Battery Charging from a Mercury 20hp Thunderbolt

[Wiggy]

I have as in the title a Mercury 20hp '85 Thunderbolt ignition. Coming off of the voltage regulator is two yellow and red wires that joni a two pin external port. <br /><br />Having little knowledge about these motors, can these wires be used to charge a battery? I would like to run either a fish finder or lights, or maybe even an electric motor.<br /><br />If not, what can these be used for and what are their limitations?

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: Battery Charging from a Mercury 20hp Thunderbolt

As far as I know the yellow/red wires are an AC feed from a seperate alternator. IF I'm right then you'll need to put a rectifier in there to create a DC charging feed for your battery.A good electronics store will be able to sell you something that'll do the job. A 20hp won't put a LOT of charge back but it will charge it slowly. If you use a leisure battery it'll last quite a while without a charging system anyway-just remove it and charge it when not in use.

 

[inohv8]

Re: Battery Charging from a Mercury 20hp Thunderbolt

The colors sound right for the alternator.., You can save a lot of coin by going to radio shack and getting a full wave bridge rectifier rated 30 amps, although your charge may only be around 5 or so.. but the price difference is small, wires from stators go to the AC terminals, the neg. goes to the engine case (ground), the positive to the battery., it should cost around 3 to 5 bucks.<br />a dealer will charge you around 20 to 30 in a different type of case to justify the cost..