Voltmeter off the dial!

[diveman]

I just took possession of my 1997 230BR and had it running like a charm. I do have a few things that I have to take care of and one of them is the the voltmeter is reading off the dial. 16V. This is at all Rpm. When I trim the drive the voltmeter bounces and then goes back up to the 16v range.

The battery is a group 24 of unknown condition and has an in service date of April 2010. I just bought another battery to replace it. It's a Costco group 24 deep cycle that meet all the requirements and more according to the mercruiser manual.

Question - could the condition of the battery be causing the voltage to be high or might I be looking at a new alternator?

Thanks for any advice.

Mike


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[Joel_CA]

I suggest you take voltage measurements at the battery with the engine off and the engine running to verifiy actual voltage. You may just have a defective gauge. If the gauge is reading 16volts with the key in the on position, and the engine not running- that might just be the case.

J

 

[gerryb]

No way those batteries are putting out 16v. Check with another gauge to make sure it's not the gauge. Your post does not say what the voltage was with engine off. Any weird electrical things happening, light spikes, drops, etc?

 

[diveman]

I will test all of those things when I get to the boat tomorrow. Thanks for the ideas. I thought perhaps the alternator was putting out way to many volts.


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[Richrabb]

If the battery has caps and voltage is that high you can look in and probably see them boiling. I wonder if one battery could be a problem causing trouble. Can you switch one battery off?

 

[sdarc]

take a voltage reading at the alternator and voltage regulator if separate. My guess is that the voltage regulator whether separate or internal is faulty.

 

[diveman]

Just did a quick non-running test as I didn't have water to run the motor. Battery shows 12.58V at the terminals and reads that on the volt gauge. When I turn the key but do not start it jumps to 16V. Single battery only.

Thoughts? I am a newbie at this stuff.

Will run on Monday next week.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[diveman]

So I had the boat in the driveway for an oil change and gear oil change. Good news is there was no water in the gear oil but it was as black as can be. Changed it up and everything is as it should be. Took 7 litres of oil for the engine. Now it is purring like a kitten.

On the voltage issue I ran the engine and took a reading at the battery and it was 12.58V as it was charging but the volt gauge was pegging 16v. I am thinking it is a faulty gauge.

Thoughts?


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[SloBurn]

It's the gauge, batteries can't put out 16 V, and usually when alternators go bad, it's high AC Voltage, not DC, and you get a dead battery.

 

[diveman]

That is what I though. Any one know where I can get a replacement Sea ray gauge at a good price? Canadian source would be appreciated but willing to go with mail order.

Mike


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