Logo
FULL SITE MENU

I need an honest opinion about electrical system issue

B

BajaSunsport164

New member
Hopefully someone here can give me a knowledgeable answer so I can deal with my repair shop. I have a 1984 Johnson 140HP that I have owned since new in 84. Has been a great engine with no problems until this year. Notice it was missing, so I did some diagnostics on it, compression was good all around. Took it in to a new local shop and they said it needed a power pack as one cylinder was not firing. They replaced the power pack and said it was good to go. I took the boat out to the lake for a test run and it started and seemed to be running smooth. After running it for no more than 15 seconds I shut it down and went to park my vehicle. When I returned within 5 minutes a guy was there and said he smelled electrical burning by the rear of my boat. I took the cowl off and a large puff of smoke came out. I looked down at the engine and smoke was coming out of the electrical portion at the top rear of the motor. It wasn't running at the time so I tried to disconnect the battery. The positive terminal (easiest access) was so hot it burnt my finger. I got the negative off and made sure there was no fire. Took it back to the shop and told them what happened. They contacted me later on after looking at it and said the regulator/ rectifier had a major melt down and shorted to ground which caused the electrical to overheat. When I questioned them on the work they had just performed they said it had nothing to do with their work and was just a coincidence. I find it hard to believe since the power pack is right there. I am mechanically inclined and work on my own vehicles all the time, but outboards are not my forte. I just want an honest opinion from anyone here whether you agree/ disagree with what they are saying. The repairs for this are going to be around $600 from the sounds of it, and they have not offered any kind of a discount. Thanks in advance for any knowledgeable information or input into this.
 
The failure of the regulator cant be proved to be related, nor unrelated, but I doubt in this case the shop is taking you for a ride. The new power pack may have caused an extra load on the electrics, in replacing the power pack the techs may have cleaned or disturbed a wiring point that was stopping the regulator, or being a 1984 engine, the reg just decided to die. There is no way to know. Bad timing is what I would put it down to, and be thankful you didn't end up with a complete engine write off because of a fire.
 
Be sure the shop does a complete diagnostic before putting it into service. Do you have a volt meter on your dash? It is possible the stator is damaged as well. It is common for a bad battery or the wrong type of battery cause the stator to melt down and create all sorts of issues including cooking a power pack or rect/regulator. Did the shop determine why the power pack failed?
 
Number 1 cause of rectifier/regulator failures are weak impellers an loose battery connections..wing nuts are a no-no
 
Ya hit the nail on the head, brother. The shop had the battery disconnected for the work and.........bingo. But Baja could never prove it. I'm so glad that never happened to me, I would have to go good, however. I did make a fatal mistake on a Merc 25 once and I had to put a new powerhead on for him. Yup, he didn't check the pee hole and took it for a boogie cruise. It got so hot, it almost melted the cowling insulation.
I still have a customer and a friend.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your answer, very much appreciated just. It just seemed to be too coincidental and I wanted another opinion. No volt meter but they say everything is working fine. I asked to check all systems and components.
 
Back
Top