What would cause this ??

[yzf125]

Hey guys, What would cause these wires going to the voltage regulator to melt together ?? and would this cause any issues other than the charging circuit ?? ( Motor is in my sig )


I ask because I still have an ongoing problem with anything past 4k I get what feels like a rev limiter kicking in and out nonstop and cannot go full throttle.






[IM

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[papyson]

possible battery hooked up backward...the regulator is probably shot...this would affect the tach as well as charging battery...should not affect running of the boat but i would fix this first anyway...

 

[yzf125]

Believe it or not everything still works and charges just fine, I just taped up the wires with electrical tape really good.

 

[bilge rat jim]

That's a failed (or failing) regulator. Tell us about your electrical system- type and number of batteries, length and gauge of battery cables, usual running load (lights, accessories, etc.)

 

[yzf125]

One battery on the starting system all stock wiring very short run next to motor, runs nothing but fishfinder and starts motor. I would think it would have kicked the fuse before doing this.

 

[papyson]

number one rule on a boat...if you see something broken or not right then fix it.....little things build up and one day you have a pile of crap...''pay me now or pay me later''...

 

[fastjeff]

Bad connection! There was arching going on inside there---that's where the burn marks came from. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned and coated with electrolytic grease.

Jeff

 

[bilge rat jim]

Bad connection! There was arching going on inside there---that's where the burn marks came from. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned and coated with electrolytic grease.

Jeff

Sorry Jeff, but that's not the reason. This is a really common problem with Merc regulators. What happens is....... for whatever reason, the regulator side of the rectifier/regulator fails(most likely due to heat and poor connectors) and allows the charge rate to exceed the capacity of the weakest link in the circuit, in this case, the bullet connector. Because all the connectors from the regulator are neatly bundled together, sometimes the increased heat melts the protective sleeve, and usually, the sleeve which is next to the hot (charge) wire next to it. I'm willing to bet that if YSF125 measures the output voltage from his regulator at 3000 rpm+, he will find that the voltage exceeds 14.9 volts, the maximum charge voltage that any battery system will utilize. Fortunately, after 20 frickin' years, Merc finally came up with the answer (kind of). The replacement regulators have a fuse installed inline on the charge side of the regulator, which will not allow the current to exceed the capacity of the connectors. Thanks, Mercury, for a "better late than never" solution that i solved years ago (hahahaha)- just install a 20 amp fuse inline on the charge wire before the battery, or as I did before I thought of a fuse- remove the bullet connectors, and splice, solder, and shrink-wrap the connections.

 

[fastjeff]

Sorry, but I don't buy that explanation. The only way those connections should ever get hot is if there's resistance across the conducting surfaces; resistance plus amperage equals heat. (I forgot the formula for it: E equals IR squared or something.)

That you've seen this before simply means that bad connections are common (probably the result of corrosion). A good cleaning and electrolytic grease would avoid all that.

Jeff

 

[yzf125]

I'm willing to bet that if YSF125 measures the output voltage from his regulator at 3000 rpm+, he will find that the voltage exceeds 14.9 volts, the maximum charge voltage that any battery system will utilize. Fortunately, after 20 frickin' years, Merc finally came up with the answer (kind of). The replacement regulators have a fuse installed inline on the charge side of the regulator, which will not allow the current to exceed the capacity of the connectors. Thanks, Mercury, for a "better late than never" solution that i solved years ago (hahahaha)- just install a 20 amp fuse inline on the charge wire before the battery, or as I did before I thought of a fuse- remove the bullet connectors, and splice, solder, and shrink-wrap the connections.

Hi Jim, The thing is I dont have a voltage problem as it reads 14.2v above 3000 RPM and it does have a fuse that the hot wire connect to and I just dont understand why it didnt kick with that kind of heat buildup ? Seems that it got hot not at the connection but rather where the wire is crimped to the lower connector ?

Thanks, Rick