Hello forum,
I have inherited a Mariner 4 saildrive engine with my P21. It has a battery charging facility that has never been connected. Am I right in assuming this can be linked directly to the battery or do I need any form of relay or fuse.?

Many thanks, Brock

I think my Merc 5hp outputs AC not DC. It's wired up to charge the battery, so there must be a rectifier in there somewhere! I'll have a look this evening.

Geoff

Parker 21 / 18 Dawn

I have the Tohatsu 6hp sail drive, which is the same engine but sold under the Tohatsu badge, it connects direct to the battery with an inline fuse as it outputs a DC charge. The out put is very small so do not expect to much.

Graham Ebb
235/25 Blue Jazz

I put a meter across the engine output and its about 3 volts dc.... not a lot as you say. Maybe I will get a 5w solar panel to keep the battery topped up. Not that I will be taking much out,I shall probably add a wind direction to the depth display. And maybe a radio but thats about all..... no fridge,tele,radar or anything too flash !!
I will put a fuse into the wiring and wire the positive lead into the safe side of the isolator switch.
Thanks for the imput gentlemen.
Regards,

Brock. Sprog P21/96

Just checked - my Merc 5hp does output DC and is connected directly to the battery. It was my previous boat (again an old Merc) that was AC!. Like yours, at idle/low speeds, it's around 4V and only gets up to 12V at quite high revs. I hadn't realised that!

I also have a solar panel which trickle charges the battery. This is generally enough to keep the wind, log and GPS going, but if I use the nav or cabin lights, I soon need to charge the battery.



Geoff

Parker 21 / 18 Dawn

Nearly all my outboards, certainly Yamaha 4 & 5, have had a "lighting coil", from which the small output is AC.The budget solution I have used for very many years is the "Outboard Charger & Rectifier" from Abel Marine. www.abelmarine.com  .

Jim
21/94 Talulah