West Bend 80hp electrical issues

[crazy_s_dime]

Hey, all, you may have seen my other thread about my 64' crownline with an 80hp west bend. Well, I took it out to the lake to day for its maiden voyage, started it, died(cold) started it again then it died and the circuit breaker continued to trip on/off as if something were shoring. I noticed the negative ground terminal on the rectifier(i think) got really hot and now everytime you try to ground the rectifier it trips the circuit breaker. If you can see the rectifier in the pic(top right of it), its completely old school and there isnt any way I am going to find something like that. so is there a way I can use a universal rectifier in place? the engine puts out 20amps. Its a 3 AC(from stator) and 1 ground, and of coarse it positive grounds to the engine. Any input will be really helpful. I am stuck here.

 

[F_R]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

Try www.laingsoutboard.com and see if perchance he has a rectifier.

Of course you could cobble something up. A "rectifier " is nothing more than several diodes. In your case, probably six of them. Needless to say, polarity must be correct or you will just pop them as fast as you put them in. And the voltage and amperage must be adequate. Overkill is good.

 

[F_R]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

Like This:

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

well, If I could find some of these diodes, I would just replace them myself. There are three on each side, and they are marked accordingly with (+) on one side of the unit and (-) on the other. It seems very simpe. I just need to find some I guess. The other thing is I wonder what caused these to all of a sudden go like that(they do look as old as everything else on the engine). thanks

 

[F_R]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

They are blown by connecting the battery cables backwards. OR by running it with loose, corroded, or disconnected battery cables. Just a split second of improper connections and it is toast.

There is a real good chance that not all of the diodes are blown. Test them before tossing them.

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

I cant find any of those diodes anywhere on the net. I have been looking around, found this:

wondering if that would work? I know my stator only puts out like 20A and 100VAC or so, but this thing should be plenty heavy for my application. Its a 3 phase rectifier. It says its used for wind generators and stuff. input?

 

[F_R]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

If it will stand the amps and volts, go for it. I see that it has a (-) terminal. Make sure the case isn't grounded, or if it is, insulate it from the motor.

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

that thing is rated at 80A and 1000V AC. I think for 15 bucks im gonna give it a shot. gonna replace my starter relay too. another Q: what is the black cylinder shaped item in this picture, its not currently hooked up to anything.

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

anyone?? any ideas?

 

[F_R]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

A mercury switch. Named so because it has a glob of mercury inside, not related to Mercury outboards.

It is actuated by tilting the motor. Now, the purpose might be to kill the igniton if the motor is tilted, --OR-- it might be to keep you from running the starter while it is tilted. Depends on what the engineers had in mind.

Mind sharing where you found that rectifier? Sounds like a good find!!!

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

I found it on ebay. it will take like a week to get here so we will see if it does the job. it isnt engine specific, just a universal one.

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

The new rectifier came in, just as pictured. I hooked it all up, but it popped the breaker. I guess the company either wired the +/- on the thing backwards or just because my system is a positive ground I had to reverse the +/- on it and it works just fine. I put a new voltage regulator on it to(solid state newer version). I checked my AC output on each lead at idle and got around 20V average. I checked the DC side while running and it was about 15.2 regardless of RPM(regulator is doing its job I supposed, but seems a little high...). any thoughs let me know.. this is a pretty heavy duty recitifer, and for about 12$ shipped and a week and a half wait time it seems worth it.

 

[hellofaride]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

hi there very interested in this convo i am in desperate need of the same eletrical part for my westbend as the photo above that connects to the fly wheel and those couple of hanging wires if you can tell me what the part is called and where you got it and if you had to replace anything else i would be ever greatful ive been searching for a while now

 

[hellofaride]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

my motor is exactly the same as this and i need your help i need the same parts as you can you please advise me thankyou dave

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

Hey there! thanks for emailing me some pics! its nice to see that Im not the only one with this old engine. I did a bunch of looking/researching and finally figured out that any 3 phase rectifier will work with this generator as long as it meets or exceeds the outputs. Our generator is stated to put out about 110-130V AC with about 20-25 Amps, which isnt a whole lot, but we are talking 1960's here. I ordered mine off of ebay for about 14 bucks I think and I wired i up and it has worked/charged my battery for a whole season so far. This is the same one I bought from the same guy I bought mine from:
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Phase-Diode-Bridge-Rectifier-70A-1000V-SQL70A-New-/360347383008?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e660b4e0
Its a good thing that it is still not boat season yet because this thing comes from China, and it took me about 2 weeks to get it.

I would also mention if you havent taken apart the carbs and cleaned them/replaced/remade the bowl gaskets, its probably time to do so. Mine hadnt been started in at least 15 years before I had got it, so I started off by cleaning the carbs, lubing all moving parts, replacing the points( take off flywheel - bought from napa, or any parts store as long as you have the part number of an old one, they will match it) I also took my starter off and ran some fine emery cloth on the comutator and greased the bearings/bushings in it. I replaced a lot of the old wiring just to help out in the long run. Dont forget to change your plugs and check to make sure your coil-to-plug wires are in ok shape, I changed mine just to be safe.

 

[crazy_s_dime]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

Oh, you might want to look into getting a new Voltage regulator as well because the Rectifier and regulator go hand in hand, and it would be better to have an overall updated electrical system instead of just some parts. I also just finally tracked down and got an impeller for it to. It takes an 18-3085 impeller, some companies only list it under a 3085. I got mine in and it fits my output shaft and inside the impeller housing. You might think about changing it as well, 6 bolts and 4 screws, took me 25 minutes.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[hellofaride]

Re: West Bend 80hp electrical issues

thankyou very much for your time and reply ill start at the top of your list and email for help when needed if ok thanks again dave.