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I have a 1992 Johnson 88 spl which puts out 16V at most speeds above idle. Even after
I shut it down it reads 16V on the battery for a while. I know it's an unregulated system
and I think 16V probably is not too bad but I think this will fry the battery. I installed a new
battery last year and had to get another last month. Anybody have experience with unregulated
systems? Maybe if I get a huge battery and have that be the regulator?
First see what your voltmeter reads with just the key ON. It should be around 12 volts, if not, replace it.
The battery is the voltage regulator in a rectifier only charging system like your 88. Do not use a sealed or maintenance free battery, you need one in which you can add water easily. A group 27 deep cycle quality battery, not a $49.95 cheapie, will keep the voltage levels under control. You can also turn the running lights on to lower the voltage.
You can also install a regulator-rectifier and wiring from a mid-90's 90hp to have a fully regulated system that can use any type of battery.
Thanks guys. I see an Exide dual purpose(start/deepcycle) group 27 battery with
730 MCA for around $99 that I'll pick up tommorow and see how it does. I think
that should be enough mass to regulate the voltage.
kevin nolan wrote:
my 1990 88 spl also runs at 16 at high rpm over 3500. but about 13 14 at lower rpms. so 16 is ok .
I swapped out the rectifier on my 1990 88 SPL and saw the same problem. About that time I noticed the battery cables were hotter than heck. Turns out I had a bad connection, and the power was not going to the battery, but it was being sent. It looked good, but was not making good contact.
Cleaned and recoated the terminals, and since then the motor charges very nice indeed from off idle to WOT at 13.9-14.6 Vdc.
I’m running a 675 CCA west marine for starting. It’s less than six months old; I was using one battery for electronics and starting, but did not like the voltage drops when the motor was started. So I added a battery to isolate and give redundancy.
My 1990 88 SPL does have a rectifier and a regulator; you can add the regulator for around 40 dollars, and I would suggest thinking about it.
