Low Voltage Charging and Hot Wires

gjcombs

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
88
Boat Brains,

I am troubleshooting why my boat is not getting 13.4V at the alternator. I ruined a battery last year that got really hot and would barely turn over the 1981 5.7L/350CID/OMC260. That may have been because of the wires from the Battery Pos to the Starter Lug that went through a disconnect. For now, I have eliminated that heat by installing a direct 2 ga wire. The battery wires do not get hot anymore, even with the new battery.

I need to do some voltage checks on the alternator yet to see if something is a muck with regulator. However, I have 12V at the battery and 10.5V at the dash voltage meter. This is accurate as I have tested across the terminals.

I did notice that the posts on the dash volt meter were hot (temp). Why is that? Also why is it only reading 10.5V?

What suggestions are there to start? I will be tracking the entire circuit, but any forethought will be helpful.

Regards,

Jason
 
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