Ask the marine doctor.
I have a 200hp 2 stroke mercury. Was fishing yesterday and while running to another spot I looked down and my volt gauge was running at 14-15 on the gauge. If I pushed the motor trim button down it would take the needle back to 12 volts. But after a couple of minutes you could watch the needle start back up to 14-15 again. Any ideas of what the problem might be. I had a new regulator installed last year because the big battery was not charging. The battery is only two years old. I thinking it might be the stator. I just started a week of vacation and am hoping to resolve this issue today so I can fish the rest of the week. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks cyberhog
Ask the marine doctor.
14-15 volts is acceptable. Make sure all connections are very clean and tight. Check water level in battery. If all that is good have the battery load tested at your local auto parts store. Age of battery means nothing as even brand new ones can be bad. Your stator is fine. If it was bad it wouldn't be charging at all.
Last edited by Barnacle Bill; 05-10-2009 at 10:13 AM.
Fair Winds and Following Seas
Bill H. PTC USN Ret
Chesapeake, Va
Sounds normal to me...shouldn't drop and slowly go back up though in my opionion...should pop back up as soon as you let off the trim switch. Like IBNFSHN said...check out ALL you connections, water level if possible, have them load tested. 14-16 is normal. Have to remember these are not as stable as the alternator in your car...and most do not put out near the amps. The older ones I mean...the newer motors come with alternators now.
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 25:15
perfectly fine!
The only problem that I see is bumping the trim shouldn't keep it down that long........
It should bump down while you are trimming and pop right back up if the battery is good....The battery should have more than enough power to trim the motor a few times without significant voltage drop.
Stator is fine if its charging at all............never seen one "sorta" go bad........Its usually either yes or no.
I would test my battery with a hydrometer and make sure all the cells are balanced......and take it in and have it load tested......May have a weak cell due to sulfation.......Especially if you cycled it up and down a lot while the regulator was bad......
Bulls Bay aka Capt. Dave
Someone once asked me: "Aren't you concerned with all the gaps in your work history due to fishing?"
My response: "I am more concerned about the gaps in my fishing history due to work!"