honda 50A outboard electrical problems

[mk1]

I decided to start a new thread on this subject, although there are several old threads they sometime wonder away from the topic.

first a small disclaimer, I have no reason to suspect that honda outboards are generally unreliable, it is very possible that my problems are unique and are possibly a result of me doing something wrong, so please do not take this as an indication of honda quality.

I have purchased this X26 used with motor seemingly in a good shape, it did overheat at least once last year, as a result of water outlet clogging and the overheat sensor not working properly. This resulted in some heat damage to the plastic cover which had to be replaced to fix oil leak. I also had the fitting in water outlet replaced with new "improved" version which seems to be less likely to clog. And of course I also replaced impeller just in case. That was done last year.

and now a year later I have noticed a few new problems:

1. my battery does not seem to recharge properly . I have two batteries installed and I usually recharge them while running the motor in low (1000-1500) rpm while sailing. I was unable to recharge batteries on the last trip and had to take them home for recharging. I was only getting 12.8V at 1200 rpm.

2. As of today the situation has changed . Now I get as much as 16V voltage in the system when running the motor at idle. It only started happening today, until now I have never seen more than 13.8V.

I have concluded that my CDI unit is dead possibly as a result of overheating. I also thing the charging coils may need to be replaced (just in case) .

If anyone has any suggestions please post.

As I have mentioned, there is no reason to believe that all Honda outboards are bad but mine seems to need some care

[Catigale]

I have concluded that my CDI unit is dead possibly as a result of overheating. I also thing the charging coils may need to be replaced (just in case) .

You will have to clarify that one, Im afraid. Are you discussing an ignition problem or a charging problem??

[Hamin' X]

Sounds like you lost a diode in the rectified bridge. Shouldn't. Be to hard to fix. Do it soon, before you fry a battery.

~Rich

[mk1]

It is a charging coil problem, and possibly also something in the voltage regulator (which I, in my ignorance, called a "CDI unit", which it is not, I now understand the difference). The motor runs OK, I hope CDI and ignition coils are not affected.

Now, I am planning to replace the charging coils and the rectifier-regulator. I think it is unlikely that a coil would fail in a way that would produce too high voltage, it is more likely that both rectifier and the coils need replacing. I am pretty sure the coils need replacing, they have been undercharging batteries for some time. I suspect that the rectifier probably failed as a result of coils problem. It is hard to tell why all this happened, but I am pretty sure that overheating which resulted in my initial oil leak problem was the factor, and the root cause in this case is the faulty overheat switch.

I have concluded that my CDI unit is dead possibly as a result of overheating. I also thing the charging coils may need to be replaced (just in case) .

You will have to clarify that one, Im afraid. Are you discussing an ignition problem or a charging problem??

[Hamin' X]

Before you spent a lot of bucks on this, give us the model and year of your Honda 50. We might be able to save you some money! You really should put this info in your profile, to help with future questions.

~Rich

[mk1]

Before you spent a lot of bucks on this, give us the model and year of your Honda 50. We might be able to save you some money! You really should put this info in your profile, to help with future questions.

~Rich

the serial number on my motor is BAZS3221773 , the model number I think is BF50A2 LRTA, at least this is what I use usually to search for parts on boats.net and so far all parts I bought did fit (impeller, plugs, plastic cover on cylinder block etc.)

I sure appreciate any advise especially one that saves me money. Please post it here, as there may be other people having similar problems.

You could probably dissuade me from buying charging coils, and only replace the regulator, but I would be worried that I would loose the regulator again, because something had lead to its failure in the first place, and an earlier problem with undercharging I think may have been related to charging coils. Besides I believe in replacing as many parts as possible just in case, makes me feel better. As long as they are not too expensive, say a $100 or less

[Andre Emmenegger]

I replaced the regulator a while ago. It is a very easy job. Start with that and check the voltage, then move to the coil if you have to.

[Hamin' X]

My research shows that your motor has a combined rectifier/regulator. My dealings with these types of units (not yours specifically) has been that the regulator fails and takes out part of the rectifier bridge, or vice-versa. I highly doubt that your coil/stator is bad. Suggest that you just replace the regulator and retest. Boats.net seems to have the best price.

~Rich

[mk1]

My research shows that your motor has a combined rectifier/regulator. My dealings with these types of units (not yours specifically) has been that the regulator fails and takes out part of the rectifier bridge, or vice-versa. I highly doubt that your coil/stator is bad. Suggest that you just replace the regulator and retest. Boats.net seems to have the best price.

~Rich

thank you all for advise. I have ordered the regulator/rectifier from boats.net, plan to replace it next w/e. Will post an update then.

[mk1]

replaced the voltage regulator/rectifier, and the charge coils - all works now. Battery is charging. Looks like the outboard is in a good shape now, oil does not leak and electrical system works.

I am still unable to fix the original problem, which is the overheat alarm. My problems started after motor overheated because the water outlet was clogged. In itself it is not a big problem, very easy to fix, which I did, by cleaning and eventually replacing the fitting, but it was too late. I did not notice the problem when it happened for about an hour or more, because there were no audible alarm. At first I thought it was the switch, and replaced the overheat alarm switch but it did not help. When I ground the red wire that runs from that switch I get the red alarm light but still no buzzer. I am thinking about installing additional buzzer in parallel with the light. But I am still wondering why would the built in buzzer not work. I know the buzzer itself is OK, as it does sound alarm in other situations, for example if I lift the motor up when running.

Does any one know if this is a normal condition (i.e. no audible alarm on overheat) on Honda 50 HP 4-stroke outboards?

[Tomfoolery]

I am still unable to fix the original problem, which is the overheat alarm. My problems started after motor overheated because the water outlet was clogged. In itself it is not a big problem, very easy to fix, which I did, by cleaning and eventually replacing the fitting, but it was too late. I did not notice the problem when it happened for about an hour or more, because there were no audible alarm. At first I thought it was the switch, and replaced the overheat alarm switch but it did not help. When I ground the red wire that runs from that switch I get the red alarm light but still no buzzer. I am thinking about installing additional buzzer in parallel with the light. But I am still wondering why would the built in buzzer not work. I know the buzzer itself is OK, as it does sound alarm in other situations, for example if I lift the motor up when running.

Does any one know if this is a normal condition (i.e. no audible alarm on overheat) on Honda 50 HP 4-stroke outboards?

Old thread, but I have the same problem, since I got this boat. No audible alarm, but it does make lots of noise when I put 12V to it manually (on the bench). Red light comes on with overtemp switch by grounding the lead, and the temp switch closes at around 90C, thereby grounding the single lead to the frame, as it should (per the service manual). Green oil pressure 'ok' light comes on only when the engine is running, also as it should. But no audible alarm, and no voltage to the alarm leads.

Does the alarm come on when the key is on, but the engine not running? Mine doesn't do that, either. The audible alarm never makes a sound. I'm only digging into this because spring startup showed a likely bad thermostat, so I got interested in knowing if the overtemp indicator worked, and the lack of a noise maker has bothered me since I got this boat.

Anyone have a clue on this? Lots of BF50's out there, so someone must know something.

[yukonbob]

Ya my first guess would be a bad thermostat or maybe there is a manual reset like for oil changes etc. On Suz you have to turn the key on and pull out the kill switch three times within 10 seconds, maybe something similar?

[Tomfoolery]

It's not that sophisticated. I manually 'activated' the over-temp and low oil switches, got the lights, but got no sound.

But I did find 'extra' wires with unused terminations under the helm, which I never paid attention to in the past. It's possible one of them has something to do with it. But I confirmed the switches and lights work as they're supposed to, so I'll probably not mess with it any further, as I have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

I've got the lower unit off to replace the water pump, and try to find why I'm getting water in the gear oil.

[Highlander]

That would most likely be a leaky seal either @ the prop shaft or drive shaft seal under the water pump , but before I went that far I would be checking the drain , fill & vent plug gaskets

J

[Tomfoolery]

Too late. I already have a new pump and all the goodies that go with it, and new top seals are on the way. And new vent and drain plug washers. Even the shift rod boot. Everything but prop shaft seals, as that's not an easy job. So I'll see if this fixes it.

Weird thing is, when I first got the boat, the gear lube was a bit milky, so I changed it. Next year, only a little milky at the end of the season. Third year, clean gear lube at the end of the season. This past fall, very milky. So I changed it, and this spring when I fired it up in the driveway, milky again, though it's possible it was from left over water from when I changed it last fall (didn't run the engine afterwards, as I had already winterized the engine).

I don't keep the prop in the water, though at last year's MMOR I did, which was highly unusual. I never saw signs of oil leakage out of the prop shaft seals, but it's possible water was getting in that way.

Anyhow, I guess I'll see if new top seals and shift rod boot fixes it.

It's nice having a floor jack around as another pair of hands when doing this sort of thing alone.





But the big problem for me is a stripped hole in the housing extension. The shop that changed the pump for me when I first got the boat told me that had to 'fix' a stripped hole, but I don't remember what they said they did. Turns out, they filled the hole with what looks like caulk, and put the 10mm bolt back. Hopefully, I can helicoil it, but there just isn't much wall thickness in there.



Oddly enough, the one that's stripped is the top-left in the pic, but two others have epoxy blobbed onto them. Bolts were tight, if a bit corroded, and the 8mm under the trim tab takes most of the bending moment since it's the farthest away from the leading edge, but this doesn't look very good.