1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

[driver_bb]

Ok I'm hoping someone can help me here I've never owned a boat before.

heres my problem I went to kick over the engine. the motor kicks over it's getting spark its getting gas but will not start I checked the choke & its getting gas. So whats the problem ? any idea's

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

You need to be sure that the choke plates are synchronized and 100% closed when you cold start the engine.

Take the cover off the carburetors so you can make sure. If they don't seal tight and stay closed while cranking, move the choke solenoid further away in small increments until they do close.

You also need a powerful, fully charged battery to turn the engine at 300 RPM.

 

[driver_bb]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

You need to be sure that the choke plates are synchronized and 100% closed when you cold start the engine.

Take the cover off the carburetors so you can make sure. If they don't seal tight and stay closed while cranking, move the choke solenoid further away in small increments until they do close.

You also need a powerful, fully charged battery to turn the engine at 300 RPM.

I took the cover off the carb's & made sure they were closed. do they have to stay %100 closed while the motor is kicking over ? the battery is fully charged

 

[krogie]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

does your control box have a warm up fast idle bar attached to it? the reason i ask is because with out it working properly and advancing the timing in series my 76 model 85 would never fire.

 

[driver_bb]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

does your control box have a warm up fast idle bar attached to it? the reason i ask is because with out it working properly and advancing the timing in series my 76 model 85 would never fire.

Yes it has the fast idle bar on it. when I lift the bar the throttle cable move's I'm guessing its working right

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

When you lift the warm up lever it does two things at once at the engine: advances the timing and then advances the throttle. The most important for a quick cold start is the timing advance. Have someone else move lever while you watch what is happening at the engine. Look for the part of the action just under the flywheel on the starboard side.

Yes, the choke plates need to close 100% and stay closed during cranking for a quick cold start.

 

[krogie]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

I had the hardest time getting my 85 to fire off when cold untill i figured out that the warm up handle had to raised up all the way , then she fired right off every time. I also agree that the most important element is that it advances the timming.

 

[driver_bb]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

I had the hardest time getting my 85 to fire off when cold untill i figured out that the warm up handle had to raised up all the way , then she fired right off every time. I also agree that the most important element is that it advances the timming.

Thank you very one. I will try all the advice I have gottin & see what happens and will post what as happened.. crossing the fingers

 

[driver_bb]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

Ok I ran into another issue. while tring to start the boat motor yesterday I had spark on all 4 plugs now I only have spark on two of the 4. I looked at the power pack it seems fine no burned or broken wires. what would cause to lose spark on one side & not the other ? any idea's

 

[crb478]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

As mentioned earlier your battery needs to be fully charged and turning at 300 rpm. If you suddenly lost spark on 2 cylinders I would either fully charge the battery and try again or try to jump it with another battery. You might also try to put some premix in a spray bottle and spray it down the carb throats after you make sure the battery is good. If it fires then you probably have a carb or choke issue to deal with.

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1977 85 Johnson Outboard Motor isssues

The series of motors was well-known for having wiring problems, especially with grounding of the ignition system.

It will pay to remove the ignition coils and clean the base and grounding wire so that the coils have solid grounds.

The rack on which the powerpack and ignition coils are mounted has rubber bushings which also contributed to poor grounding. On the 1977 motor, you should have grounding straps from that rack to each cylinder head, but they need to be clean to bare metal and solidly bolted to work.