Merc 100 over voltage charging

ExxWhy

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
49
1988 Merc 100, serial OB300685, inline 4 cyl.

Looks like it has a regulator, but I am getting 15.8 volts while running. As best I can tell from the Seloc manual, the 2-3" square black box is a regulator. Looks like this one. http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...gd_poid=111805&gd_row=89&**********=941856151

Did some reading about the charging systems on older models without a regulator, and this is acting like it doesn't have one. The battery is brand new and fully charged. The voltage does drop when I put a load on it such as the trim tab pump. Tried putting both batteries online, and the voltage stayed high.

So I am assuming the regulator is bad, but in the interest of not just throwing fairly expensive parts at it, figured I would ask those who know these systems well. Do these regulators default to max output if they go bad? Is there such a thing as a typical failure anyway?

Have a Humminbird fish finder GPS which is where I was reading the voltage from. It will take 10-20 volts input, so shouldn't hurt it at this point, but this isn't good for the batteries. Probably isn't good for the marine radio or stereo either.

Some thoughts?
 
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