1987 225 Evinrude doesn't seem to be charging

[DRCrowe]

A couple weeks ago I had a power pack go up in smoke (literally, smoke was rolling out of the cowling) The epoxy melted down all over the voltage regulator. In my initial inspection I had thought that the voltage regulator had gone bad as the motor continued to run fine and I thought the melted goo that I saw on the Regulator that it had gone bad, not that it had been gooed on by the melting power pack.

For some reason the melting and burning stopped and I was able to run normally back to the dock. The only thing I noticed different is that the voltage was lower when the boat motor was running. The meter on my dash usually showed 14 volts when running. After the melting event it was just barely over 12 volts. Again, this also led me to believe it was the voltage regulator.

So, I ordered a new CDI regulator and it was when I started disassembling the motor to replace the regulator that I realized it was the power pack that had melted, man that thing stinks! So I ordered a new CDI Powerpack. I decided I would go ahead and install the voltage regulator anyway since I had it and why not! So now I have a new CDI powerpack and voltage regulator. The boat runs great! BUT, it still doesn't seem to be charging. A few times I saw 13 volts at 3,000 RPMs but toward the end of out day it was at 11 volts at 3,000 RPMs. I did restart the motor back at the dock about 1/2 hour later and the dash meter showed a little under 12 volts at idle and would go up to 13 volts at 3,000 RPMs. Up to this point it would always read at or a little above 14 volts. What is going on?

FYI, last year I had noticed my flywheel magnets were loose so I pulled the flywheel and noticed a little goo on the stator so I bought a new CDI stator while I had the flywheel off to repair the magnets. Is it possible that the fried powerpack also took out the CDI Stator that I replaced last year?

I'm really hoping it is something little but I'm not sure where to start. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[cfauvel]

I suspect the stator took out the powerpack...the stator is actually just one set of coils that charges the battery, the other set of coils are the CHARGE coils and charge up the capacitors inside the powerpack.

I don't recall if it is the two larger coils that are the stator or the charge coils or if it is the 6 coils.

you CAN have the stator coil circuit go bad and it won't recharge your battery but run the motor just fine...and the vice-versa is true too.

It is good that you are re-attaching the magnets (be sure the magnets are ALL facing the same direction (there is a notch) and that they are evenly spaced) and putting in a new 'stator'

 

[DRCrowe]

I was suspecting the stator as well. I just put a new CDI stator in last season and was hoping that it hadn't already gone bad so soon. I probably only have 20 hours on it. At least I know how to change it. I will check the resistance of the coils when I get the boat back home. It sounds like I'm looking for .15 ohms on each yellow wire.

Also, yes, the magnet securing was fun! There were some magnets that were still secure so I marked them for indexing then removed them all. I cleaned all of the old glue residue off of the flywheel and magnets. I also kept them in order so not only do I have the correct polarity but the same magnets went back in the same spots (why not). I found that sharpie markers wedged in very tightly between the magnets for spacing when I re-glued them!

 

[cfauvel]

it is unusual to have a bad stator so soon. I just checked with CDi, the expected resistance between BROWN and BROWN/YELLOW should be between 735-935 OHms for the CHARGE coils....the yellow wires are for the recharging of the battery...I don't have an expected resistance number for the yellow wires.

double and triple check your grounds for the power packs...bad grounds will jack up your stator ....so will a bad voltage regulator.

 

[DRCrowe]

I was a little disappointment too. The power pack that melted was new and installed at the same time as the stator was last year as well. I really appreciate your help! I will get the boat our Friday and check it over the weekend. I really like this boat and motor and feel a sense of accomplishment every time I can fix it myself. The best part is knowing there are people like you who are out there to help me out! If I need another statro so be it! At least I know how to replace it! And yes, I will double check every connection including the grounds! Thanks again!!!!!

 

[cfauvel]

No problem...I too feel a sense of satisfaction when I fix my engine myself. This forum has been invaluable.

here is the parts of the stator.

PS: if magnets get loose and slide towards each other or break, it will wont create the right voltage for both the power packs and voltage regulator...I have had that happen to me. Usually the symptom is you can't get the boat to plane or you lose 1000+rpms at WOT.

Jot down your RPM at WOT when you get it all squared away along with the prop diameter and pitch...so you'll know your base line.

 

[DRCrowe]

Update, Looks like I was my own worst enemy. While checking the DVA on the stator I discovered a questionable connection from my stator to voltage regulator (one of the 2 yellow wires). The plastic terminal block where you make the connection was beginning to fail at that spot and I could see some melting which told me I had a bad connection that got hot like a crappy hairdryer plug! I carefully cleaned the terminals and put a little WD40 on them and found another spot on the terminal block in perfect condition and reconnected it and it works perfect now. The DVA with a charged battery is 10.7 ac which is in the normal range of 8-25 according to CDI. I also observed my voltage guage on my dash jump up to 15 volts when I revved the engine slightly (which was normal before this all started!!).

So, thanks for the help Cfauvel! Just helping me have the confidence to trouble shoot this issue is what led me to the solution. Now I need a test at the lake!

 

[cfauvel]

yay!!

 

[OldTxSalt]

PS: if magnets get loose and slide towards each other or break, it will wont create the right voltage for both the power packs and voltage regulator...I have had that happen to me. Usually the symptom is you can't get the boat to plane or you lose 1000+rpms at WOT.