lighthouse2k Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 I have a 2003 Merc 115 2 stroke. I am not getting any more than 11.8 to 12.0 volts with revs running through the motor. I just had the voltage regulator replaced about 20hrs ago and it has worked fine up until now. Anyone got any idea's. Would it be re reg again? Thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingrod Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Chris You dont mention if you have the Optimax or Carby motor and your method of testing. We sell electronics at work and we always ask how/where people are making their measurements if they complain about our product. I dont mean to offend you. Ive got the 2000 model carby and I get 12.6-13.0'ish volts at low revs and 13.5-14.1 up on the plane. But i've never measured it accurately with my multimeter, these readings are only off my sounder. I think there is a extra <0.5 volts to be had if i measured direct off the battery. I know the voltage may go high if the regulator is blown. But im not sure if it can go low if it fails. Any idea what caused it to fail the first time? It sounds like a pattern may be forming. Our mate Huey will be on the case i the morning I would say. You need to make sure that you are not running the motor with the battery switch off or without the battery connected/loose terminals. This can damage the charging system. A number of battery switches are make before break, meaning that there is always power connected when switching between position 1-both-2 etc. A good way to test this is to switch your nav lights on with the motor off and slowly switch your battery switch between different positions. If the lights go off between position 1 and Both it means you do not have make before break. In this case it is not recommend to switch between batteries when the engine is running. Some switches can have fancy alternator protection and would normally be marked to say so. If you have been recharging at home from a plug in charger or solar panel (without regulation) it would be advisable to isolate the engine from the battery while charging. Or has someone tried jump starting you with the leads reversed? Thats never a good thing. I dont suggest that you go out with it in the current condition cheers, Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2k Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 (edited) Hi Chris You dont mention if you have the Optimax or Carby motor and your method of testing. We sell electronics at work and we always ask how/where people are making their measurements if they complain about our product. I dont mean to offend you. "Its a Carby Motor" Ive got the 2000 model carby and I get 12.6-13.0'ish volts at low revs and 13.5-14.1 up on the plane. But i've never measured it accurately with my multimeter, these readings are only off my sounder. I think there is a extra <0.5 volts to be had if i measured direct off the battery."usually get up to around 14 volts if its all good, measured 11.8 off the battery and the sounder" I know the voltage may go high if the regulator is blown. But im not sure if it can go low if it fails. Any idea what caused it to fail the first time? It sounds like a pattern may be forming. Our mate Huey will be on the case i the morning I would say. "Last time Tacho stopped working, low volts and maybe regulator had a bit of heat in it?" You need to make sure that you are not running the motor with the battery switch off or without the battery connected/loose terminals. This can damage the charging system. A number of battery switches are make before break, meaning that there is always power connected when switching between position 1-both-2 etc. A good way to test this is to switch your nav lights on with the motor off and slowly switch your battery switch between different positions. If the lights go off between position 1 and Both it means you do not have make before break. In this case it is not recommend to switch between batteries when the engine is running. Some switches can have fancy alternator protection and would normally be marked to say so."Switch is fine. Don't lose power when switching and never run it past the off switch when motor is running" If you have been recharging at home from a plug in charger or solar panel (without regulation) it would be advisable to isolate the engine from the battery while charging. Or has someone tried jump starting you with the leads reversed? Thats never a good thing."Have AGM batteries and never charge them except on the boat of course" I dont suggest that you go out with it in the current condition cheers, Rod Edited September 18, 2007 by lighthouse2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingrod Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Last time Tacho stopped working Thats not meant to be a good sign from what ive read on other forums. I cant help you any further from here, sorry. I was just trying to cover some basics and preventitive stuff. Please post up the outcome so I can keep it in mind incase I have a similar problem cheers Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2k Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 No worries, good checklist anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Chris, if you have wingnuts on the battery they probably have worked loose and caused the rectifier/regulator to blow. When it was replaced that should of been checked so hopefully you do not have wingnuts. It is pretty easy to check if the outboard is charging your battery and we have an inductive ammeter that we run in line and see what the amps are when engine is running. If your Tacho has stopped working then that is a good sign that the rectifier is no good because the pulse wire for the Tacho signal also comes from the rectifier. Please check and make sure you do not have wingnuts and let us know, Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrwooley Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hi Huey, Having not been a boaty for long ... can you please expand on the battery/wingnut issues? This setup seems to be quite common on many boat packages. Regards, Barry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hi Huey, Having not been a boaty for long ... can you please expand on the battery/wingnut issues? This setup seems to be quite common on many boat packages. Regards, Barry. G'day Barry, Here is the thread where wingnuts on batteries was discussed. Wingnuts Pay particular attention to Huey's post on the subject. They are particularly troublesome on boats. Cheers, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2k Posted September 19, 2007 Author Share Posted September 19, 2007 OK I do not have wing nuts. The tacho is still working, just to clarify it stopped working last time when I replaced the regulator. After that the tacho has still been working fine. I started the motor, read the volts at the battery terminals and am getting 11.8 roughly which is the same as the fishfinder. Thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hi Chris, good to hear about your battery and terminals. The only way to determine if your outboard is charging is with an ammeter which measures amps and your outboard has a charging capacity of about 16 amps. So either get yourself an ammeter, the best are inductive ones from places like Dick Smith, or if you are local we can check the charging system for you with ours and it would not take long. If you would like PM or call me and I can book you in for a checkover. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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