No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

[Rosalie]

I'm new to this forum and I'd like to start by saying hello to everybody and thanking all those who will take the trouble to answer my questions.
I have a 1987 Evinrude, model n? BE60TLCUC.
The last time I went out, I noticed the tach needle started fluttering and went dead, at the same time my voltmeter went down to the no-charge position.
So, no tach and no charge while running the engine.
Am I right in assuming that this a nearly dead-sure sign of a bad rectifier?
My second question: assuming I have a fully charged battery to start the engine and operate the electrical tilt, can I go on using this motor @WOT or do I have to run it at reduced RPM's until I find a replacement for my rectifier?
Again, thank you very much and congrats for a very useful forum.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

HI
Welcome.
It could be your stator.
Have you a mulitmeter?
Id hang off running it without it working properly as a built up charge in the stator could burn it out if it was just a blown rectifier- but thats just my opinion

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Here is a whole page of them Evinrude Regulator Rectifiers - iboats

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Welcome to the forum rosalie
I had this same problem recently.
got a new rectifier and still the same.
if i was you i would be taking off the flywheel and checking the wires on the stator to see if they are cracking up or broken.

I re-soldered a stator and got it working great on first attempt, then saw charge and rev counter all working again.

if you have a meter its possible to check the power from the stator to rectifier, but this i was getting some very strange readings
it wasnt untill i took off the flywheel and saw bare wires that i knew why the dodgy readings.


phill

 

[Rosalie]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Thanks to all of you. I was afraid it might also be the stator but I'll get out my meter and start measuring the continuity of the diodes.
And if it's not the rectifier, I'll have to buy a tool to get the flywheel off. Oh well, never a dull moment on a boat.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

well the harmonic puller will come in handy for other stuff as well one day, and you only need a cheap one for it.
just make sure the bolts only go in the flywheel about 1/2 inch or they will be hitting the centre magnet.
its an easy job to remove the flywheel,just tighten the centre bolt up tight and give it a real hard walloping a few times with a
heavy hammer, then it will come off with a pop.
Do not use a air or electric hammer of any sorts.
you could just have broken wires by the stator, i did, and just repaired them and then taped them up.

good luck and let us all know your findings of the problem


phill

 

[Ppopps]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

well the harmonic puller will come in handy for other stuff as well one day, and you only need a cheap one for it.
just make sure the bolts only go in the flywheel about 1/2 inch or they will be hitting the centre magnet.
its an easy job to remove the flywheel,just tighten the centre bolt up tight and give it a real hard walloping a few times with a
heavy hammer, then it will come off with a pop.
Do not use a air or electric hammer of any sorts.
you could just have broken wires by the stator, i did, and just repaired them and then taped them up.

good luck and let us all know your findings of the problem


phill

I'm reading this post after seeing my rectifier having gone up in smoke dramatically on the water last weekend! I still ran the boat to get home with no problems, but have a melted regulator now. Tach died also.

I've ordered a new Mallory rectifier, but I gather I should be checking the stator or is the fast that the regulator went up in smoke a telltale that it was the regulator and not the regulator as a result of bad stator? I doubt it's that easy right?

Question is, looks a lot more involved to see the stator, is it straight disassembly and reassembly or do you have to reset timing etc. after? Mine is a 1996 V4 looper 115hp evinrude.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Did your rectifier or regulator smoke?
Rectifier go much more often than stator, especially if a wires shorted out on it

 

[Ppopps]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Did your rectifier or regulator smoke?
Rectifier go much more often than stator, especially if a wires shorted out on it

Yes, rectifier smoked, fizzled, and burned a crater right through itself!!!! I almost had kids jumping overboard like the Titanic for the smoke and smell!!

In other words, I know I need a rectifier, mine's swiss cheese right now, but can I safely hook up the pricey new one and see if I have tach and charging or is it possible a stator fault caused my first round of fireworks in the regulator and I'm possibly about to repeat the failure?

If I can safely try and see I'll do that....looks much more involved to get at the stator....unless I can tell by ohming out its wires????

OP - sorry to hyjack your post here, just sounds like we're on the same page and likely the discussion is great info for both of us!!

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Yep try ohmning it out the tests will be on here
ISSUU - CDI Electronics Practical Outboard Ignition Troubleshooting by CDI Electronics

Check no wires have become bare.
Ive never pulled a flywheel on that model but if you post a picture of it that may help. If you see any insulation thats melted down underneath the flywheel thats a bad stator sign

 

[Rosalie]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Hi Everybody,

Obviously, I'm not the only one with an alternator problem. That helps.
I ohmed the rectifier and of course, it was bad.
On closer inspection I also noticed black traces of melted insulation on the engine block. So, as recommended in a previous post, I bought a tool to take off the flywheel. And lo and behold: the stator had melted in several places.
So now I had a double problem: finding a rectifier and a stator. I did not tell you that I'm presently in the Algarve, in Portugal. And finding spare parts here for a 1987 Evinrude, is next to impossible.
To continue using my engine, the only option to avoid more electrical problems and until I find the parts I need, was to completely freeze out the charging system from the rest of the engine and have it run on the magneto. I carefully tagged and insulated the wires.
Here in the Algarve, the sun shines 24/24 and 7/7 and my batteries will be charged by solar panels that give 5Ah, nearly as much as the alternator on that engine.
Thanks again for all the help, it was fun - and useful - to talk to all of you.

 

[Ppopps]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Hi Everybody,

Obviously, I'm not the only one with an alternator problem. That helps.
I ohmed the rectifier and of course, it was bad.
On closer inspection I also noticed black traces of melted insulation on the engine block. So, as recommended in a previous post, I bought a tool to take off the flywheel. And lo and behold: the stator had melted in several places.
So now I had a double problem: finding a rectifier and a stator. I did not tell you that I'm presently in the Algarve, in Portugal. And finding spare parts here for a 1987 Evinrude, is next to impossible.
To continue using my engine, the only option to avoid more electrical problems and until I find the parts I need, was to completely freeze out the charging system from the rest of the engine and have it run on the magneto. I carefully tagged and insulated the wires.
Here in the Algarve, the sun shines 24/24 and 7/7 and my batteries will be charged by solar panels that give 5Ah, nearly as much as the alternator on that engine.
Thanks again for all the help, it was fun - and useful - to talk to all of you.

Given the good advice (and Rosalie's experience) here I will try to pull the flywheel to get a visual on the stator.

Can someone tell me, other than the obvious trouble of getting the flywheel off, is doing so going to mean I have to "tune" anything upon reassembly, like adjust timing or anything? If it's just an off and back on problem then I'm much more comfortable then if I have to "adjust" something after.....basically I like jobs that are like Lego, ha!

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

I have a 1987 Evinrude, model n? BE60TLCUC. The last time I went out, I noticed the tach needle started fluttering and went dead, at the same time my voltmeter went down to the no-charge position. So, no tach and no charge while running the engine.Am I right in assuming that this a nearly dead-sure sign of a bad rectifier? Assuming I have a fully charged battery to start the engine and operate the electrical tilt, can I go on using this motor @WOT or do I have to run it at reduced RPM's until I find a replacement for my rectifier?

Rectifiers blow it seems for no reason at all but we all know there's a reason. Check it as follows below.

The tachometer operates off of the engine charging system via the rectifier so when you lose the rectifier, you lose both the charging system and the tachometer,

Not a good idea to run a engine with a bad rectifier (unless an absolute emergency) as this scenario has the battery charging portion of the stator having nowhere to transfer the voltage/current/ amperage (however one wants to look at it) out of the stator so that voltage just backs up at the stator and causes it to overheat and melt down.

(Small Rectifier Test)
(J. Reeves)

Remove the rectifier wires from the terminal block. Using a ohm meter, connect the black lead of the ohm meter to the rectifier base (ground), then one by one, connect the red lead of the ohm meter to the yellow, yellow/gray, then the red wire (some rectifiers may also have a fourth yellow/blue wire. If so connect to that also). Now, reverse the ohm meter leads and check those same wires again. You should get a reading in one direction, and none at all in the other direction.

Now, connect the black lead of the ohm meter to the red wire. One by one, connect the red lead of the ohm meter to the yellow, yellow/gray, and if present, the yellow/blue wire. Then reverse the leads, checking the wires again. Once more, you should get a reading in one direction and none in the other.

Note that the reading obtained from the red rectifier wire will be lower then what is obtained from the other wires.

Any deviation from the "Reading", "No Reading" as above indicates a faulty rectifier. Note that a rectifier will not tolerate reverse polarity. Simply touching the battery with the cables in the reverse order or hooking up a battery charger backwards will blow the diodes in the rectifier assy immediately.

 

[Ppopps]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

Reeves, thanks for the reply. In my case there's no question the rectifier is toast, it's completely melted...though I did what you've outlined not to do and ran the motor for a good 20 minutes after the rectifier fizzled as we needed to get home, so god knows what I've done to the stator.

All the more reason I guess to get the flywheel off and check it out.

How about my other question then, any thoughts? Is getting the flywheel off my 1996 V4, 60 degree Evinrude 115 (L115GLEDC) going to leave me readjusting timing and all kinds of subtleties when I go to reassemble or is it a straightforward off, check the stator, replace if needed, and reassemble?

Yes, I should get the BRP manual....I'm looking into that....

Cheers all, great help here...

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: No tach, no charge = bad rectifier?

In my case there's no question the rectifier is toast, it's completely melted...though I did what you've outlined not to do and ran the motor for a good 20 minutes after the rectifier fizzled as we needed to get home, so god knows what I've done to the stator.

How about my other question then, any thoughts? Is getting the flywheel off my 1996 V4, 60 degree Evinrude 115 (L115GLEDC) going to leave me readjusting timing and all kinds of subtleties when I go to reassemble or is it a straightforward off, check the stator, replace if needed, and reassemble?

Yea, I read later about the rectifier doing double work as a space heater. I think it's broke!

The stator? Unlikely you did anything harmful in that 20 minute period so I wouldn't be concerned... and like I say in not so many words, in an emergency, one does what they have to do.

The 1996 115hp question... I retired in 1991 so I'm not familiar with the design or circuitry of that model. I'll leave that up to other members such as F_R, Daselbee, Boobie, and others who have a working knowledge of that model.

I will say that if it were me, I would simply check the polarity to the RED wire at the terminal strip to make sure it's positive (+), then disconnect one lead of the battery or turn the battery switch off if so equipped... then install the rectifier, put the battery back into the circuit and go boating. Unlikely the stator was damaged in such a short time.