bridgeport EFI charging system question

[Banana Boat]

a couple of charging system questions i was hoping you guys could answer.......last season i installed a pair of bridgeport EFI (1991's).powerheads on my craft....they never really charged good.probably 12.5v at idle maybe high 12's to low 13's if i revved it to 3000rpms....i tested one motor at a time charging one battery...they were both pretty similar to each other..if i had 2 motors charging on 2 batteries(battery switch set to "both")... i would end up with dead batteries if i cruised with radio on ..etc....anyway..is this level of charging normal?.what should it be?..i usually had to run 2 motors charging one battery to get a good charge.anyway im looking for powerheads again..dont think i can afford 2.5's this year.so ill have to go with bridgeports..just wanna see if im going to have this problem with all BP's.thanks for any info.Mike

[NPW]

That sounds about right as the bridgeport is only 16 amp output..one motor will just barely keep up with the needs of the fuel pump and ECU..

[us1]

Yes that’s exactly what they all do. To counter act this problem I full charge both batteries with a battery charger before I go out each time.

[Banana Boat]

thanks for the info guys.....how good will a high perf 2.5 charge?

[riskybusiness]

Wow, Mike---between 2.5's, jack plates, scrape the bottom paint off of 'er, "Top Banana" ought to haul freakin' a**!!! (If you're goin' with 2.5's, you can probably skip the jack plates, and still reach the high 70's)

Keep me informed--I'd still like to have a look at the boat (again).

Good luck!!

Steve:cool:

[Techno]

If you want low RPM charging then a hi po isn't going to do it. They have light flywheels and minimum charging systems. They're meant to spin at high Rs. The motors more for fishing with larger charging systems and moderate RPM limits might be more for what you want.
Idling and 3 grand with the large 40 amp systems? I don't know if they could keep up.
1 battery for engines and 2nd for toys might work too.

Or leave the radio off and spin the engines up into their charging zone. Still not that much 2 x 19 amps!

Or charge them before use.

BTW an EFI ECU has a constant drain on the battery, a battery cut off switch is nice for eliminating this very small but continuous drain.

[us1]

2.5s charge the same.

[cvp240]

can a 40 amp be install on a bg , and if so do you still keep the light alum . fly wheel ,::

[us1]

No, you have to have the heavy flywheel and you are limited to 6500 RPM.

[STV_Keith]

Hey John, my 2.4 BP EFI has the heavy steel flywheel. It's got a lame charging rate too...just enough to run everthing. Is this still a 16a system? I've spun it to 7k so far...is it not reliable at that RPM?