UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

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cc lancer

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

L.I. Chuck<br /><br />What is the purpose of the rectifier bridge?<br /><br />Where is the circuit breaker located?<br /><br />In testing is the 14.7 volts a minimum or maximum voltage at the battery?<br /><br />How does a 12 volt D.C battery filter incoming or out going voltage?<br /><br />Thanks!!!
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

Poppa G<br />If you really want to test this thing out yourself, get the Mercruiser service manual and read section 4C. There is 35 pages of detailed information on testing every item.<br />Maybe even your local Merc dealer will let you look at it, so you can see what is involved in the testing and checking.<br />Besides that, eventually you will be working on other parts of your engine and will also need the information from the manual, so might as well breakdown and get one. It's book 26 for your engine.
 
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blackz3

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

not subject related but i want to comment on the log you keep BPG now why didnt i think of that!!!!! great idea<br />ps..hope you get it fixed and it turns out to be cheap and simple
 
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BigPoppaG

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

Thanks blackz3. It has helped when I did it for my jeep so I figured I'd do it for the boat. I also use the info on this site and some from surfing the web and put it all together in one log for reference. No so much work when you to it over time. I Do close to 70 percent of all repairs myself now on the jeep. HUGH money saver. Also bought the service manual for it. Manual plus the log and I may never have to see another tech again. :D <br /><br />Thanks for the info Don S. I did buy the service manual as soon as I got the boat last year. As a matter of fact I bought it and the outdrive manual on your suggestion and it has been a hugh help. I did look at the section on the alternator. Very detail,I Have never worked on one so I just wanted to throw a couple of things out there to see what answers I got back. I'll be pulling it out again this weekend and try some of the tests.<br /><br />Thanks all for your help. If I come up with some thing new I'll let ya know.<br />BPG
 
KaGee

KaGee

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

Originally posted by cc lancer:<br /> L.I. Chuck<br /><br />What is the purpose of the rectifier bridge?<br /><br />Where is the circuit breaker located?<br /><br />In testing is the 14.7 volts a minimum or maximum voltage at the battery?<br /><br />How does a 12 volt D.C battery filter incoming or out going voltage?<br /><br />Thanks!!!
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Hey CC! LTNS!<br /><br />Every alternater has a diode "bridge" to convert the A/C voltage to D/C. It's internally inside the unit. "Bridge" is simply an electronic term used to describe the design of the circuit.<br /><br />The 14.7V max is subjective. I would not want a system much over 14V on a fully charged battery and cruising revs. It would shorten the battery life.<br /><br />The battery provides some minor filtering abilities as it acts like a capacitor. Most of your electronic toys are recommended by the manufacturer to be connected directly to the battery in part due to this.<br /><br />PoppaG...<br />Just to throw my contribution into the Hobo Stew... <br /><br />You may have blown a diode. If so, the alternator will continue to work... for a while. It will fail in time. Diodes cannot handle reversed polarity. Just keep your eye on the voltage guage for any drastic changes. If you have a good battery, should the alternator fail while on the water, there would be enough juice to keep the motor running long enough to get back to port.
 
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BigPoppaG

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

KaGee,<br />Thanks, Thats what I wanted to know. I will be testing close to the launch site. Plus father in law lives close by the launch site and has a house on the water with his own Sea Ray. Best of both worlds I guess.
 
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Ralph 123

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

This should help you understand how rectifiers work and what the waveforms look like:<br /> http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_3/4.html <br /><br />Now, a diode is like a one way valve - it conducts current in one direction only. When it is reversed biased (Cathode +, Anode -)it looks like an open circuit and blocks current. When it is forward biased (Cathode-, Anode +) it looks like a short circuit (although it drops about 0.6V) <br /><br />Now, when it looks like a short, and there is no load to limit the current, you are basically putting the full short circuit current capability of the source (your battery) through the diode (in a bridge, its 4 diodes). <br /><br />The size of the diode (rating) determines how large a current it can handle and for how long.<br /><br />The smoke could indicate one or more were overheated and have been damaged (but still functioning). It could indicate it one or more have been totally cooked or one or more could have just been dirty, got very hot, and burned off whatever dirt or grease was on it at the time.
 
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BigPoppaG

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

Well, took her for a ride today. Spent 2 hours out on the water. Checked the volts and it stayed around 14 the entire time. <br /><br />Everything is working fine. No buzz humm or noise when I turn on the radio.<br /><br />Don't know what the pop and puff of smoke was but it doesn't seem to be effecting anything.<br /><br />I did hear it skip some like it was backfiring a little. It only happened when I when from high rev and slowed it down.<br /><br />Brought it home and looked all around the engine and still can't find anything wrong.<br /><br />Took the volt meter and ran it across the terminals at a high rev when I was flushing it out after the trip and the meter read 14volts.<br /><br />I am at a loss on were the pop and puff of smoke came from. :confused: <br /><br />If anything else happens I'll keep you guys up to speed.<br />BPG
 
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BigPoppaG

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

Ralph,<br />Thanks. I will try it this weekend. That should put the alternator question to rest.....Hopefully. :D
 
chuckz

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Re: UPDATE ON BEING AN IDIOT

KaGee,<br /><br />Thanks for answering the questions on my post. I lost track of this thread. I have one correction on diodes:<br /><br />Diodes don't mind reverse voltage except LED's (light emitting diodes). Diodes are rated for the reverse voltage and forward current. Reverse voltage is PIV (peak inverse voltage). A diode being used to rectify a sine wave will normally see the peak AC voltage from the source when the sine wave is in the non-conductive phase. <br /><br />My 14.7 volts was for a regulated system with a lead acid battery. The voltage values comes from the chemical properties of the battery and the potential needed to start charging.
 
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