LOW VOLTAGE

[BOSTINDIVAH1765]

hello everyone!!!! i am new to this.i have a 28' glen-l hand-made boat.it is powered by a mercury 90 h.p. outboard motor s/n#0a935062 model#1090726 yr.1987 i am running two west marine sea volts,dual purpose 745 batteries.mca 745, reserve 150 amp hrs.80 discharge cycles 200. grp 27.i came out of the fish house yesterday in gloucester.one bilge pump was inverted,which activated power.(was running whole time at pier.)isolator switch was on both.called sea tow for jump start.motor started after two attempts.boat ran halfway to beverly,mass approx 5 miles.lowrance x71 fishfinder showing approx 8.7 volts.lowrance global 2400 showing approx 7.6 volts.coming into beverly harbor both lowrances quit,vhf quit,running lights barely lit,made to mooring,motor stayed running for half hour.i shut it off,no start,everything dead.tach stuck at 4000rpms,fuel gauge on empty(about quater full.)battery meter on 8. i am currently charging batteries on 10 amp charger that i bought at west marine.does this motor have a voltage regulator????what should i do next?? i am electically challenged,and know virtually nothing about electricity.thank you for your time...

 

[Reel Appeal]

Re: LOW VOLTAGE

Hello BostonDivah,<br /> I beleive your motor is equipped with a rectifier which controls battery charging.Sounds to me your motor has not been charging in a while(which may indicate a bad rectifier).I have a '86 175hp with this which I replaced years back.Mine was a small black box(maybe2"x2").The part was reasonably priced and simple to replace.Check with a local Mercury dealer/service Marina,etc.<br />Note:NEVER move the isolater switch(to switch batts.) while motor is running.Guarenteed electrical damage.If you did this,ask a Merc.dealer for assistance. <br />Also,check all your battery cable connections and make sure your batterys have enough water in them!

 

[BOSTINDIVAH1765]

Re: LOW VOLTAGE

thank you !!!!!!

 

[jhreed]

Re: LOW VOLTAGE

I too and new to this stuff but... I'm learning that most outboards have limited charging capacity so one can't just throw on two dead or nearly dead batteries and hope that the charging coils can keep up.. they won't... You should have them charged up full before putting them back on line. That way the motor has a fair chance to keep them up if the other loads aren't too great. Good luck.. Jim Reed

 

[Reel Appeal]

Re: LOW VOLTAGE

B.D.<br /> Jim Reed gave me another idea.Your motor should be putting out about 15-20amps Max(maybe) to charge batts.Maybe the charging system cannot keep up with the demand your putting on your batterys.Try putting the isolater switch to 1 or 2 instead of both.Charge one at a time(after a full charge of both of course).Just an idea...

 

[Hooty]

Re: LOW VOLTAGE

I could be wrong but I think it's bad juju to try and charge and/or run both batteries at the same time. I think it should be one or the other.<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty