Much earlier in my working life, in my late teens and then while in college after serving from being drafted, I was a marine mechanic. I was certified on MerCruiser (Mercury Stern Drives) while my brother was certified on the outboards. My father was a Zone Sales Manager for Mercury.

The first thing that went through my mind on this was the volt gauge having been wired wrong from the start; it sounds as if the gauge is wired in at the dash and not being wired to read the voltage at or near the battery. It seems to be sensing the voltage drop when things are being used (e.g.: the high current stereo). It also points to there not being a heavy enough gauge of wire going from the battery up to the console area -- it is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing by sensing the voltage, and in this case the voltage dropping. If the supply wire was a sufficient enough gauge wire from the battery up to the console, there should not be any appreciable voltage drop -- maybe a few tenths of a volt, but not much more. But, if there is 18 gauge wire going up there for such a long run, that could be a problem with a sizable current draw such as the stereo. That's my read on the situation at least.

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