79 Silverline
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 32
Hey guys. I looked around but didn't see an answer on here. Sorry if this is redundant.<br /><br />I have a 79' 90 HP I-6 that has been through a chain of problems though I think I've got it nailed down to the very last thing.<br /><br />I've got a CDI ignition system on it, and it seems to be eating ignition coils - I've cooked two of them, both shorted internally. I talked to CDI, and they told me that I should check my charging voltage while underway - it shouldn't exceed 14.2 Volts. So I went out on the water and put the voltmeter on it and was cruising around - the voltage got up to 15.5 at the battery! No wonder why it seemed to happen more at high RPM conditions. Ouch.<br /><br />I recall this guy telling me that you can't use a normal car type battery, as they won't self regulate like a purpose built marine battery will. So I put in a marine heavy duty deep cycle battery in. Once charged, it hit 14.3 volts but was still very slowly creeping up. I ended up disconnecting my stator (stator only charges the battery) and had a great time out on the water - it ran much longer than the 1-1/2 hours I'd get out of it before it cooks a coil, so I think that it is indeed a charging problem.<br /><br />So can anybody tell me the difference between the batteries, and if I'll be ok with a marine battery, or if I need to put some sort of regulator on there? The things charges like there's no tomorrow and is really bringing voltage up way high - I want to be able to go ripping around without worrying about overcharging or boiling the battery - Thanks!