Evinrude Selectric 40hp Questions

[jay]

I have a small Starcraft with a 40hp Evinrude with a Selectric on it. I posted some on the old forum last year.

The motor was running OK at the end of last season and I’m sure will again this year once I pull it out and give it the spring going over (spring seems like its finally showing up here in Connecticut this week).

The one issue I was having was the generator/regulator/battery setup. Basically I’m not sure if the generator/regulator is working. The regulator was non-stock that I got with it, and it never showed a positive amperage on the dash gauge. There could be a number of reasons why this wouldn’t be working. Generator, regulator, faulty wiring to amp meter (done by me), bad battery are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

I am going to pick up a battery to run the motor as the one I was using last year was old/bad and needs replacement. I’m thinking that while I diagnose the problem I would like to use the boat, so I will plan on charging the battery between uses. The boat lives at my aunt/uncles family lake house in the water, so that entails taking the battery out and hauling it to the house. Based on that comes my main question –

Would a small sized (garden tractor style) batter work for this motor? Something like this –
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/h … nking-amps

It would save on weight lugging it back and forth and a few $ in purchase price. Or do I need a full size battery?

Second – does anyone have a method for testing the charging system, bench style or in the back of the boat? I know I did a test Frank R. explained last year with the generator (wiring it one way to get the generator to turn) wish the old boards weren’t gone so I could relist the instructions. Anything I can do to test the regulator?

Thanks again for all the help!
Jay

[frankr]

I would forget about the mower battery, especially w/o the gen working. Reason: Elect power is required to keep the shift in gear. Battery gets too low and clutches slip, causing $$$ problems.

I have an appointment, so gotta go, but will post troubleshooting stuff later.

[beerman57]

Using a multi-meter set on Volts DC, hook it up to the battery. At idle it should probably read 12.5 to 13 volts, as RPM’s increase the volts should go up a little. Someone else may want to answer that knows more about charging systems than me. But that’s the general idea, if the meter only says 9V, as an example, there is a problem somewhere.

[frankr]

OK, if we can assume you did the generator motoring bench test, and if we can further assume it is all properly connected with the correct voltage regulator (oops, you said that may not be), If you run the motor at 2000 RPM or more, there should be a charge showing on the amp meter. Max charge rate is 10 AMPs which it should do, it the battery is not totally charged. It will not charge at idle speeds.

If it does not show a charge at 2000 RPM, check the 4A fuse in the junction box. And make sure the fuse is making good contact in the fuseholder clips. If still no charge with a good fuse, CAREFULLY ground the regulator Field terminal. I emphasize carefully because it you accidently touch it to the nearby terminals, the smoke will get out of the regulator. If it shows a charge with the Field terminal grounded you know the generator is working, but regulator is not. Immediately unground it and double check your wiring. If all wiring is ok, replace regulator.

Other tests confirm the 10A maximum and voltage settings, but that is another subject.

Concerning the regulator: It uses a 10Amp, 12V, "A" field regulator. No car that I am aware of uses such a thing, so forget about car regulators.

[garry-in-michigan]

I believe there is a Harley Davidson motorcycle solid state voltage regulator that will work.

[jay]

Thanks again –

So – no to the tractor battery. OK – I will look for a larger battery, and start working out 🙂

Thanks Garry – I think I remember reading that there is a HD regulator that works as well. I did pick up an Evinrude regulator off of e-Bay last year sometime thinking i might need replacement here.

Frank – I will check the fuse going to amp meter as well. Is there any bench test that can be performed on the regulator? Wondering if I can test this guy out before I replace it.

Any guestimate of how long you could run one of these motors with a fully charged car battery before it started to fall out of gear?

Jay

[frankr]

There was such a thing as a generator/regulator tester. I am restoring one now. Otherwise, not really any practical way of bench testing them. You wouldn’t want to run it to the point of falling out of gear, not good for the clutches nor the battery. I’d hazard to say you should be ok to run it for a day, starting and shift combined.

[george-emmanuel]

Frank, I thought the default for no electricity on the gearcase of the Selectric was "Forward"?? Maybe I’m wrong since it has been many years since I owned one, but I thought the idea was if the power failed, you could rope start and get home. Am I wrong?

[frankr]

George, you are half right and half wrong. You are right, if it were a Hydro-Electric gearcase which defaulted to forward. But the motor in question is the original electric spring clutches unit, which defaults to neutral if no power applied. Evinrude called both systems "Selectric", but Johnson split them up as "Electramatic" and "Hydro-Electric".

[outboardnut]

I try to save everything –
I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS INFO APPLIES-
I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS INFO APPLIES-
I believe the Harley Regulators I used were the 10 amp, A Field Circuit, that Frank mentioned.
They are part number 381 309. They are not a direct mount into the OMC solenoid box, needs a little jerry rigging to get it to mount, but mechanically works well. They retail for about 50 bucks.
Don’t be lured into trying a higher rated amperage. A lot of the newer Harley regulators are in the 22 amp range. These will fry the armature.
Aftermarket 12v ELECTRONIC VOLTAGE REGULATOR for HARLEY Generator Big Twin models 1965 through 1969 and Sportsters from 1965 to 1977
VOLTAGE REGULATOR 12v HARLEY GENERATOR SHOVELHEAD PANHEAD 65-69 IRONHEAD 65-77

How to test generator
To bench test a generator:
Use 16 ga jumper wires.

1: Use a jumper wire to ground the field terminal to the case. The field is the smaller of the two.

2: Ground the case to the (-) post of a 12v battery

3: Use another jumper wire to connect the armature (larger) terminal to the (+) post of the battery. Generator should run slowly like a motor. If it does, it is OK right now. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worn out and might fail tomorrow. That’s the way it is with old electrical stuff, right?

EDIT: BTW, the above test also polarizes the generator, so no need to repeat that when putting it into service.

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