Should my Merc 80hp be charging the battery?

[deerman]

I just bought my first boat, a 17' Eagle fish/ski boat. It's got a 1989 (I think) Mercury 80hp motor. Does this motor have an alternator for charging the battery? I'm pretty sure the guy I bought it from said that the motor didn't charge either of the batteries (starter and deep cycle). The starter battery currently has about a 20% charge and I've been driving the boat for a couple of days now (not solid).<br /><br />Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: Should my Merc 80hp be charging the battery?

Should have a stator(under flywheel) and rectifier(somewhere on engine) and these are the components that keep the battery charged.<br />I haven't come across any large motor that doesn't charge that is electric start.<br />If it's not charging, test your stator/rectifier per the manual instructions.

 

[deerman]

Re: Should my Merc 80hp be charging the battery?

Thanks Unicorn, I'll give that a try. It's definitely not charging...