Voltage problem - varies drastically under operation

otownwake · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2014 9:04 pm

Something strange is going on with what I believe is the alternator in some capacity. I will be driving the boat (towing, cruising, etc) and the voltage on the dash will drop to as low as 11.8, and hang there for several minutes. At some point I will hear pretty bad belt screech and eventually (10 seconds or so) it will stop and when that happens, the voltage goes back up to 14 and stays there. If I go a week or 2 without going back out on the water, the process repeats itself. If I use it daily, it tends to hang at 14 volts the whole time.

Is it just a bad belt? Failing alternator? I wonder if maybe the bolt threads are stripped or something?

Is the alternator easy to see or get at? I'm driving a 2011 A20 with the standard Indmar engine, I think 335. Any manual I can pull up for some guidance?

Walter · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2014 10:34 pm

It's behind the driver side panel just below the trans cooler

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otownwake · **Posted:** Tue Dec 09, 2014 8:27 am

Thx Walter, I'll take a look!

otownwake · **Posted:** Tue Dec 09, 2014 1:00 pm

Ok so I was able to get a look/listen at it. The screeching is definitely there around the 2k rpm range, but it's very faint. Whenever it fixes itself it gets much louder and then stops (though I couldn't make that happen today). Anyway, I let the boat sit there at 2k rpms for a bit and watched my voltage drop from 11.6 down to 10.0 over about 3 or 4 minutes.

I can call my local dealer for the part...but how hard is it to replace the alternator? From what I can tell it's held in place by 3 bolts, but maybe there's more to it than that. Anybody done this before on our engines? I would prefer to not have my boat sitting at the shop for 2-3 weeks to get this done.

shawndoggy · **Joined:** Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:19 pm **Posts:** 263

If they have the part it's one of the simpler $600 +\- repairs ($500 for alternator $100 for labor).

Walter · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:16 am

Is the belt loose? They're not hard to change, make sure the battery switch is turned off before doing it though or you may see sparks! Check the belt first though, if it's loose it can cause what you're describing.

otownwake · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 9:43 pm

Got it taken care of. Alternator was toast...boat is running like a champ now! I went ahead and got my annual service done while I had it out.

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Voltage problem - varies drastically under operation

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