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Ok I have a friend that swears there is no alternator on outboard engines... I argue there IS some type of charging system, he says a 3 bank charger charges 2 trolling and the cranking battery... I thought it just tops it off it it gets low b ut the motor will maintain the cranking unless it gets very low..
any insight on how this exactly work. Thanks
Yes the big motor will charge the cranking batt...... If you run the motor alot. Most bassboats need to be charged with a charger as 99% of the time we are on the troller and drawing power all day from the cranking batt with all the accesories.
If you used the boat to ski, tube and run the motor all day it will keep up. But my batts need charged especially since I have a fast boat and get there quick and leaves very little charging/running time.
On most outboards the system is a rectifier / regulator, on some it is just a rectifier, but yes the big engine does provide a charge to the cranking battery. In general the stator creates electricity, the rectifier turns that juice from AC into DC, and the regulator controls the voltage. There may be other parts involved, depending on the engine. With today's heavy electronic load it is best to charge the cranking battery, the computers on some engines have a heavy draw.
The SHO engine has a 50 amp charging system. I rarely put a charger on my cranking battery. Just because it has a three bank charger doesnt mean its hooked to the cranking battery mine is not.
Layne,
On two stroke motors the Stator puts out an AC voltage via the flywheel magnets against the coils on the stator. That voltage is upwards of 300 volts AC, as the flywheel revolves around the stator this generates the electrical field. The bottom of the flywheel usually has two notches built into the base of the wheel. With the woodruff key in place the flywheel can't move, so the notches remain a constant. These notches are transferred to the timer base (trigger on some motors) which has 6 (if it is a V-6) pick ups on it. The trigger is attached to the throttle arm which advances (much like an old car with a vacuum advance) and the pulses of the flywheel spinning follow the advance of the throttle via the trigger. That voltage is clipped and sent to the power pack. The voltage for the regulator/rectifier is also sent via the wiring to that unit which is used to send tach signals, charging voltage, etc to the system. A proper running motor wired correctly will keep the primary battery charged properly. Depending on the model you may have a 9/10 amp system or a 35 or higher system.
But to answer your question, the outboard's charging system will keep the battery charged if it it has no other outside sources of current draw.