Outboard Help

[bassin212]

Hi Everyone. Got the boat running today, but had some trouble. The boat was running fine but I got some serious smoke coming out of what I think to be the Switch Box? I'll definitely be having my local shop look at it. But wasn't sure if anyone had experienced this or knows if I'm even referencing the right part.

Could this be caused by a bad battery? thanks for the help

[bassin212]

looks like it is the Regulator Rectifier? I'm not sure if the CDI box is what is actually burned out though.

[Jethro]

What is the motor? That looks like the R/R.

[Roccus]

when things smoke, its caused by a few different things, poor connections ( inactivity allows corrosion to set in over the winter), overloaded circuit, lack of or poor ground or reverse polarity, circuit boards and resistors don't do well with heat..

[bassin212]

thanks for the replies everyone. it's a 1994 Mercury 60hp. 2 stroke, fuel injected.

Looking back on it, when I checked the battery after being in the boat all winter. The water levels were low. So I just popped the cover off and refilled them with some tap water and plugged it in the charger. My charger first gave me an error message, but then went into recovery. Is it possible this caused reverse polarity?

I definitetely want to figure out the issue before replacing the R&R so I don't do it again. Looks like I can snag the R&R for $30 on Amazon.

[Mac Attack]

Is it possible this caused reverse polarity?

Not unless you physically swapped the wires around.

[bassin212]

hmm..... not sure why the R&R went then, I'll have to do some research.

[Roccus]

hmm..... not sure why the R&R went then, I'll have to do some research.

check the connector pins real close, Merc's have a bad habit of over heating the pin connectors and then damaging other parts, check the wires from the stator closely as well, if they look at all burned/overheated, cut them back and put on new connectors.. check your grounds, bad or loose grounds also cause these same weird problems..

[bassin212]

check the connector pins real close, Merc's have a bad habit of over heating the pin connectors and then damaging other parts, check the wires from the stator closely as well, if they look at all burned/overheated, cut them back and put on new connectors.. check your grounds, bad or loose grounds also cause these same weird problems..

will do, thanks Roccus. after what just happened, I bet their are some fried wires for sure.

[Raquettedacker]

Battery Myth #6 – Should I use normal tap water to top up the water level in the battery?
If you find the battery fluid level low, what should you do? Should you just fill it with water straight from the tap? The answer is no. The best way to fill a battery is with deionised, demineralised or distilled water. This water is sold by gallon jugs at most shops. Tap water has containments, which build up in the battery, like minerals, which will build up over the battery plates clogging the pores. If you are in dire need of water, you can use rainwater if available. As an emergency, use tap water, but be aware it will eventually clog up the plates and pores, causing the need for a replacement.

If tap water is used in the battery it will cause it to work even harder and become hotter, causing it to wear out faster. It may be helpful to have some distilled water in the trunk for such emergencies. The minerals in the tap water coats the plates and fills the pores, so they are no longer in contact with water, but with the minerals, which causes the over working of the battery. Prevent the need for tap water usage by checking the battery often. Ideally, most batteries are able to stay sealed and keep the water intact.

[bassin212]

so I've been doing some research, I think i'm going to tackle this myself and see if I can fix the issue. Going to replace the R&R and test the stator to see if that needs replacing as well, parts are pretty cheap on Amazon.

I went on Mercury and found the electrical layout of my motor: https://public-mercurymarine.sysonline.com/Default.aspx?sysname=NorthAmericacompany=GuestNA_KEY=NA_KEY_VALUElangIF=englangDB=eng

if you look at parts 39 (regulator voltage) which actually matches the part number from the picture I attached: 815279-3. and 16 (rectifier old design) is it saying I need #39 or both 39 and 16? I guess I'll find out when I take it out of the outboard but wanted to order parts ahead of time.

[bassin212]

So I was able to remove the R&R Part #39 and nothing was behind it, so luckily i'll only need that part. I'll attach some pictures of what it looks like. only one of the wires was burnt to a crisp. the other ones are salvageable. I will probably replace both ends anyways.

[800stealth]

I would ditch those slip fit connectors for hard wiring and shrink tube... Too much resistance in those style connectors if they aren't perfect.

[bassin212]

I would ditch those slip fit connectors for hard wiring and shrink tube... Too much resistance in those style connectors if they aren't perfect.

good to know, I will direct wire to the R&R when I get it.

[Roccus]

That's pretty common with them,  I solder them, . also, be sure there is a good independent ground from the regulator to the block , some models didn't have a separate ground stap, without it it
depended on the housing to make ground, the addition of a ground strap seemed to help,alleviate the burn ups.