season. Took a couple of hours to do, this is the set up I copied off ebay.

you can buy a bolt in kit from breezeworks.net for just over $300.00. Breezeworks is a site that is dedicated to the 470, parts and a forum as well.

Here is a link for the starter:
http://www.motorcityreman.com/memaoe5050502.html

 

[BrianD1973]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

the voltmeter on the boat and the meter on my battery load checker (at the battery) both read in the 15-16v range "at times".... just spikes at times, other times stays right around 13...

soooooo, you are saying instead of just replace the regulator which I think I saw somewhere in the $200 range?, I should just go ahead and do the alternator conversion and unhook the regulator and stator before it just goes bad and I have to do it eventually? Seems thats about a $500 job in parts from what little I have seen for the kits. If that is what you are saying I guess the alternator conversion would have an alt that has an internal regulator?

What's the downside of letting this go for another season if the boat only goes out 3-4 times a year? gonna fry the battery or something worse?

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

....I will promise you that if you have any voltage sensitive equipment (depth finder/GPS/fancy sound system) besides the normal filamented bulbs and standard ignition components: at the most inoppurtune moment the regulator will spike and all the smoke will escape from the wiring!!
I think you're flirting with disaster here. Either replace the regulator (EBay) or make the conversion and be safe and happy.
MANY of us 3.7 owners have made the conversion and I am yet to hear a complaint!!

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

Brian,
I am not sure how long you want to jack with this ? I screwed with mine for a couple of months and had to be towed in twice. When you are ready to can this wierd lawn mower magneto system and get a real honest to goodness altenater with a built in regulator and all the brackets you will need then go over tho breezeworks .com. Kevin there has just what you need at the best price anywhere and its an easy install and your eletrical problems will be solved.

 

[natemoore]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

Yeah, just go ahead and replace the starter and convert to an alternator. Get it over with. Since I have power steering, I had to get the "low" alternator kit. Still got it at Breezeworks, tho. I also added an additional battery and a battery switch because I went through the impose on a fellow boater for an hour while you play musical batteries. It's nice going out with two fully charged batteries.

 

[Longhorn14]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

What if you have a regulator that is smoking and burning out at one of the contacts? Help

 

[TiredoleBoy]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

What if you have a regulator that is smoking and burning out at one of the contacts? Help

I would say the regulator is frying out. Thats what was happening to mine, then it just sizzled into a flash of smoke.

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

Well if you want to go back with the same 470 set up, I got a regulator I'll sell. Just $80.00 no guarantees.

 

[nola mike]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

if you want to be a guinea pig, i'm still trying to see if this fix works or not:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=402087

 

[BrianD1973]

Re: Mercruiser 470 3.7L regulator?

mite try the suggestion or take ya up on the $80 used regulator.... $300 for the kit doesn't sound as bad as the $500 I was looking at before.... bracket seems a little less beefy than the ones I was looking at for $500 but if the part works, don't need the beef....

For those checking out the suggested website, seems it's not (dot)com... but breezeworks.net!!! makes a difference... thanks for the suggestions and keep em coming if ya want... helpful people ROCK!