My 1991 V6 135 HP Merc outboard starts quickly and runs great. I recently put in two batteries, and selector A/B switch, and an isolator so the batteries would recharge properly. All my accessories run off the batteries. Now I am experiencing 2 conditions: 1, my tach is not working. It senses electricity when the power is on, moving from a dead position to zero, but does not work when the engine is running. Second problem is that the batteries seem to be under-charged. I have a merc owners manual and I followed the steps to test the voltage regulator. The voltage to the common terminal on the switch with the motor running was approx. 5 volts. When I disconnected the Yellow wire from the voltage regulator, the voltage spiked to 19-20 volts, which according to the manual means the voltage regulator is bad. It is an expensive part and don't want to make an un-necessary purchase. Also, I have been told that the only component that supplies information to the tach is the stator. That testing seems very complicated, plus I would need someone to convince me that getting to the stator is not as hard as it looks. I am not a wimp, but sometimes you need to pull out the checkbook.
Thoughts?
Thanks to all who will respond.
Thoughts?
Thanks to all who will respond.