98 202 doesn’t seem to be charging

[Kimper]

Where do I start looking for on this issue? My voltage gauge reads nothing when running so I am guessing either my alternator is bad or there a bad wire somewhere. BTW the boat had a mercruiser 8.2 in it. I didn’t have a volt meter to check if it was charging while running. What are my options?

[Randy-X2]

First, check the battery and battery connections. Will it charge on a charger? If good then check the alternator voltage output while running. Then check voltage regulator for voltage output. Fix what doesn't work.

[Kimper]

Thanks, I will have to get a water boot so I can run it on a hose

[Kimper]

I found a loose ground wire on the alternator itself, I hope that fixes it

[Kimper]

I am reading only battery voltage at the alternator with it running (12.34). Does this mean my alternator is shot?

[Kimper]

Alternator replaced (bought a new marine one from parts store for 160.00) installed last night and ran the boat and it worked flawlessly. Voltage gauge worked and battery was charging at 13.45 amps at idle. I think this was a success. My only complaint was the parts stores who could not test my alternator to tell me if it was actually bad or not. BTW when you have everything apart don’t be afraid to look around and try to tidy thing up. I pulled the cover where the fuel sending unit is and found the ground wires barley in the terminal so I re crimped a new end on and ty wrapped some wires up. I always try to make it a little better before closing it back up.

[Randy-X2]

Alternator replaced (bought a new marine one from parts store for 160.00) installed last night and ran the boat and it worked flawlessly. Voltage gauge worked and battery was charging at 13.45 amps at idle. I think this was a success. My only complaint was the parts stores who could not test my alternator to tell me if it was actually bad or not. BTW when you have everything apart don’t be afraid to look around and try to tidy thing up. I pulled the cover where the fuel sending unit is and found the ground wires barley in the terminal so I re crimped a new end on and ty wrapped some wires up. I always try to make it a little better before closing it back up.

[Kimper]

Ok, I thought everything was good once I put the new alternator in and as far as charging we are A+. We now have a issue of the a parasitic draw that killed my battery over the past week that is coming from my new alternator (I think). I installed a 3 wire (+ ground) alternator which is the same as I pulled out. I have a main power and ground (#8 wire) that runs to the battery and two other red and black wires (# 16 wires) that run somewhere. If I disconnect the black number 16 wire my draw stops. Does this mean there’s a bad diode in the alternator?