No alternator on my Force L-Drive 120hp???

[cfanto]

Excuse my question if it sounds ignorant, but...

I was told that my (recently purchased) 1990 Maxum 2100LDC does not have an alternator but that it has a battery maintainer that only maintains the current charge state of the battery and is unable to fully charge the battey. Is this normal for outboards and/or for L-Drives? Is it possible to install a marine alternator or am I restricted to the constraints of the L-drive? Anyone have any information about the battery maintainer for this particular boat?

Thanks!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: No alternator on my Force L-Drive 120hp???

The alternator--and it is that, an alternator-- is under the flywheel and consists of a stator which is wound, and permanent magnets on the inside perimeter of the flywheel. At full throttle it will put out about 16 volts and say seven amps. 12 volt batterys are usually charged at around 14 volts. So, it will be capable of fully charging the battery and indeed since it is not regulated (I think-- Depends on year and model) it will overcharge and "boil" off a little water with prolonged running. So, periodically you need to check and possibly top off the battery with water.

However, if you run the battery really low through cranking a lot or playing the stereo a long time while at anchor, seven amps is going to take a really long time to recharge it. If used a lot like this, then yes, the alternator will not fully charge the battery because it will not have enough running time.

Don't expect seven amps to go very far; --lights and stereo would be about it--this is less than one tenth of what the average car has.

 

[cfanto]

Re: No alternator on my Force L-Drive 120hp???

Thank you for clarifying that for me, Frank!

(man, I am amazed with the wealth of knowledge and quick replies in these forums!)