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Regulator/Rectifier question?

E

Elvish

New member
I have a 2001 60hp 2 stroke mariner. My outboard wasn't charging so I installed a new regulator rectifier. The two red wires leaving the rectifier one is the voltage sense wire, the other is the DC output. I've checked the DC output is putting out 13.5-14v when the engine is running, it is connected to the postive on the starter solenoid to feed back to the battery. My question is where do people connect the other red voltage sense wire? The previous person just had them both connected to the starter solenoid but I don't think that's correct? Do I run it all the way to the positive on the battery?
 
What is the serial number of the motor?

From a practical standpoint both red wires can be connected to the same point.
 
Ot424434; Okay it just confused me because it will only read the true voltage of the battery when the engine is off and then when it's running it will be 13.5-14volts. Does the rectifier work by limiting its output when the battery reaches full charge or is it not that sophisticated?

The other thing I'm noticing is at the solenoid terminal it will read 13.5-14v (flickering with rpm) but at the other end of the battery cables it will only read slightly higher than when it's off say 12.6 (engine off) 12.8-12.9v when it's running. Is this right? I just want to confirm it's charging correctly. The battery cables and terminals and battery are all new and the cables way overkill in sizing for the current draw.
 
Engine off the voltage is battery voltage. Engine on the voltage is alternator voltage.

The regulator works by maintaining a constant voltage. As loads are applied or removed the voltage tends to vary (current flow increases or decreases) but it is the job of the regulator to keep the voltage more or less the same.

Without looking at an electrical diagram I am at a loss as to why the voltage is not more or less the same at all points in the electrical circuit. If the regulator is outputting say 14 volts then the voltage at the battery should be 14 volts.
 
Yes so am I, I am going to resistance check all the wiring associated with the regulator/rectifier and battery circuit but I suspect it's fine as its all new. Maybe there is a bad earth connection on the solenoid terminal I will clean them up and hopefully find out why there is a voltage loss.
 
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