Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

[HiVoltg30]

Hi,
I picked up a boat and motor for $100 not long ago...
The outboard is a 1966 Evinrude Starflite 100-S,
The old guy who sold it too me said that the motor ran up till about 3 years earlier when the VR went bad... Bad? It was in two broken pieces so personally I?d have to add ?Bad? to the No-S**t category!
Needless to say, that little part, #193-0076 (OMC 380076) runs at about $150-260 depending on what website I find it on?

Why in the world are these little things so darn expensive for one model and cheap for others?
Since I can?t run the motor the way it is, I hate to throw a couple of C-notes towards a regulator, only to find that something else is next in line to be replaced, so does anyone know of large salvage yards, aftermarket stores or even alternatives (auto/motorcycle parts) that could be used for cheaper buys than mainstream marine stores?
Thanks.

 

[DJ]

Re: Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

Google: Twin City Outboard. It's a huge outboard graveyard.

Make sure the motor is healthy first. Do a compression test.

 

[F_R]

Re: Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

I would bet that there are car regulators that would work on that motor with minor wiring modifications. It works on the same theory as my old '87 Dodge Dakota pickup. The regulator controls the current applied to the alternator's field coils. The catch is that you would need the wiring diagram for whatever car regulator you plan to use, so you know what connects to what. There are 4 wires going to your alternator. 2 yellow are the AC output and one each black and red/black stripe for the field coils.

I agree with DJ, make sure the rest of the motor is healthy before you spend time and money on the alternator. You can run the motor on a fully charged battery for awhile without the alternator working. Just unplug the regulator, which will disable the alternator. Once you know you have an otherwise good motor, you can decide what to do about the regulator.

Keep in mind that the motor has electric shift and battery ignition. You don't want to be running around with a half dead battery because that is hard on the clutches, not to mention needing a good battery to power the ignition and to restart the motor if you shut it off.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

Theres a world of geeks who could cobble that together.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/

 

[HiVoltg30]

Re: Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it!

Another question; I found an outboard VR on eBay going for $10, it's not for my model, but it has the same connectionas my regulator. Would installing that one on my outboard cause a catastrophe?

 

[F_R]

Re: Less expensive Voltage Regulators?

If you are referring to that Yamaha one, it won't work. Your motor has field coils in the alternator, which haven't been used on outboards for about 40 years now.