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Johnson V4 VRO 110hp Charging Circuit Not Charging

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carl_olson

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My girlfriend inherited a 1990 Crestliner Phantom V170 with a 110hp Johnson VRO V4. I believe it is the original engine but I could not find any information about it. I do know that it was rebuilt in 2015 and the cylinders were bored out along with a replacement of the impeller and carburetor. I redid the floor and replaced the old circuit panel with a modern one. I also installed voltmeters above the batteries. The deep cycle is brand new and the starting battery needs replacement. It only holds to about 12.0v. I also installed a brand new battery isolator.

So the starting battery is at 12.0v and the deep cycle is at 12.6v. When starting the motor the battery drops to roughly 10.0v then after it is running it goes back to 11.9v or 12.0v. The Tachymeter is working and even when I push it above 3k RPMs it stays right at the 12.0v mark. I have tried both batteries together. Both of them individually. I tried the old battery isolator, the new one, and even just straight to the battery. Nothing changes. I have a wire coming from the #4 on the bus bar in the motor housing to the positive of the starting battery.

I have worked on cars for many years and do some electrical at work. But I am really new to outboards. I am looking for anything that I can do to help diagnose this issue.

Thank you in advance! :)
 
I had a hard time finding the model number. Do you know where I should be looking?

My main complaint is that it doesn't seem to be charging the batteries while its running. The tachymeter works just fine.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like the regulator is bad. CDI has a good troubleshooting pdf. Model number should be on the transom mount on the right standing behind the motor.
 
The model number is J110TLAEM.

I found the rectifier/regulator but it has 5 wires instead of the 3 I saw in most videos. How do I test the 5 wires module? Is it the same concept?

I am going to look for a service manual but any help you can provide would be awesome!

Thanks!
 
Accept this fact.----If battery is weak or starter motor is marginal then motor will not crank fast enough to make spark from the flywheel magneto.----Sorry ---I can not see or hear your motor trying to start.
 
racerone said:
Accept this fact.----If battery is weak or starter motor is marginal then motor will not crank fast enough to make spark from the flywheel magneto.----Sorry ---I can not see or hear your motor trying to start.
Click to expand...

I have a marine starting battery with 1050 marine cranking capacity and then a 34m AGM deep cycle marine battery for my accessories. Both are brand new. Both are at 12.6v but when the engine was running they would stay right at that number. I was not seeing the voltage jump past that to indicate charging.

Then I took the boat to a local lake to test the motor and other repairs. The motor started once or twice but died fairly quickly. Then it just wouldn't fire up. It cranks very strong but just doesn't want to fire. Someone mentioned that the lake water being pretty cold right now could have lead to the no start. Is that possible?

I also found a leak coming from the lower unit by the propeller. Need to replace the lower unit o-rings now as well.

I also took apart and cleaned the starter motor a few weeks ago. Been getting strong engagement with the flywheel.
 
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