NON-WITERIZED OUTBOARD should I buy???

[toonfish]

I have the opportunity to buy a 90hp outboard, but the guy that is selling it told me that he did nothing to witerize it this year???? It is a 2004 Merc 4 stroke....what should I be concerned with and what risk am I taking??? Is there anything I can do to it now or in the spring to reduce my chances of problems.

[toonfish]

Where is the rectifier??? and how much to replace??

[toonfish]

Also I checked with the original owner again and he said that the battery was hooked up to the motor all winter....could this cause some sort of damage to the rectifier?? what ever that is???

[toonfish]

Still have not checked it with meter....but got a quote ahead just in case....265.00 parts and labor....sounds pretty reasonable to me....what do you think??? Are these hard to replace on your own??

[marine_man]

No, they're not that difficult to replace.

Before I would spend any money though I'd see if it were bad first.

Does your boat have a tachometer? Does it work? That'd tell a lot about the rectifier right there.

marine_man

[toonfish]

yes I have a tach. It is working....what should I look for on the tach. I am going to test with a multimeter tonight.

[toonfish]

Had the boat out last night and tested the battery with the multimeter. Read 12.04 when motor off, then drove boat at 3000 RPM and reading dropped to 11.99........assuming this means the recifier is out. Got a quote on the parts and labor already...can i use the boat in the meantime until the part comes in??? I would just take battery out and charge between uses???? Can that be bad for the motor or any concerns??

[DTro]

Toonfish, I would recommend getting the part (maybe used) at Twin City Outboard. In most cases the rectifier is as easy as disconnecting the wires and simple bolt on and off.

I think hooking up the cables with the wrong polarity (black/red) can also fry the rectifier.

You will be fine charging it up with a battery charger in the meantime.

[marine_man]

You should be ok with charging the battery in between uses.

And yes, it sounds like the rectifier is out.. unless it's the stator too...

The stator feeds the rectifier A/C, the rectifier converts it to DC and regulates the charging power.

And dtro is right on - connecting the cable backwards even once can be enough to take out the rectifier.

marine_man