MacGregorSailors.com

"There's only three ways into Juneau: by boat, by plane and by birth canal."
- Juneau Tour operator on our 2018 Alaska Cruise.

We could figure out how many Macs were built by utilizing the German Tank Problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_tank_problem.

Took her out yesterday. Left the dock just fine. Wouldn't start on way back in. Not a grunt, not a click, not a peep. I might as well have stuck the key in a potato. I assumed I blew a fuse. Sailed into to slip (perfect wind for it, almost rode up on boat ahead of me under power) When I tried it aga...

Thanks.

It's been running all summer with that alarm so it hasn't done any noticeable damage yet.

But my motor won't run without it in-place so it's got to go back in.

I guess I'll just leave the alarm connector off.

So, the part is gonna take two weeks. Question: if all it does is recharge the battery, and my motor was running OK, is there any reason why I can't pop the busted rectifier back in* and go sailing while I wait? I recharge my batteries from shore power anyway, so they're fully charged when I go out....

Incidentally, not really a gear-head, so I am quite pleased with my patience and success in both locating the offending connection and in consulting the manual to find out exactly where it led to. It's a general purpose manual, so there are no less than 20 electrical diagrams - at least six of which...

Awesome. Thanks for that.

I think I will replace the rect rectifier and just avoid turning off the power when motor is on.

Also, I think I will either recharge or replace my dead battery and, in the future, be more mindful of good, solid battery terminal connections.

OK, here's what I tried: Red probe to black/white connector, and Black probe to... ... grey connector 1: metre reads "1" (I assume that means infinity). ... grey connector 2: metre reads "1". ... grey connector 3: metre reads "1". Black probe to black/white connector, and Red probe to... ... grey co...

The wire leading to the rectifier is causing the alarm (if I disconnect it, the alarm stops). I assume that's actually the alarm telling me the rectifer's plotzed. There are 4 other connectors: 3 gray and 1 black/white - and a ground. Presumably, b/w is power. http://www.davesbrain.ca/miscpix/sailin...

Be Free wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:50 am

The alternator on this engine is very simple. What kind of problem do you suspect?

Not charging the battery, of course.

Plan to head down the dock tomorrow. Of course... the day everything's closed. Hope I don;t need a part.

I'll check every connection.
I'll check the battery - see if it's dead. If so, I"ll disconnect it.

Is there anything I can do to root out any alternator problems?

Tomfoolery wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 01, 2020 10:38 am

That's because it's a switch, not a sender.

Ah.
'Sender' as in signal. Not 'sender' as in pump.

"I haven't actually checked the lights on the O/B, only on the shifter. And they were off." There are no lights on the engine. They are only on the shifter. Ah. I see now. The manual shows configurations for several flavors of motor, If the engine is running and the oil light is out (should be gree...

The BF50A is the first generation carbureted engine. There are very limited diagnostics built in. The alarm and lights are for low oil pressure and high temperature. There is no low voltage alarm. A continuous alarm without looking at the lights on the shifter does not tell you what is wrong. You w...

C Buchs wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:10 pm

My Honda 50 had the same problem and it turned out the be a bad tilt sensor. I found some instructions somewhere on how to bypass it with a jumper wire. You could at least try the jumper wire to see if it solves your problem.

Jeff

Thanks. Will check that out.