Battery Charging from 4hp Sailpower Mercury Outboard

[waterline]

I bought a new Mercury 4HP Sailpower 4-stoke outboard earlier this year and want to<br />charge my on-board battery from the engine. The engine has a short wiring harness leading<br />from a built in charging unit on the engine. Do I need a regulator between the engine and the battery<br />and does it do the charging unit any harm leaving the wires disconnected.<br />Can anyone help?

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Battery Charging from 4hp Sailpower Mercury Outboard

Hi Waterline. I believe a charging system will be harmed if the motor is operated without connection of the leads to a battery. The rectifier in the system converts A/C output to D/C, and will burn out if there is no battery to receive the charge. So for safety sake, I would operate with a battery attached. If you have a voltmeter, you can see whether the battery is being charged (i.e., whether the charging system is operating).<br /><br />Wait for additional technical advice on this. I'll stand corrected if there are safeguards built into these systems, but would rather see you play it safe.....