Overcharging???????

[TomCat69]

I have a 1993 Mercury XRi EFI 175hp Black Max. Voltage at battery with engine at Idle is around 13.5 volts. At roughly 1500 RPM's voltage at battery climbs to over 16 volts. I assume this is too much. This particular motor has 2 regulators. Is it worth just changing the one or should I change both or could there be some other problem. If so, is there a check I can do myself. Have read many different things regarding this issue. Some that suggest there could be a problem with the stator.

Thanks for the info>>>>>

 

[sutor623]

Re: Overcharging???????

You might think about taking a look under the flywheel and give the stator a visible check. If you see a lot of copper wire that looks fried and turned black then the stator has gone bad. Does the CDI electronics manual have any info on your motor? Google CDI and you will find what type of resistance that the regulators should have, then it is a simple test of the multimeter. : )

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Overcharging???????

look at the regulators. Sometimes you can see burn marks on the printed circuit boards, thru the potting material. If so, they are bad.....

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Overcharging???????

How old are the battery(s)?

As a battery ages the voltage required to fully charge it rises and can exceed 16 volts. This can be a sign of an aged battery.

Pull the battery out, take it somewhere for a real load test using a carbon pile load tester, if it passes the load test then charge it using a low amp battery charger, use a volt meter and watch the charging voltage to see how high it rises as the battery gets fully recharges.

If the charging voltage reaches 16 volt or more you can start planning on replacing the old battery before the end of this years boating season.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Overcharging???????

How old are the battery(s)?

As a battery ages the voltage required to fully charge it rises and can exceed 16 volts. This can be a sign of an aged battery.

Pull the battery out, take it somewhere for a real load test using a carbon pile load tester, if it passes the load test then charge it using a low amp battery charger, use a volt meter and watch the charging voltage to see how high it rises as the battery gets fully recharges.

If the charging voltage reaches 16 volt or more you can start planning on replacing the old battery before the end of this years boating season.

Charlie my man, my experience with VR's is that they are voltage and current limited....design guidelines are that you don't want to attempt to charge the battery to too high a voltage which will overheat it and boil out the electrolyte (really the water) and allowing too much current will do the same thing. This engine has 2 regulators and one can easily be disfunctional and allow the higher voltage....which is actually the value of non-regulated outputs, while the other is doing it's job and remaining within the 14.5v (roughly) limit.

I'd disconnect the output of one regulator at a time and see what the difference in the output voltage is. Keep in mind that you have an energy storage cell (a battery) on the end of this circuit which probably will take time to adjust to the new input. Turning on some lights or something to put a load on the battery(ies) will help to get the correct reading.

HTH,

Mark

 

[TomCat69]

Re: Overcharging???????

Was told on another forum site that the battery I have is not correct. Replaced battery a while ago with a maintenance free battery. Don't know the reason but I guess i wasn't supposed to do that. I have a manual on order. I am told it has the specific battery I need. Have you ever heard anything like that.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Overcharging???????

Was told on another forum site that the battery I have is not correct. Replaced battery a while ago with a maintenance free battery. Don't know the reason but I guess i wasn't supposed to do that. I have a manual on order. I am told it has the specific battery I need. Have you ever heard anything like that.

No. You need to verify the credibility of your sources of information and determine if they are linked to anything they say financially...... Since you got on here wanting our help, what you can do is pass on this disinformation on these batteries that aren't correct, Mfgr, size, AH rating, bla bla. And while you are at it pass on the credibility of your source of information as to you bought the wrong battery.....................

Mark

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Overcharging???????

Maintenance free batterys simply have a larger well/water resevior(sp) that 'supposedly' is large enough that by the time it does get low on water it is time to buy a new battery.

Don't believe it.

All lead acid batteries evap water during use, both while charging AND discharging.

Standard refillable (capped) batteries are highly recommended for boating, water should be checked as a regular maintenance item and topped off with distilled water when ever it is low.

With regular use, a battery can last for years, it is the long periods of setting un-used that really hurt a battery if not maintained properly.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Overcharging???????

Maintenance free batterys simply have a larger well/water resevior(sp) that 'supposedly' is large enough that by the time it does get low on water it is time to buy a new battery.

Don't believe it.

All lead acid batteries evap water during use, both while charging AND discharging.

Standard refillable (capped) batteries are highly recommended for boating, water should be checked as a regular maintenance item and topped off with distilled water when ever it is low.

With regular use, a battery can last for years, it is the long periods of setting un-used that really hurt a battery if not maintained properly.

I have been curious about how sealed batteries get away with that. There are new tricks of the trade of late that change chemicals and others that have elongated ventilation paths with drains and things like that. Rules say, just don't charge too fast and don't over charge.

I have a Size 31 Exide battery I bought from Tractor Supply back in '07 and put in one of my farm tractors. Yesterday I noticed that the terminals had some corrosion so I decided to remove it and clean things up. Once out I thought I would check the fluid level. It was sealed, but not in the sense of all the ports were invisible. I worked at it but was able to pry off the caps and the fluid level was so close to the full ring that I didn't even bother to fill it. I have done nothing to the battery since purchasing.

Mark

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Overcharging???????

As Mark says, a lot of the maintenance free batteries can be refilled with distilled water. You will normally need to pull up a decal to find the caps/plugs.

Maintenance free batteries have special lead formulations that use less water than std batteries. However, if you have a maintenance free battery long enough it can go dry, even on a car/boat/truck with a properly regulated charging system.

 

[TomCat69]

Re: Overcharging???????

No. You need to verify the credibility of your sources of information and determine if they are linked to anything they say financially...... Since you got on here wanting our help, what you can do is pass on this disinformation on these batteries that aren't correct, Mfgr, size, AH rating, bla bla. And while you are at it pass on the credibility of your source of information as to you bought the wrong battery.....................

Mark

They weren't trying to sell me anything. I guess my particular charging system is non-regulated and in being so, i can not add water to my batteries. My system being non regulated will warm up more than a regulated system and push some of the water out. Not using a maint. free battery will allow me to keep water in the system.