1989 Evinrude 120 VRO - Charging System

[natedogg3991]

Hello, I have a 1989 Evinrude 120 VRO on my boat it has been running really well with no issue over the last year since I have had it. I have done all the standard maintenance and winterized it properly for winter based on what was listed on the forums. I had it out for a 3 day fishing trip and it ran with no problems noticed. Last weekend I took it out and when going across the lake my fish finder kept shutting down and my built in depth meter stopped working. When we go to where we were going and idled everything then started working normally. I did not think much of it at the time and we fished for the afternoon. When going back to the landing the same thing happened and I noticed on the voltmeter on the dash that the reading was jumping between 14 and maxing out a 16 volts and again my electronics stopped working. When I got the boat home I double checked all the connections to the starting battery and then tested it and it showed a good charge of about 12 volts.

I am not a boat mechanic and not sure about how to go troubleshooting this problem. Is there an alternator similar to a car that I can take off and take in to have tested? Is there something else that is used for charging, that I could test on my own? The battery is approximately 2 years old and it does not seem to be the issue but I guess anything is possible. In the time I have had it I have had no problems with the battery not charging or not starting the boat when needed. I put the charger on it and after about 2 hours it showed as fully charged.

I know that it is possible that it could be the battery and stuff works until it doesn't but I am not sure how to go troubleshooting further. I would like to avoid taking it into the mechanic if I can as that bill can add up quickly. I know that there are a lot of people on the forums here that are a lot smarter than me so any help would be appreciated.

 

[natedogg3991]

I have not had a chance to test this any more yet. I have taken off the batter connections and cleaned them all. I am not sure if this could be a battery issue as it seems strange that it would be pushing out extra volts. I am planning to take the battery in to be tested hopefully this weekend just to rule it out.

 

[Faztbullet]

Could be battery with weak or loose internal cell or a rectifier problem. The easy test is to swap with another battery and see if voltage jumps around,,,

 

[jakedaawg]

Is the fish finder wired directly to the battery? If it is not, and pulls its power and ground from elsewhere I would check for a bad/loose ground at the fuse panel usually located near the console.

Also suggest that instead of relying on volt gauge that you take a reading at battery terminals with a good digital voltmeter while running at speed and at idle and post. This assumes that all cable ends and battery terminals are clean and have been tightened with a wrench. The wrench part is important.

 

[natedogg3991]

Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating and I have not been able to take out the boat again. I have been doing a lot of reading and I think it has been narrowed down to either the battery or the voltage regulator/rectifier issue. I took the battery out and had it tested at the auto parts store and it tested fine on their quick test though I am not sure if this would show an issue, since it seems to be holding a charge. I know the part number for the regulator/rectifier is 0583512 not sure how hard this is to change out if it is the issue. From what I understand some can be challenging because of the fly wheel.

One item that I did notice this spring when I took it out and when I was pulling the battery last week was in the battery box there was water standing in the bottom. There was quite a bit in the spring and then about an inch in the bottom this last time. I checked the water levels in the battery and it seemed normal.

The battery is not wired directly to the batter but to a block under the console with everything else I believe.

One other item that stopped working recently was the tilt position, but I think I have narrowed this down to the position sensor and do not think it could be related to the other issues.

Unfortunately I work out of town and do not have a lot of time to work on the boat or the knowledge to be very effective at it. I think I might try taking it in somewhere to see if they can tell me though everywhere I check around me is 2-3 weeks out on repair work.

I appreciate al the feed back this is the first boat that I have ever owned and have learned a lot on the forums and learn more each day.

 

[emdsapmgr]

I believe that your engine only requires battery voltage when starting or when running the trim. Other than that, it makes it's own ignition power when running. Possible your rectifier/regulator is going bad. It would take you some time to drain the battery if that combination rectifier/regulator is not working/re-charging the battery properly. When these go bad usually you will see unusual fluctuations in the tach, then eventually, low battery voltage on the voltmeter. (under 12 volts.) Sound like that's the direction this is going. Also, if the battery voltage is somewhat low, the engine is off, and you activate the trim, it may sap all of the voltage from the battery for a few seconds. That low-voltage spike may be enough that the fishfinder senses low voltage and will shut down (a normal internal protection feature on the fishfinders.) The water in the battery box is not an issue with the battery unless it's actual battery water, boiled out during running...check the water level in the battery cells.