Why am I always blowing my rectifier!?

[Odawg753]

Last year I put a new stator and rectifier on my 97 Evinrude 150, and today I took it out for a spin and tac was bouncing and voltometer was either at 12 or almost 16. How is it possible rectifier is bad already. Battery connections are tight and clean, new water pump so it should be getting cooled. What else could cause this

 

[Rustywrench]

I'll take a stab at this. Is this a bass boat by any chance with on board charger? Some people complain that leaving on board chargers plugged in for extended periods of time can be hard on things. Even though the charger decline in rate they still continue at even 1/2 amp over weeks is too much.

That being said lets talk about other areas. Do you have wing nuts on the battery for the engine cables? Wing nuts will not stay tight. Most marine batteries finally come with hex nits. Use them at least on the engine cables.
On the engine end the cables have to be tight at the ground & starter solenoid. The solenoid is a double nut affair. Take the battery cable off & make sure the first nut is tight. The star washer goes under the battery cable.
Look at the third mount location of your starter (two up top). One is behind the rigging cover. Two small screws hold it to the port head. Loosen the screws & pull the cover up & away. Look at the mount for the starter. You will notice additional ground wires in this location. Remove, clean, & makes sure they are tight. Problems in this area will usually cause a cranking issue from time to time?
What size battery are you running? Too small (think manual calls for 650 CCA) a battery or of course shorted battery will cause issues.
As you mentioned cooling issues can cause Reg/Rec issues. Cooling water takes the heat away when the regulated shuns the charging to ground.
Other than that I would be talking to the supplier I got the part from about possible warranty. It is possible to get a bad part.

 

[Vic.S]

Last year I put a new stator and rectifier on my 97 Evinrude 150, and today I took it out for a spin and tac was bouncing and voltometer was either at 12 or almost 16. How is it possible rectifier is bad already. Battery connections are tight and clean, new water pump so it should be getting cooled. What else could cause this

You would probably have starting problems if the battery connections where not good.

I'd suspect a poor connection somewhere in the rectifier wiring. Check the rectifier negative ground connection as well as the positive.

 

[Lightwin 3]

Look at your gounds, ESPECIALLY the negative teminal to engine block. Remove it, clean it-all sides.and replace with some anti corrosion grease.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Last year I put a new stator and rectifier on my 97 Evinrude 150, and today I took it out for a spin and tac was bouncing and voltometer was either at 12 or almost 16. How is it possible rectifier is bad already. Battery connections are tight and clean, new water pump so it should be getting cooled. What else could cause this

Depends where your rectifier was made too, as they say all rectifiers a made equal but some a more equal than others

 

[boobie]

Agree with the above !!

 

[Odawg753]

Wow thanks for all the replies, I will check motor grounds and keep you guys updated, thanks!

 

[Odawg753]

I did all of the above mentioned advice and put new rectifier on, started and it was running high rpm while warming up n it was like 13.5 volts. Turned it off put all plastic coverings back on, started it and at idle which is around 800 its only showing a little over 12. I went to go take it on ride but heavy fog started rolling in so I turned around. But when I reved it up it never went past 14.3 which I guess is good. I just feel it should be higher voltage at idle. Am I wrong? Did I just blow another rectifier instantly? What am I missing?

 

[flyingscott]

Sounds normal.

 

[Odawg753]

Sounds normal.

Thank you, I think I'm just paranoid at this point lol

 

[boobie]

You are. LOL.

 

[Crosbyman]

well you can install one of these to keep your eyes busy

https://www.amazon.ca/Motorcycle-Wa...d=1527941254&sr=8-77&keywords=voltage+display

 

[jakedaawg]

I will just add that if you have a battery switch you can not move switch with key on

 

[Rustywrench]

You can get a battery switch that "makes" before it "breaks". That was the spec when dealing with OB reg/rec.

 

[Odawg753]

Another year, another blown rectifier.

 

[racerone]

What part # rectifier are you installing ?----Where do you get this rectifier ?---Model # of your motor ?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Check the battery polarity at the regulator/rectifier terminals. Blowing that many regulator/rectifier assemblies indicates that they're being manufactured in the village of Didedo by junkies, or somewhere along the line you're feeding reverse polarity to that unit.

On a seeming "Far Out" note, if you've ever applied a battery charger to the battery, check the actual battery polarity as more than one battery in the boating world has accidentally been charged backwards.

Also... If you ever run that engine without the battery... that'll do it!

 

[F_R]

The rectifier may blow instantly if the battery is disconnected while running. It also sees loose or corroded battery cables as "disconnected". Jump-starting a dead battery or running with a dead battery can damage the rectifier also.

Remember, the battery is the "heart" of the system. And the reason for many failures.

 

[Faztbullet]

Put a Serria brand on it and make sure grounding washer are under the 2 bolts as rubber gasket can isolate it.