Voltage Regulator Questions

I have a 8 hp evinrude 4 stroke on my boat as a kicker. This motor never had a starter therefore it never had a voltage regulator/rectifier.

I wanted to add some battery charging capability so I bought a stator and a regulator/rectifier for it. These are now installed and now I’m worried about how I’m going to wire this to my battery.

The directions say to attach the black wire to the motor ground and the red wire to the starter red wire. Well, I don’t have a starter so the red wire needs to go to the battery. Then I realized the black wire needs to go there too.

Got that figured out but now I’m wondering if it’s ok to have this connected to the battery all the time. In a normal hookup, these are not connected to power all the time because it’s only on when the key is turned on. Do I need to wire in some kind of switch to turn this off when the kicker motor is not running?

the regulator/rectifier will have a diode built into that prevents voltage returning to the charging coils.
in a perfect world where nothing would ever fail you would be okay wiring it direct.

since it is not a perfect world I would put a switch and fuse in the line.
that way if something failed in the circuitry it would prevent burning something up,especially if you were not around if something did fail.

another reason to put a switch and fuse in is in case the battery was dead for whatever reason,you will would prevent accidental reverse polarity frying the charging system.
it takes about a millisecond to fry the rectifier if the battery is hooked up backwards during a jump or recharge.

Awesome. That makes sense. The regulator is supposed to put out 15A. Would a 20A fuse make sense then?

Here’s the one I have.
http://www.cdielectronics.com/product/rectifiers-regulators/johnson-evinrude-mercuryregulated-rectifier-193-5114-replaces-445091-445114/

I wouldnt put a bigger fuse in than what the system is putting out,the extra five amp capacity is a lot on a system that small and it can cause problems.
use a fifteen amp fuse,you shouldnt blow it unless the battery is really low and the charging system is working overtime to make up the full charge.

now,if for what ever reason it starts blowing fuses,find out why it is doing it.
the fuse is designed to protect things,if it blows it is doing its job telling you there is another problem.

Got it. Thanks!

Can I ask how much you have into this system Gill?
DT

Maybe $200. They are parts that already exist for this motor if you were to buy it with a starter.

As far as I know all I need is the stator and the regulator. What I didn’t anticipate is the extra fuse and switch. Hopefully it makes a difference while trolling all day.

for those that are not familiar with CDI electronics,they make a wide array of stators,voltage regulators/rectifiers and ignition modules for about any make out there,even the older stuff,ie,ignition module for a 1972 mercury 402.

I have used many of their products and never once had an issue as far as fit and function,their stuff simply bolts in place and it works.
if there is a wiring update or color change they notify you of it in the instructions along with detailed pictures or a schematic.
the instructions are well written,havent had a warranty issue yet either.

Agreed. And in my experience they work better than the oem parts.

Had a regulator start on fire on my merc years ago that was a failed regulator. Replaced it with an oem regulator which failed again in two years. Bought a cdi regulator and it works for at least 4 years until I sold it.

Ok. Now I’ve finally hooked everything up now and I decided to check the voltage coming from the kicker and I’m barely getting 3v at idle.

Ok no problem, I’m guessing that it needs some rpms to generate some power. So at 1/2 throttle in neutral I now get negative voltage.

Something is obviously wrong. I’m wondering if I need a different flywheel now. Not sure how or why that would make a difference but it’s my only guess.

did the stator come from CDI as well as the rectifier??
if it did there should be a troubleshooting guide with it.
without being there to help you check it out I am only guessing but here goes anyway.
is everything hooked up properly from point A to point B ??
are all connections making contact?? check them with a volt/ohm meter to be sure.

I took a guess at what year your motor is and looked up parts and I am not seeing where there are two different flywheels used,that is not saying there isnt but I didnt see anything.

there is always the chance you have a bad part but before you blame it on a part check everything again.
if it comes down to it,call the guys at CDI they will be happy to walk you through troubleshooting.
wish I could be of more help.

There’s a mother flywheel so you can use a starter, which is where this part is typically used. I can’t imagine that anyone has done what I’m trying to do.

The hookup is super simple. Mount the stator and regulator. Connect the yellow wires (2). Order doesn’t matter. Connect the black to the engine starter ground wire (don’t have one so imconnected it to the main starting battery negative). Connect the red to the positive on the starting battery. I tried several combinations to see if I could get any normal voltage readings but I couldn’t get one.

The stator and rotor both came from cdi. The troubleshooting guide doesn’t say anything about negative voltage. I don’t even understand what negative voltage is.

I’ll be calling cdi when I get a chance.