tach died today

[bob johnson]

motor has been running ok..... charged the battery last night....it started at 60% and in the morning it was 100%..

out on the river, I started the motor at least a dozen times for various reasons....some time through the morning the alarm was TRYING to sound...it was like it was shorting....almost going off...going off for a little bit, then not...and the tach was jumping around...

eventually the tach stopped working completely....motor kept running the temps in each head were about 140....so no over heat alarm...

I called my mechanic and asked if what happened may make the motor stop and strand me..

he said it might be the alternator...which runs the tach.....now my motor probably isnt charging any more...but the motor is still fine...


what do you guys think I broke...what part am I looking to examine and troubleshoot..

and how do i check it??

i have some spare parts to another motor I currently have dissasembled...that i could scavenge and try...

rectifier??
regulator?

is there a common cause for this item to go bad??

thanks

bob

 

[1fishbone]

Re: tach died today

How about posting:
Outboard size, serial # make and model#

Your 'mechanic' said the alternator died on an outboard...interesting...he said the alternator runs the tach...ummm!!

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: tach died today

Which motor is broken? The E90sleua ?

 

[v20 outrage]

Re: tach died today

Sounds like your rectifer went South.
One of the main reasons the rectifer blows [ & tach stops working ] is because you most likely have wingnuts on your battery connections & 1 got loose.
Rule of thumb, throw the wingnuts as far as you possibly can, away from your engine, & put double s/s nuts on each terminal & tighten them with a wrench, or you may have a cracked or broken battery cable.
When the tach starts acting up, it generally means rectifer.
Sal

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: tach died today

Dang Bob.... sent you all them nice pretty pistons and parts and ya aint got it together yet??? Yer problem does sound like rectifier/regulator failed and never charge a starting battery with engine cables connected. Hey if ya need a new one shoot me a pm or email at my AOL address.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: tach died today

This is a 1989 Ford 302 engine Bob?

 

[bob johnson]

Re: tach died today

I like Fords....would love to have theri new F150 motor!!

but...

my outboard in question is a J115 SLEO(?) I dont think the last digit matters though.

as a matter of fact I do have wing nuts...and i did charge the battery with the cables attached.....but I have done that 20 times in the last year...

maybe if its wrong, it finally bit me in the azzzz.

fazt:.....too many projects..and too much procrastination...I spent weeksn on end of free time sewing my boat blind!!!

I have one more port to open up in the block , then I can start putting that 90 back together....


I had bought some spare parts on ebay... Ill have to check if one was the part I fried....

if not I have the one from the 90, and Ill need to buy a replacement...

my manual is at work...so i cant see how to take it apart...I hope it isnt a pain...it is bitter cold out.....

thanks


is the thinking here rectifier/regulator...essentiall thats the part that charges the battery...doesnt it???

i know the guy called it an alternator...but many times instead of trying to elaboratly explain things...people answer so it is easy to understand..

I know this guy knows everything about motors....

he has a shop thats been super busy for 30 years...and most people know him..

although he says he doesnt do rebuilds anymore...he just buys rebuilt stuff...and installs it..


anyway thanks guys
bob

 

[bob johnson]

Re: tach died today

the rectifier-regulator did has some seapage of dark ooze slightly coming out from around where the wires are passing though the plastic filled top.

is that a sign it melted inside??

I started to take it off....it looks plug and play...the hardest part being the thick plastic postive cable boot, i have ....tough to pry away enough to get at the brass nut, because it is 20 degrees out.


next question mine has two brass nuts.( like the sound of that) one was holding the three power wires to various motor things, then the BATTERY cable went on after that first nut and was held on by a second nut...that order sound right??

should all the wires be sandwiched by one nut?

thanks



bob

 

[GatorMike]

Re: tach died today

Hey Bob, there is a simple test you can do on that rectifier with a multi meter. I'm sure you can find it with a search of this site or maybe one of the experts can chime in. Last year when I was struggling with my tach not working I tested the rectifier witha multimeter and it tested bad, I bought a new one and it tested good. Installed the new one and the tach worked perfect.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: tach died today

J115SLEO = 1995 115hp Johnson

(Testing Tachometer With Water Cooled Regulator/Rectifier)
(J. Reeves)

A quick check is to simply plug in a another new tachometer as a piece of test equipment. If the new tach works properly and the old tach didn't, obviously the old tach is faulty.... but usually boaters don't carry around a spare tach (see below).

A faulty rectifier wouldn't damage the tachometer, the tachometer simply wouldn't work. This is due to the fact that the tachometer operates off of the charging system and the rectifier converts AC voltage to DC voltage, enabling the charging system. A faulty rectifier disables the charging system, and the tachometer simply doesn't register.

However.... those water cooled regulator/rectifiers that are used on the 35 ampere charging systems (and some others) bring into play a different type problem, and as you've probably found out, they are really a pain to troubleshoot via the proper procedure. There's an easier way.

The tachometer sending/receiving setup operates off of the gray wire at the tachometer. That same gray wire exists at the engine wiring harness which is connected to the engine electrical terminal strip. You'll see that there is a gray wire leading from the regulator/rectifier to that terminal strip, and that there is another gray wire attached to it. That other gray wire is the wire leading to the tachometer which is the one you're looking for.

NOTE: For the later models that DO NOT incorporate a wiring terminal strip, splicing into the "Yellow Wire" mentioned will be necessary.

Remove that gray wire that leads to the tachometer. Now, find the two (2) yellow wires leading from the stator to that terminal strip. Hopefully one of them is either yellow/gray or is connected to a yellow/gray wire at the terminal strip. If so, connect the gray wire you removed previously to that yellow/gray terminal. Start the engine and check the tachometers operation, and if the tachometer operates as it should, then the regulator/rectifier is faulty and will require replacing. If the tachometer is still faulty, replace the tachometer.

If neither of the yellow wires from the stator is yellow/gray, and neither is attached to a yellow/gray wire, then attach that gray tachometer wire to either yellow stator wire, then the other yellow wire, checking the tachometer operation on both connections.

I've found this method to be a quick and efficient way of finding out which component is faulty.... the tachometer or the regulator/rectifier. It sounds drawn out but really only takes a very short time to run through. If the water cooled regulator/rectifier proves to be faulty, don't put off replacing it as they have been known to catch on fire with disastrous consequences.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: tach died today

well I am pretty sure i dont have a terminal strip.....my rectifier has both a gray wire and a yellow w/gray stripe wire.

here is a picture..i am thinking the dark ooze coming from the unit is a bad sign...

I have another ectifier, but the gray and purple wires dont have bullet plugs like mine, they have a duetch 2 pin connector. so i have to go to the marine store tomorrow to find some male heat shrink bullet connector to crimp on, after i cut the duetch plug off...

the replacement unit is from my 97 ocean pro 90 hp

bob

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: tach died today

The 97 unit may not have the purple wire Bob, no problem as it a better unit. They did a internal mod and did away with it on the later model motors and replacement parts, just tape it back....