1995 Johnson 88HP rectifier

[greendan]

My rectifier fried yesterday and before I order a new one, I wanted to know why it could have gone out.

 

[joereeves]

The main cause is reverse polarity... accidently, for a few seconds, having a battery or a charger hooked up backwards will cause the rectifier portion to short out.

A faulty battery or poor connections between the battery and anywhere will also lead to problems. Best to make sure that all connections... battery terminals to battery, cable connections including cables/wires at the solenoid and ground connections at the powerhead, are shiny clean both on the cable/wire terminal ends and also on the components they attach to.