Rectifier instalation

[WALKABOUT1]

Hi all and thanks in advance for your help. My question is this. I am replacing the rectifier on a older v4 Johnrude. I am fairly confident that it was wired correctly as I put it on the way the old one came off and the wires all match, Yellow to Yellow, Yellow/Grey to Yellow/Grey and Red to Red. I know these are very tempermental and do not tolorate any back current. I hooked up the Rectifier and when putting on the battery cables it gave a spark when putting on the last cable. I only touched it for a moment. I removed the rectifier wires and attached the battery cable, no sparking occured. Thinking that perhaps it was a crossed wire I put the Recifier back on and hooked up only the T&T and the motor +&- cable, I then quickly touched the last battery cable and agin it sparked. I disconected the recifier and tested it for continuety and luckily it is still good. My question is, is it normal to get a bit of a arc when attaching the battery cables, it did not look right. If not where could the back current be coming from. Is there a test I can do with a voltmeter to check it before hooking up the Recifier? I dont want to burn it up. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Bear]

Re: Rectifier instalation

Put the + on first then -<br />When you remove them from the battery you start with - then +<br /><br /> http://outboardparts.com/troubleshooting/troubleshooting3.htm

 

[Jim@KSC]

Re: Rectifier instalation

WALKABOUT1, you shouldn't draw a spark, assuming all switches are off. If you are drawing current on a totally turned off rig, the battery won't last very long.<br /><br />First, assure yourself nothing is on, bilge pump, running lights, instruments, etc. Take almost any multimeter; turn it to any reading on resistance (ohms). With the battery disconnected, touch one lead to the positive cable and the other to the negative cable.<br /><br />Two things may happen...<br /><br />An infinite reading (good result, troubleshooting stops)<br />Any other reading (good for finding the problem)<br /><br />Start removing leads while measuring. If the resistance goes to infinity, that lead goes to the bad part. Inspect carefully both the part and all wires, looking for bad insulation, or any place it could touch metal. If no problems are evident, replace the part and test again.<br /><br />Rectifiers can short out, even at the factory. They can also be installed backwards, but you need a special scale, or meter, to check diodes.<br /><br />Incidentally, I kept losing batteries at rest. Using the above, I found that my bilge pump switch was reading 800 ohms when off, and slowly draining the battery.<br /><br />Good luck!

 

[WALKABOUT1]

Re: Rectifier instalation

Thanks for the link and responses.

 

[joe Hetz]

Re: Rectifier instalation

You might want to get your battery checked out at a battery shop as you can get a back drain through the neg cable if the internal workings of the battery is broken or shorted out. This I found out on my Blazer this fall.