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89 200XP Charging Question

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89_javelin_money_pit

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"I just bought my Javelin with

"I just bought my Javelin with an 1989 200XP Evinrude. When running full throttle, I notice that the voltage gauge is reading 18 volts. At part throttle to idle, it reads 14 volts. I asked the individual I bought the boat from about this problem. He claims that it is normal. Is it?? I'm thinking the voltage regulator has a problem.

Also, the Tach stopped working the weekend I picked the boat up. Could this problem be related to high voltage?? I know the tach is driven off the alternator poles. Where do I start for the tach diagnoses? I am a fairly knowledgeable mechanic and have my multi-meter ready. Just point me in the right direction!!

Thanks in advance for any help!!"
 
"Mark, You should pick up a m

"Mark, You should pick up a manual for that motor. This site has pretty good prices for the OEM Service Manual.

If you '89 is like my '98 150 Johnson, the water cooled voltage regulator/rectifier drives the tach, using the grey wire. I would check the voltage on the purple wire (key on, motor not running) at the rectifier. If it is less than battery voltage, it may cause your charging system to overcharge, hence the 18V you saw. If you do see low voltage on the purple wire, see if you can find where the voltage drop is. Check the connectors on the motor and under the dashboard. Also check the VRO connector and disconnect and recheck the voltage."
 
"(Testing Tachometer With

"(Testing Tachometer With Water Cooled Regulator/Rectifier)
(J. Reeves)

A quick check is to simply plug in a another new tachometer as a piece of test equipment. If the new tach works properly and the old tach didn't, obviously the old tach is faulty.... but usually boaters don't carry around a spare tach (see below).

A faulty rectifier wouldn't damage the tachometer, the tachometer simply wouldn't work. This is due to the fact that the tachometer operates off of the charging system and the rectifier converts AC voltage to DC voltage, enabling the charging system. A faulty rectifier disables the charging system, and the tachometer simply doesn't register.

However.... those watercooled regulator/rectifiers that are used on the 35amp charging systems (and some others) bring into play a different type problem, and as you've probably found out, they are really a pain to troubleshoot via the proper procedure. There's an easier way.

The tachometer sending/receiving setup operates off of the gray wire at the tachometer. That same gray wire exists at the engine wiring harness which is connected to the engine electrical terminal strip. You'll see that there is a gray wire leading from the regulator/rectifier to that terminal strip, and that there is another gray wire attached to it. That other gray wire is the wire leading to the tachometer which is the one you're looking for.

Remove that gray wire that leads to the tachometer. Now, find the two (2) yellow wires leading from the stator to that terminal strip. Hopefully one of them is either yellow/gray or is connected to a yellow/gray wire at the terminal strip. If so, connect the gray wire you removed previously to that yellow/gray terminal. Start the engine and check the tachometers operation, and if the tachometer operates as it should, then the regulator/rectifier is faulty and will require replacing. If the tachometer is still faulty, replace the tachometer.

If neither of the yellow wires from the stator is yellow/gray, and neither is attached to a yellow/gray wire, then attach that gray tachometer wire to either yellow stator wire, then the other yellow wire, checking the tachometer operation on both connections.

I've found this method to be a quick and efficent way of finding out which component is faulty.... the tachometer or the regulator/rectifier. It sounds drawn out but really only takes a very short time to run through. If the water cooled regulator/rectifier proves to be faulty, don't put off replacing it as they have been known to catch on fire with disasterous consequences.

http://stores.ebay.com/Evinrude-Johnson-Outboard-Parts-etc?refid=store"
 
Mark....the high voltage is yo

Mark....the high voltage is your tach problem...fix that and the tach will be ok...what size is the battery?is it new?is it a sealed battery?is the battery over the recommended size for the motor?try to put additional load on the battery next time out..running lights..plug in cooler..see if the meter drops ..i will email you a copy of the problem i had...you may try a seearch in here on stator problems also..
 
"Joe, I am having a tacho pro

"Joe, I am having a tacho problem with my '98 150 Johnson. I have already replaced both the tach and the regulator, and the tach still does not have any reading when motor is running. Does my motor have the terminal strip you mention in the thread?"
 
"Chris.... I retired before th

"Chris.... I retired before that model was manufactured and am not familiar with its circuitry. However, do a voltage and continuity check on the wires that attach to your tachometer. Siince you've replaced both major components, I'd suspect a break in one of those wires.

Note that your post is bburied under another members post. In the future, post your question with a new topic so that it will be listed at the top of the topics under your own heading..... Previous Page, in the "Blue Bar", both at the top and bottom of the page that states "Start New Discussion"."
 
Thanks so much for all the sug

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I will be checking the tach/regulator out this weekend. (as per Joe's instructions) I will keep you updated on my progress.

Thanks Again!!!!
 
"Bad reg/rect--the fire hazard

"Bad reg/rect--the fire hazard joe refers to is real!...i see melted,burned wires on those all the time."
 
"Sorry for the delay in respon

"Sorry for the delay in response, been moving.

Ok, so I did the test that Joe Reeves recommended. I bypassed the regulator and connected the gray tach wire directly to the yellow/gray wire on the stator. This produced no movement in the tach. I then confirmed that there was a good connection from the motor to the tach. There was no measurable resistance. (good) I then bought a new tach, thinking that was the problem as suggested by Joe's test. The new tach doesn't budge when running. So whats next???? Are there any more test to perform before I start just throwing parts and money at the problem?

I inspected the stator and found that it is dripping the infamous black sticky substance off of 1 coil. Should I buy a new stator as well as a new regulator? If my thinking is correct, these are the only 2 components that could affect the tach operation as well as the high charge rate.

Your help is appreciated!!"
 
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