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You can wash things out to get rid of any accumulated grime. I would recommend it, if for no other reason than it will be easier to verify if you have deteriorated wiring or not.
On parts where paint removal isn’t a concern (i.e. electrical components), I use a toothbrush and lacquer thinner. It cleans crud off well, and doesn’t harm the fit or function. On painted parts, don’t use anything stronger than WD-40 (and toothbrush scrub) as your solvent. Considering the mess that’s in there now, it would be well worth your while to completely take things apart. I recommend getting the regulator and attached wiring out of there and doing away with using the charging circuit altogether.
I would bet that the reason that external regulator was added was because the original regulator failed. The voltage regulator on the Owen-Dyneto used a set of contact points that had a habit of sticking together. This could cause two problems – one, the battery could get over-charged and boil off the electrolyte, and two, the charging system would overheat the rotating element. In many instances, this caused the soldered wires to overheat and come loose – usually at about 2500 RPM or higher. The ensuing rats-nest of copper wiring was no fun to deal with, as you can imagine. It is common to find motors bearing model numbers that indicate they should be an electric start, but are equipped with a conventional flywheel magneto. Those are cases where the Owen-Dyneto appliance failed and was replaced with the less complex (and costly) flywheel magneto ignition.
I have several outboards with the Owen-Dyneto starter-generator on them. So far, so good, I have not had any electrical issues arise. I think the key with helping those units survive is to not ask them to do too much. DIsabling the charging circuit is what I can do to help ensure that happens.
Hope this helps.
Best,
PM T2
He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...