2001 Utopia 185 battery not charging

[dbaldwin84]

Hi all,
Battery keeps dying on my 2001 Utopia with Mercury M2 EFI V6. I am pretty sure the battery is dead because when it fails to start the boat, it cranks progressively more slowly and then does not crank at all.
I can charge it up with a 12V battery charger and be back in business just fine.
I measured battery voltage at terminals when the engine was running, and I only read 12.6V.
Does this mean my voltage regulator/rectifier is bad? If so, is this a pretty easy like-for-like swap?
I was told by other boating buds to expect 14VDC when engine is running, and that would indicate that the battery is being charged, but they expertise is in boats with alternators, and I'm not sure that advice applies here.

 

[Tim75]

Hi all,
Battery keeps dying on my 2001 Utopia with Mercury M2 EFI V6. I am pretty sure the battery is dead because when it fails to start the boat, it cranks progressively more slowly and then does not crank at all.
I can charge it up with a 12V battery charger and be back in business just fine.
I measured battery voltage at terminals when the engine was running, and I only read 12.6V.
Does this mean my voltage regulator/rectifier is bad? If so, is this a pretty easy like-for-like swap?
I was told by other boating buds to expect 14VDC when engine is running, and that would indicate that the battery is being charged, but they expertise is in boats with alternators, and I'm not sure that advice applies here.

You do have an alternator on board. It is just different than a car.

It consists of rotating magnets, steel frame, and copper coils. Moving magnets near wire coils creates electricity.

You have 2 regulators. Starboard side of engine. These take the AC from the stator under the flywheel and rectify (change to DC like a battery) and regulate for proper charging. One red wire from each reg. goes to battery. You should be able swap both regs in about 30 - 45 minutes.

Before you fire the parts canon- go through the testing in the service book. It could save you $200.

Also you should check the battery. If it won't take a charge from a charger, it won't take a charge in the boat. A bad battery can kill one or both regs.

Engine running at about 2000rpm should show about 13.5-14 volts on a charged battery.