'69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

[jhereg]

hey guys, i have a problem that hopefully someone has experience with.
i have a '69 johnson 115hp with hydroelectric shift. it runs fine in the driveway when i idle it with the muff on but when i get to the water, it kills as soon as i shift into forward. in the driveway it starts right up ,idles fine and i can shift into forward and reverse no problem, but when i get it into the water as soon as i shift into forward it dies, it goes into reverse with out dying, but i cant seem to get any reverse thrust, even though the prop is moving.
please help, this is my first boat and motor, i have the seloc manual and i cant seem to find this problem in it.

Thanks

 

[iwombat]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

Sounds like you either have the idle set too low, or you've got gunk in your carbs on the idle circuits.

 

[jhereg]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

i did set the idle up a bit, but i can rev it with the muff on and it revs up fine, i can also apply throttle in reverse and it revs just fine. as soon as i shift the lever out of neutral to forward it dies. the carbs were rebuilt 2 yrs ago and are clean. this only happens when i have it in the water but it does not happen with the muff on.
thanks for the reply.

 

[F_R]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

There is no load on the motor in the driveway. You do not have enough power to overcome the load being applied by the prop in the water. That can be anything from idle speed setting up to and including major powerhead damage. Go through the normal troubleshooting routine including a compression test and checking to see if it is running on all 4 cylinders. That is hard to tell by ear, especially if running in the driveway. And don't be revving it up in the driveway.

 

[jhereg]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

Thanks F_R, i will go thru the entire troubleshooting routine ,this is my first outboard, i understand what you are saying, but why would the prop move water in reverse, but kill in forward? as soon as i move the lever to forward it kills. this is very frustrating, any help is appreciated.
Thanks Guys

 

[External Combustion]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

You might also follow the shift wires down into the leg to the solenoids and see if there is a possibility of one of them grounding. I had this happen on my '71 85 horse after I changed the impeller, only it died in reverse.

I use a stock tank for testing instead of muffs, so it was easier finding the problem. The wire had just barely been pinched to expose the metal and the shift moved it just enough to contact the case. Fortunately it started blowing the fuse and that is how I found it. A length of heat shrink tubing and a more careful assembly cured the problem.

 

[F_R]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

The hydro-electric goes into forward by default, with NO electrical power applied. You could cut the wire in two and it would be in forward. Furthermore, there is no way in heck that it can try to go into both gears at once like the older electric shifts could.

The only thing I can imagine that would cause the gearcase to lock up in forward would be a broken forward gear tooth or the reverse gear siezed to the shaft. But both of these would show up as other much more serious problems. Just can't be, in this case.

 

[jhereg]

Re: '69 johnson 115hp wont shift into forward in the water

Thank you for the insights, i did a quick electrical check of the shift solenoids and they checked out OK according to the manual. i think it may be the idle to low, as i dont have a test tank i will bring it to the river this weekend and try again with the idle turned up. i will also pick up a compression gauge and check that as well, before hitting the river.
Thanks guys, this is a great forum.