Is 16.5 volts OK?

[NeilD]

I am having a bit of trouble with my new 90 Yammie. The high voltage warning is coming on and shows charge at 16.5v. Our dealer says this is due to the type of battery we are using. It is a sealed low maintenance type and they reckon you have to use normal screw capped ones. He said just run as is and put up with the high voltage.

Am I being conned to put repairs past the busy Xmas run or is this legit?

Cheers

Neil

[Roughasguts]

I would be a bit worried about radio's fish finder, and such.
Keep the anchor or running lights on to take the edge off the high voltage until you get it sorted.

[TonyOW31]

Sounds like your voltage regulator is stuffed to me?

[HarryO]

G'day Neil..

NO, not OK.

Methinks the dealer is, well, speaking with a forked tongue.

Nothing to do with the battery.

With that output, your battery will prematurely fail, at the very least....

Take it back.... ASAP.

[hussy]

not right, it should be around 12-13 at the most, would be looking at the regulator while you still have everything working,cause you wont have for long. bob h

[BaysideMarine]

Neil,

Prior to going back to the dealer and to give yourself a stronger position, go to Supercheap Auto or K-mart and buy a $40 battery. Toss it in and see what result you get.

If you are still up around that voltage then you can now state it is the same on 2 different types of battery.

And as stated 16.5volts is very uncool...

Cheers,

Nicholas

[Roughasguts]

Swap the batterys over between your car and boat.
That will test out if your dealer is telling you Bullsh!t.

[Angla]

I think 13.8 is about the most you should have. Any more and it will do damage eventually.

Chris

[Roughasguts]

A good fully charged battery has 2.2 volts per cell so 13.2 volts.
Once the motor is running expect the motors charge rate to increase the battery voltage to around 14.5-14.8 volts.

[HarryO]

Yeah,
the max recomended output that a battery will cope with
is 14.7 volts.

If you run a tester battery, do, as RAG said, watch your electronics.

Disconnect them, to be safe/sure.

[finga64]

I'd be concerned. Very concerned >:(
Hit the dealer for a new battery now as 16.5V is way over the top and he reckons it's not.
Most I'd be looking for is 14.2-14.5 V on a flat battery but 13.8 is good.
Voltage onto the battery is dependent upon the voltage regulator in the outboard no matter what battery you have.
Grab a battery of a mate and try that in the dealers face and ask how come this battery still reading 16.5V.
The alarm is there for a reason. To alarm you to something out of the ordinary.
I'd definitely be wanting a new battery now as well.

[NeilD]

Yea will try a second battery. Running the live bait pump drops it to around 14v but the system just is not right as is. The dealer is reputable as far as I know and a sponsor of the site so I am hoping they are not giving me the run around.

Cheers

Neil

[dave22]

Mate i hope its not Springwood Marine.

[PADDLES]

the dealer response sounds a bit fishy to me. those volts aren't right and like finga says the alarm is put there by the manufacturer for a reason. the regulator should be doing like the name suggests and regulating the voltage at around 14.4V. the only direction those volts should be going is down, as you overload the system (cranking is the best example of this), not up to 16.5V.

[Roughasguts]

Makes you wonder though.

I don't have a volt meter, or over volt alarm, so how would I know if Me motor wasn't overcharging, simply I wouldn't.

I could Check it with a multi meter but how often should I do it.

[murf]

Hi Neil

also check that is a correct reading of 16.5v. I was taught that a meter never lies but check anyway.

does your sounder give a voltage reading as well.

what is the volts without motor running and then at idle? as opposed to full revs.

agree 16.5v is too high and will damage battery eventually.

Cheers Murf

[kleyny]

im with the rest of the guys over 16v way to high.
a car alternator runs around 14.5 anything after that and the reg is had it.
if the volts have been that high for a while check the water level if you can.
i know you said its a sealed battery but sometimes you can still take the caps off.
my two easy checks would be as others have stated swap your car battery with it and use a multy- meter to check the voltage. guages are good as a quide but not for fault finding. with the meter see what volts you get with it at idle then at revs it shouldnt change all that much if it does i'd say the regulator is gone

if you dont have a multy- meter buy one from super cheap for 20 bucks good enough for what you want.