Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury Charger Installation

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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Here are a series of pictures when I installed the charging coil on my 6 HP Nissan,(built by Tohatsu, same exact engine as the Mercury). Very easy, you'll need to pull the flywheel to install the charging coil,(threaded holes already there). You will also need to install the recifier on the port side of the engine, again, the treaded mount is already there. It took me maybe 45 minutes to install, including the time to stop and take some pictures. Don't go crazy with the puller. I can't remember if I just loosened or removed the flywheel nut. I used a pipe wrench to hold the flywheel while removing the nut. Just go easy putting the pipe wrench on the top pull-start assembly. Just tighten, tap on the top, tighten, tap on the top, again, again, till it pop's. Pay attention to the safety switch gizmo on the side that prevents you from pull-starting if the engine is in gear. When I re-assembled everything, I used some medium strength LockTite on the coil and recifier screws, and a little anti-seze on the crankshaft/flywheel mating surface.

This installation was on my Capri-18. I have a Honda 5 HP on our C-22 MK-II. The Honda is more expensive, (about $200. for the complete kit which includes a new flywheel), vs about $165. from Defender Marine for my Nissan. Don't worry as I did about the excessive voltage. Once the charging circuit is connected to the battery, she does just fine. The battery acts like a voltage regulator,(don't ask me how or why.....it's magic!) The charger would keep the battery topped off even while running my autohelm, VHF radio, and GPS. And it won't boil your battery,(I used a deep cycle group-24).

Don
 

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piedpiperIII

piedpiperIII

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Apr 26, 2010
434
catalina 22 lake tillery NC
I have a 2005 model nissan 6hp looks like yours where did you get the system for your motor? will it work on mine? Thanx Alan
 
sinnettc

sinnettc

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May 23, 2007
1,306
Catalina Capri 22 Albany, Oregon
I wonder how that would do on the Merc 4hp. What percent of full throttle does it take to make it start charging?
 
Aldo

Aldo

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Jan 27, 2005
152
Catalina 22 Middle River, MD
Thanks for answering my question

CaptDon: Thanks for answering my question so thoroughly. I feel like I owe you a favor! We run the same things on our C-22 as you, autopilot, VHF, and GPS, so it would be great to not have to worry about keeping the battery charged while we are on long cruises. I use a deep cycle group 27 battery on my boat.
Thanks again, Aldo
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Chris.....The Mercury 4 HP is the same as the 5 and 6 HP, only different carbs. Also they have an internal tank. But they are made by Tohatsu, not Mercury, just painted black and different decals. The charging works at idle, only a lower voltage. If you only hook up a meter, at about half throttle I was reading 14-15 VDC. If I rev'ed the engine up, I could get 22-23 VDC and it worried me about cooking my electronics. But, once you connect a battery, it some how regulates the voltage, and I wouldn't get much over 14 VDC, so it's not any problem. Half throttle runs the boat at hull speed, so you get good charging to cover the electronics, and still trickle charge the battery so it's always topped off. Now throw in some lights, and it may change, but it will still allow you to not discharge the battery as quickly.

Don
 
sinnettc

sinnettc

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May 23, 2007
1,306
Catalina Capri 22 Albany, Oregon
Thanks Don. We're headed to the San Juans on Thursday for a week so I guess I'll find out if I need to add one. We have a 15 or 20a solar panel mounted on the starboard rail and all but two of the lights (deck flood & v-berth) are LED now. It works fine for a weekend but I'll be interested to see if it's enough for a week. If not I'll have to get the charger for next year. And maybe a pair of 6v's in series to give me 200 AH the year after.
 
piedpiperIII

piedpiperIII

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Apr 26, 2010
434
catalina 22 lake tillery NC
Don I must be doing something wrong cause I can't seem to find this charging hardware, Could you send me a link please. I have searched the internet but come up empty as th where to buy and how much. Alan
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Alan, Here is a link to the Defender web site of the charging kit that I bought for my 6 HP 4 stroke Nissan:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|215570|530904|292251|314576&id=54249

This kit includes the rectifier, some newer models the rectifier is seperate.

Here are some additional photos that show before and after the charging coil is installed, and the existing hole to route the wires to the rectifier. I was carefull in routing the wires to ensure they didn't touch the flywheel. All the clamps and screws are included in the kit.

Also, I should clarify, when I removed the nut holding the flywheel on, I held the flywheel by using a pipe wrench on the starter-pully on the top of the flywheel. Just be gentle and you won't hurt anything.

Don
 

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Aldo

Aldo

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Jan 27, 2005
152
Catalina 22 Middle River, MD
I was doing some more research on adding tthe coils and rectifier to my motor and found out that the kits for my >2006 Tohotsu also require a new flywheel. This is included in the kit from Defender, but doesn't appear to be included in the kit from Onlineoutboards.com. The new flywheel is included in the kit from Tohotsujkl;jkl.com. Anyhow, I have a few more questions. Has anyone tested the output current on one of these charging circuits. They are suppose to put out 60 watts, which would be 5 amps, but from what I read they only put out about 1 1/2 amps. This would still probably make it worthwhile for me, because it would be enough to run the autopilot, gps, and VHF, but the engineer part of me wants to know. I would also like to know whether the rectifier is full wave or half wave. If
 
Aldo

Aldo

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Jan 27, 2005
152
Catalina 22 Middle River, MD
Electrical questions about charging circuit

I was doing some more research on adding the coil and rectifier to my motor and found out that the kits for my 2009, (>2006), Tohotsu also require a new flywheel with more magnets. This is included in the kit from Defender, but doesn't appear to be included in the kit from OnlineOutboards.com. That seems kind of strange. The new flywheel is included in the kit from Tohatsu.com. Anyhow, I have a few more questions. Has anyone tested the output current on one of these charging circuits? They are suppose to put out 60 watts, which would be 5 amps, but from what I read they only put out about 1 1/2 amps. (This would still make it worthwhile for me, because 1 1/2 amps would still be enough to run the autopilot, GPS, and VHF, but the engineer part of me wants to know the output of the circuit). This would probably be tough to actually test because it would depend on the voltage of the battery that you would be trying to charge. The lower the charge on the battery, the greater the current. I would also like to know whether the rectifier is full wave or half wave. If the rectifier is half wave, has anyone built their own full wave rectifier?

Thanks, Aldo
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
I don't know the specifics, but I can tell you my real world experience was once installed, I never put a charger on the battery again,(besides a very small solar charger with a mA output that is left on the boat while being dry stored). It's just a simple charger. I'm sure someone could refine it. My opinion is that it's just made to do the best job for the lowest price, and easy to install.

Don
 
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