No voltmeter/ No tachometer

[pegleg319]

I recently put a voltmeter in my boat & have no volt reading. I wired it up to all the instructions that came with it. I also have no tachometer reading. I hooked my battery up wrong last spring,& somewhere i read that this could cook the stator/rectifer? If so how much of a chore is it to replace? Where can these pcs. be purchased on line? My motor is a 1996 Merc 60 Hp.<br /> Thank's in advance for any help on this subject.<br /> Bill.

 

[mati]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

If your battery is charged and volt meter is properly hooked with motor not running but key on you should at least get a reading of 12 volts and approximately 14.5 volts if engine is running. More than 14.5 you got a problem with the regulator. To answer you question either your battery is dead or you've hooked your gauges up wrong.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

First thing I would do is check the volt meter. hook it up in series w/ any battery, see what it shows, then get a 12 volt test light, put one lead to ground & the other to battery positive, it should light if there is power there, don't forget to test the negitive side of the circut also. Make sure of the basics, charged battery, good clean connections, ignition switch & battery switch on. check circut + & - side all the way from battery to volt meter. logical steps one follows another, don't jump from thing to thing, you'll find it. Good luck

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

First thing I would do is check the volt meter. hook it up in series w/ any battery, see what it shows, then get a 12 volt test light, put one lead to ground & the other to battery positive, it should light if there is power there, don't forget to test the negitive side of the circut also. Make sure of the basics, charged battery, good clean connections, ignition switch & battery switch on. check circut + & - side all the way from battery to volt meter. logical steps one follows another, don't jump from thing to thing, you'll find it. Good luck

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

When i hooked up the voltmeter i went directly to the battery, (1) side - (1) side +, started the engine & no reading, i have just had my battery put to full charge.<br /> Thank's Bill

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

Is the gauge hooked up through the wiring harness or did you run separate wires ? <br />Do this; Use a 12V test lamp or multimeter and check the voltage right at the gauge terminals. If 12V (or test light works) then the gauge is toast. If no 12V (or no test light) then you have a problem in the wiring. Work backwards from there.<br />ps. if you wired through the harness, the key must be in the ON position before the gauge will work.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

If gauge is marked + & - , hook it right to the battery, at the battery, use any battery, your car battery w/ 2 little jump leads, if it don't read battery voltage it's no good. BTW is this a digital gauge? If it works, then start looking for an open circut. Can you get to the Ignition switch, & do you have power to the switch? Run a long jump wire from the - on the battery, to the lead on your test light. Make sure it reaches the ignition switch, probe w/ the end of your test light you should have a wire that is always hot,(even w/ the key off) make sure your battery switch, if you have one, is in the on position. If you have power, next turn the key on, you should also have power now on another terminal, only when the key is on, this is where you hook up the + from the gauge. If this is good so far hook up the +, then remove the long jumper from the test light, (still hooked to the - on the battery) & hook that to the - on the gauge, w/ key on, if the gauge was good it must work now. Now look for - under the dash, (usually a grounding strip) hook the - of the gauge to that w/ key on gauge should work, if it don't check the - from the point where you hooked the gauge all the way to the battery. this is as basic as I can break it down to. good luck, Joe

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

I hooked the gauge right at the battery with 2 jumper leads, (1) to the + side of the guage, + side of batt. (1) to the - side of the guage, - side of batt.<br /> Bill

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

pegleg did you test the gauge as suggested or are you saying that you have hooked up the gauge this way in a permanent fashion ? Please try and be clear. It is important to try and eliminate possible causes so you have to be methodical in your approach. Read and follow the posts carefully and then post your results. I'm sure you will get this resolved.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

If I read your post correctly, I believe your gauge is No Good. If this is the case get a new, or different gauge. Rule of thumb, in all forms of repair, start with a known good part, & known good test equip. (New may not be good) You can E-Mail me if I can be of any help. Stay with it, I'm sure you can do it.

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

Maybe i am doing this wrong, but i checked what a good friend of mine called a rectifer/voltage regulator and their is no power coming out to the battery. I checked for power out of the stator and have power.This could be my problem?<br /> Bill

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

That could be a problem, but as to why your voltmeter doesn't work, not if you tested it as I said. If it don't work on a battery by itself, it won't work no matter where you hook it up, it won't work. You may also have a charging problem. Multiple problems can get tricky, remember the gauge is still a piece of test equip., even though it is on the dash. Remember known good parts, & testers. To check the other problem, get a shop manual, under charging section, troubleshooting, there should be a flow chart, follow it step by step, take no short cuts & leave out no steps. If you don't have a manual, & don't wish to buy one the library is a good place, they have a lot of good stuff, not like years ago, & it's free.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

pegleg, you still have not answered any of our questions directly. You can't keep jumping from place to place without following our recommendations to help you get this sorted out. You must do only 1 (one) thing at a time. You must first determine if the voltage gauge is good or bad. After this is determined you can trouble shoot other issues (wiring, switches, rectifiers, tachometer etc). The rectifier has nothing to do with your gauge not working IF the gauge is hooked up to the battery as you say.<br /><br />2 ways to do this;<br /><br />1) Hook the gauge up directly to a known good battery (boat, car, even a small 9V). If the gauge reads it is good. If it does not read it is no good.<br /><br />OR<br /><br />2) leave the gauge connected in the dash and measure the voltage ON the terminals of the gauge using a multimeter or test light. If you measure 12V or if the light works but the gauge shows nothing, then the gauge is faulty.<br /><br />Once this is determined THEN you can look at other problems. Post back when you have your results then we can continue. At this point you only need to determine 1 thing - is the gauge good or bad. Good luck.

 

[jonah 65]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

pegleg, my tacho didn't work when i first got my boat, the rectifier was duff, so i fitted a new one off a mariner o/b (ebay £10)now it works fine.<br />if one or more of the diodes are duff in the rectifier (grounded) no charging voltage will get to the battery, also the signal voltage (ac) won't get to the tacho. <br />cheers jonah.

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

jonah65,<br />Thank's for the info, i thought i was explaining myself in the wrong way, but you understand what i meant. What year mariner do you have & do you remember the part #.<br /> Thank's again.<br /> Bill H.

 

[jonah 65]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

i havn,t got a mariner <br />, i've got a merc., but a rectifier is a rectifier<br />better if its a marine one though. just connect the wires from the stator (ac) probably yellow to the ac connections, the red wire to the +, and the black to ground,(may be done by just bolting the body of the rec. to the engine casing.<br />hope this solves your problem, jonah.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

pegleg, IF the voltmeter is hooked up directly to the battery as you indicated, it must read the battery voltage regardless of whether the rectifier is functional or not. If the rectifier is shot, the tach will not work and the battery will not charge BUT the voltmeter should still read the battery voltage. This is what I have been trying to explain. Lets first determine if the voltmeter is good or bad then look at other possible wiring or rectifier issues. Have you performed any of the diagnostics that have been recommended ? No sense buying and installing new parts if you are not certain of the problem. It is quite possible the rectifier is no good but that does not explain the voltmeter problem. Trying to diagnos muliple problems at once can be very confusing and misleading. Best to focus on one issue at a time, usually the simplest first, then move on to the next problem.

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

RodC<br /> Sorry for not explaining myself in a better manner. My voltmeter is not installed in the dash of my boat yet. Yes i hooked my voltmeter on top of my battery & i have a reading of 12v in the battery, but when i start the engine, i have no incoming voltage reading comming in to the battery, it still reads only 12v. Sorry for not explaing myself better.<br /> Bill

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

No need to appologize pegleg, it is always difficult to describe problems in writing. Sometimes can be interpreted many ways. Glad we are on the same page now. So the volt meter is not an issue then, but the tach does not work and the battery is not charging, correct ? If thats the case it could be either the rectifier or the regulator. What is the serial # of your motor ?

 

[pegleg319]

Re: No voltmeter/ No tachometer

RodC,<br />Tach doesn't work & battery doesn't charge.<br />Serial # 0G125924.