1984 Evinrude 150 V-6 charging problem

[BIP Bassr]

I got the old Astro out from under its cover last weekend. Charged up the batteries, hit the key and all I got was a click. Checked the battery with a load tester and all was fine. The battery is good, new last year from Wal-Mart. Plain old lead-acid battery. I messed with the solenoid and decided that it must be bad inside. I never jumped the positive cable to the starter post or I would’ve known I just had a bad connection. I jumped to the conclusion that the solenoid was bad so I looked around and found one at AutoZone that was specified for my engine (and about 20 others). It looked identical except for the new on had a bracket. I installed it and hooked it up. Didn’t work, not even a click. In the meantime I tried hot wiring the solenoid to bypass the key and the wiring. No dice. I looked closer and noticed the “I” and “S” terminals were reversed on the new solenoid. I checked the old one out and hot-wired it and it clicked and could tell the solenoid was pulling in. I reinstalled the old one and cleaned and checked all the connections and it cranked just fine. I put the hose on the motor and got it running. Drug the boat and trailer to the lake and put her in the water. Started it and took it for a spin. Ran OK except I got a high voltage alarm on my Humminbird. I checked the voltmeter and the needle was buried to the right, over 16-17 volts. The only way I can get it to run around 13 volts is right at idle. Anything over idle at the volt meter climbs up to the top of the gauge again. I’m wondering if my engine has a voltage regulator or just a diode set up. I have a service manual but it covers a bunch of different motors. I also wonder if I damaged something electrical when I was messing with the solenoid wiring. Is it possible to retrofit a voltage regulator?

[ChampioNman]

Auto zone sells auto parts not marine parts except spark plugs. You probably got a Ford solenoid as they look the same but as you found out you had issues. Need a model number on your motor as there are two different electrical systems for the 150's. Your bad connection was probably the issue all along. Get rid of the wing nuts and use stainless steel hex nuts with lock washers on the battery posts. You may have fried the voltage regulator, yes it can be replaced but on your motor you'll need to pull the flywheel to perform the replacement.

[BIP Bassr]

Thanks ChampioNman. That's my concern. I looked at Ford solenoids and they were a little different. If the counter guy clicks on one of the menus there's actually a whole different set of listings for ATV's, MC's, inboard and outboard motors, lawn and garden and a bunch of other stuff. He put opened the outboard motor menu, put in the year, selected Evinrude, chose the 150 HP and it brought up the part number. I looked and the same solenoid PN was for a bunch of outboards. They had (1) on the shelf. I compared it to the stock one and it was identical except for the mounting bracket (mine doesn't have one, uses a clamp) and the "I" and "S" terminals are reversed. Didn't matter as it was a bum solenoid. I'll have to get the model number when I get home. It's a 75th Anniversary model, dark blue with gold lettering.

[BIP Bassr]

I should have included this in my original post, my apologies.

Evinrude model E150ANCRS, SN J0000131

150 HP VRO, running as a premixer 50:1.

Thanks!

[BIP Bassr]

Quick update. I still have the charging issue and the starting problem. The starter solenoid is fine. The starter is getting 12 VDC when passed through the original OEM solenoid. I took the boat out yesterday and was able to start the motor but only after tapping on the starter body. At first you could hear the solenoid click but the starter wouldn't spin. A couple of taps on the starter and it would spin and start the motor. Got out in the lake and verified the charging system is still overcharging the battery at over 17 VDC. I shut the motor off and dropped the troller. Went to restart the motor and it just clicked. I tapped on the starter and it started up again. I went back to my dock and I pulled the starter. I took it apart expecting to find worn out brushes or a spring problem causing poor contact. The brushes and springs looked great. One problem is a broken permanent magnet. I'm not sure if I fractured it tapping on the starter or if it was already broken and causing problems. I epoxied it back together and will try it tonight. I also ordered and OEM starter and a new OEM starter solenoid. You can't just buy the magnets. That should fix my starting problems. Then I can go back to trying to fix the charging problem. According to my manual, my engine has a 35A rectifier/regulator. I have not found a procedure for testing the diodes in that unit. Everything I've found for testing is for the old unregulated rectifiers. Any ideas on what to check next? It looks like a rectifier/regulator is a couple hundred more bucks. I want to make sure it's bad before I throw more parts at it.

[omcforever]

If your service manual is a seloc or clymer,,,throw it away and get a real OMC/BRP repair and service manual from the sticky's above.

[BIP Bassr]

Already have the factory OMC manual. Unfortunately, it covers all of the motors for 1984 and the amount of V6 specific information is fairly skimpy when it comes to this stuff.

[ChampioNman]

To test the diodes in the rectifier/regulator would require destroying the potting material of the VR. An easy way to tell if your motor has a 9 amp or 35 amp is to look at the flywheel, if it is ventilated it is a 35 amp system if it is smooth it is a 9 amp system. Also there should be a chart on page 3-1 of your service manual with the size of your charging system.

[BIP Bassr]

Thanks ChampioNman. I'll take a look at the flywheel tonight when I'm reinstalling the starter, if I get that far. Pretty sure mine is 35A, but I'll double check.

[BIP Bassr]

Mine has a ventilated flywheel so it has the 35A charging system.

[BIP Bassr]

Just ordered a new Rectifier Regulator. Should arrive Monday. I need to review the procedure for pulling the flywheel and stator in the manual. I bought a new starter also. One of the permanent magnets was broken and you can't buy just the magnets. Everything else looked good. Brushes were fine. Starts right up now.

[ChampioNman]

Buy a Harmonic balancer puller and follow the sticky for the home made lift ring. Yes I'm aware your cannot get individual magnets.

[BIP Bassr]

Thanks for the reference on the procedure. I have a bunch of different pullers. I'm sure one of them will fit. The part will be here today. I just ordered it last night. Turns out it ships from MI and I'm in MI. I should be able to get this done tomorrow.

[ChampioNman]

what ever you use don't use a jaw type puller, use one that screws into the center of the flywheel. Bolt size is 5/16" X 24 pitch (fine) and some sturdy washers. 3.5" long will work just fine.

[BIP Bassr]

Just saw your post. I used a steering wheel/harmonic balancer puller. I couldn't find my 5/16 NF bolts that I used on my old 90 so I bought some new grade 8 ones and some washers. Pretty easy job once you get the flywheel to pop loose. I bought a CDI regulator, swapped it out and took it out on the lake for a shakedown run last night. Charging system is fixed and the gauge read about 14.5 Volts pretty steady throughout the running RPM range. I noticed I must have hit a rock in the mud getting the boat out of the water to work on it. Two blades have a small chunk out of them on the aluminum prop. Guess it's time for a SS one. Mine is a 14.5 X 19 three blade. Probably going back with something close as it runs about 5500 RPM at full throttle at about 48 MPH. This is a 18 Ft Astro Fish -n-ski with a 7.5" prop to pad. Yeah, I know, too deep. It comes out of the hole nice so I don't want to mess with that too much. I was looking at the standard 3-blade OMC 14.5 X 19, 389924 or possibly a 14.4 X 22 Raker 3-blade, 394754. Plenty of used ones on ebay. Not interested in a new prop as I already have too much into this boat. The aluminum prop isn't damaged so bad that I can't run it. I didn't notice any vibration when taking it for a spin last night. I'll just take it easy until I get a replacement prop.

[ChampioNman]

Glad it worked out for you.