90 HP Johnson not charging and no Tach

[stewtn]

Guys, I'm beginning to think I made a mistake with this boat!
I've got a 2001 90 HP Johnson (Model J90PLSID).

I just bought it a few months ago. When I did, the Tach was not working. Didn't worry about it b/c I'm used to gauges not
working on boats. 2 weeks ago the starter went bad -- No problem easy fix, boat is up and running fine.
This weekend, I noticed the Volt readings were kind of low while running and hooked up my multi-meter and confirmed that the engine is not charging. Volts at battery while underway was 12.3 volts. (Bought a new battery when I got the boat)

Based on searching the forms it appears the

RECTIFIER/REGULATOR would cause this and is bad. Is this a good assumption? Any alternatives to spending $215 on a new ​

RECTIFIER/REGULATOR if that is in deed the issue?

Finally as a note - The oil injection (VRO) is disconnected on this boat​

 

[Rustywrench]

Brand new on eBay cheaper. CDI same as BRP. Buy new only. Loose battery cables are #1 reason for regulator/rectifier problems. NO WINGNUTS on battery connections. Battery cables tight at engine end also.

 

[Chris1956]

BTW - the VR drives the tachometer, so VR fix may fix Tach.

 

[SweetD]

Sounds like the regulator/rectifier for sure. Mine went two seasons ago and my tach was whack as well. Just have to suck it up and buy a new one, as mentioned the CDI units are great.

 

[stewtn]

Was it hard to take out and replace? There is not a lot of pics etc online. It seems some models are water cooled and quite involved to take off/replace. I keep my boat at the marina and have not had a chance to look and see where it is. (Parts diagrams are not helpful)

 

[SweetD]

Mine was not hard at all to take off and replace. I did it in the water but if I had to do it again I would do it on land as some of the wire harness connectors were difficult to reach from the boat side. The reg/rec basically sits right on top of the motor just behind the flywheel. It's #46 in this picture here:



# 54 is the gasket for it. It is water cooled hence the gasket. Probably can find a YouTube video on how to replace it. A helpful website for diagrams is

http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=383echp14bfmtf8lhon0c5rbn4&catalog_id=0&siteid=1

You have to choose Johnson from the very top drop down, then just find your year and model#, then pick your category.