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Tach does not work 1991 40 hp merc
Bilito	#1  Posted on 05/23/11 - 2:05 PM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	I have power to the tach but I am not getting a signal (I think), on the grey wire. Does anyone know if this engine has a rectifier or a voltage regulator and where is it hidden?
Bilito	#2  Posted on 05/24/11 - 8:29 AM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	I removed the cover of the switch box and found the starter solonoid and the Voltage regulator are cleverly hidden in there
Binkie	#3  Posted on 05/24/11 - 10:55 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 2012 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/19/05	I assume you have the ground and the hot wire hooked up. I just hooked up a tach last week on my 1961 Evinrude 75 V4. I hooked the grey tac wire to the "signal", black wire to ground on battery and hot wire to pos. on battery. It works. I didn't go thru the harness. Now if I can just find the right "pole". I know this engine won`t turn 8000rpm LOL
Bilito	#4  Posted on 05/24/11 - 11:57 AM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	On the voltage regulator there is evidence of overheating and a few drops of some black goo that dripped out of it at some time. I suspect the grey wire from the regulator to the tach has a break in it somewhere. That wire runs from the engine into the throttle box and out of the throttle box on another plug wire to the tach or the voltage regulataor is shot, (200 bucks) gonna crank it up in a little while and check voltage at the battery to see it is charging
Bilito	#5  Posted on 05/24/11 - 12:25 PM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	started it u, and the engine runs fine, measured the voltage across the battery poles, it was same with the engine off and with the engine running. I guess the voltage regulator is shot. What can cause a voltage regulator to melt out black goo???
Bilito	#6  Posted on 05/24/11 - 3:21 PM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	Just found a NOS regulator on eBay for 48 bucks with free shipping, same exact part number as the one on my motor...My Lucky Day the guy said he has 70 of them in unopened original packages. might just buy another for a backup
theo	#7  Posted on 05/24/11 - 3:59 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 252 Comments: 0 Joined: 08/26/08	Bilito wrote: . . . What can cause a voltage regulator to melt out black goo??? Disconnecting the battery with the motor running, hooking up jumper cables backwards, running with a battery that won't take a charge and/or has a shorted cell, holding your mouth wrong, yelling at your kids for being kids, kicking the dog. . . . . Ted 1985 15' CC, 1994 60 hp Merc (Wednesday built), 5" jack plate
Bilito	#8  Posted on 05/25/11 - 4:50 AM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	I knew that dog must have had something to do with it
Bilito	#9  Posted on 05/28/11 - 1:38 PM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	installed my 48 dollar NOS voltage regulator from eBay and TA DA my tach works and the battery is now getting a charge.
Joe Kriz	#10  Posted on 05/28/11 - 2:19 PM
Site Owner Personal Page Personal Album Photo Albums Project Albums Posts: 11447 Comments: 452 Joined: 03/18/05	That's good news. Now, did you figure out how this happened in the first place or did your regulator just go out by itself....?
Bilito	#11  Posted on 05/28/11 - 5:41 PM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	I just bought the boat a week ago, the tach was not plugged in, I plugged it in and nothing happened . the seller said it probably has a bad ground, what did I know? Got the boat home and troubleshot it and started to trace that grey wire from the tach back to the motor, when I opened up that switchbox cover, there it was, easy to see, a burned up regulator. I have no idea what caused that, just know everything is working good now. I checked the lower unit oil at time of sale, it was nice clean oil, got boat home spent a few hours racing around the bay, when I got home I pulled the lower unit plug and milky oil came out, neeed a seal kit. As they say Buyer beware....
Joe Kriz	#12  Posted on 05/28/11 - 6:11 PM
Site Owner Personal Page Personal Album Photo Albums Project Albums Posts: 11447 Comments: 452 Joined: 03/18/05	I am a firm believer of having a Voltmeter on all boats with a charging system. Either a single meter on the dash or one that is built into a fishfinder/GPS etc.... This will tell you whether your charging system is working or not just by glancing at it....
Bilito	#13  Posted on 06/01/11 - 8:28 AM
Member Posts: 91 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/20/11	Now that the tach is working it is starting to stick at the 3000 rpm mark. I wrote to Faria and they are gonna repair or replace it free of charge under the lifetime warranty. It's a 3-4 week turnaround. Will it hurt anything if I run the motor without the tach until the new one gets here??