1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

[Captain Jeff]

First of all, you guys are all GREAT. I have been reading these boards for some time and have learned so much already. I have a 1999 Johnson Oceanpro 115 HP. I just changed the water pump impeller, spark plugs (QL78YC) and lower unit oil. It ran great the first couple times I used it this weekend. But now it starts and idles fine but when you increase the throttle the engine starts to rev up slightly as it should and then "coughs" or "Sneezes" blows smoke and loses RPM's or stalls completely. You can shift into gear but it will stall as soon as you give it more gas. The engine has been well maintained. To fix this problem I cleaned the fuel filter (somewhat dirty), topped off with 5 gallons of fresh gas, swapped the old plugs (QL78YC)back in, did a compression test (all 4 cyls were 137 psi), inspected all wires and engine in general. When I took the new plugs out they seemed slightly wet with oil/gas. The engine seems to smoke a fair amount when idling even after running a few minutes. I tried a different fuel tank with premix and it seems to behave the same. I'm pretty mechanical but you guys are the REAL experts; any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Archangel2005]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

is your mix the correct ratio ?<br />n/m i'm an idiot, your 1999 is probably 4-stroke. there fore i am of no help. Sorry

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Welcome -<br /><br />Your symptoms point to crud in the carbs.

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

It is a 2 cycle with the VRO2 system. Would spraying OMC Engine Tuner or OMC Carb/Choke cleaner in the carbs while shut off or while running temporarily help the problem? What is the best solution? Thanks

 

[fireman57]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

You can try it but I wouldn't count on any decent results. You need to pull the carbs as SoLittle says and clean them good with carb cleaner and make sure all the passages are clean. If you don't have an air compressor then get a can of the compressed air to make sure that they are clean. Might want to go ahead and spend the little extra and put kits in them while they are off. i would go ahead and do a spark test before I pull the carbs just to eliminate that possiblity. Doesn't cost anything.

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!! I am at my wits end now. Like I said I am relatively mechanical and have rebuilt carbs before. Anyway, I bought four OMC carb kits with floats, pulled and numbered all the carbs, soaked them and blew them out. They weren't dirty at all but they were immaculate when I was done with them. I reinstalled all of them and even cleaned out the slow speed mixture screw covers. The motor does not run any better. <br /><br />It still smokes at idle. I am able to give it a little gas (maybe 100-200 rpm past idle) then it bogs back to idle or usually sneezes and stalls emmiting a puff of smoke. Again the plugs are wet, smell more like oil than gas.<br /><br />I am pretty sure I'm not getting any air into the gas line. Fuel filter is clean and no water in gas. Spark test is 1/2 inch blue sparks. Compression is excellent. I inspected the engine, hopses, wires, etc several times. As I said the motor is only a 1999 and was well maintained. For more info please see original post.<br /><br />-Can it be the recirculation system is clogged and gas is puddling in the crankcase?<br /><br />-Can it be the VRO?<br /><br />PLLEEESSSEEEE HELLLLPPP!!!!!<br /><br />It is the worst feeling not to be able to fix something and be sitting on the back of your boat with the engine all apart watching everyone else go by!<br /><br />Thanks in advance

 

[Walker]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

It certainly could be the recirculation system. What do your plugs look like. You will usually have one or more carboned black with a faulty recirculation system, but you normally get a crappy sneezing idle too. The recirculation valves are one way valves and are easy to test as per the manual. I'd also check to see if your timer plate is not stuck and is moving freely with the throttle linkage.

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Thanks Walker, I'll check that stuff out tomorrow. The plugs look brownish and oily and all 4 look the same. I can't find anything about the recirc valves in the Clymer manual. I see the brass and silver valves on the side of the engine; can I shoot some carb cleaner or compressed air in them or am I going against the valve and they have to be removed to test? Thanks

 

[walleyehed]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

I'd also check to see if your timer plate is not stuck and is moving freely with the throttle linkage.<br />

I would lean in the direction walker has listed here...<br />I have seen timing issues with OIS ignition systems that have shown the same symptoms as you have.<br />The recirc valves can cause problems too...(Man, do I have some stories on recirc valves!)<br />The side-plate gaskets can create some troublesome issues along with the other suggestions.

 

[Walker]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

The recirculation valves are in the intake manifold and sould only flow outward. If you get any flow inward then the valve is bad. Sometimes they can be cleaned, sometimes not. Test them with a syringe of rubbing alcohol connected to the hose to each valve. You shoul;d be able to suck out but not push in.

 

[Boilermaker]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Fishonceo, <br />Where are you located?? Here in New York, we now get fuel with 10% alcohol mixxed in, and its caused a lot of similar problems in outboards. Is the gasoline fresh???<br />I'm not suggesting that Kenny(walleyehed) or Walker are on the wrong path>>(they have a LOT more knowledge on these engines then I ever will!)but I have been hearing of guys having the same symptoms because of our fuel.<br />GOOD LUCK

 

[Seasport]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

I had a similar problem with my Johnson 150 as do it seems a number of others. One problem I found was that the rotating timer plate was a bit sticky in its guide, i.e. it wasn't always returning completely to the idle position under spring tension. (This echos what Walker & walleyehed mentioned above). This meant that the timing was too far advanced at idle. You might like to check that the plate is turning freely and returning to home base. What I did was use a little fine valve grinding paste and lapped the plate into the guide - worked a treat.<br /><br />However, I haven't yet had a chance to verify if this has fixed my problem yet. Still worth checking.

 

[billaranguren@yahoo.com]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

I have a 99 200HP Johnson with a not very different problem. Sneezes and stalls when warm at idle. Symptoms indicate I should adjust the Carb Idle mixture, based on the service manual. <br />That manual shows a picture of a flatblade screw head for making the adjustment. When I look in the recess where this screw is supposed to be, there is some odd looking interface. I cannot tell if: 1/ a special tool is needed, 2/ There is no adjustment and this is a permanent plug where one once there was an adjustment screw. <br /><br />HELP - the manual lies!

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Hey everyone, Thanks for the advice. I will look into everything mentioned and report back. <br /><br />Boilermaker, I'm located in Connecticut and we too have the 10% ethanol/alcohol mix in the gas. The tank was filled in the fall and stabilizer was added. It still smells and looks okay and I topped it off with 5 gallons of fresh gas.<br /><br />Take care

 

[Seasport]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Bill, yes idle jets set too lean may also cause this problem. On the 150 the idle jets are adjusted with a 9/64" allen key. The screws are sort of hidden away down a hole on each carb. Not sure if the 200 is the same.<br /><br />The symptoms for my motor (2001 150) is that it dies when I accelerate after stopping for a while and the motor is warm. I can clear it by revving it in neutral and then it is fine. I've done a lync & sync & checked timing but haven't had a chance to test on the water. Next step is to adjust idle jets.

 

[billaranguren@yahoo.com]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

THANKS!<br />My local dealer said the same, but it didn't help, it looked more like a plug in the spot. Finally I called Johnson to tell them the book was wrong (book showed flat blade screw). They told me that they were 9/64 allen, but first I needed to scrape out some green goop put into the allen head as required by the EPA, so it made it difficult to adjust.

 

[billaranguren@yahoo.com]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Seasport:<br />Your problem is like my Son-in-laws 1980 Evinrude 175HP, He has added fancy filters, and water separators, It is actually my old boat, but it sat for five years with its intermediate owner before he got it. He had a lot of bad gas, went through many filters, and a few carb clean outs. It is back to running as good as the day I let it go, with the exception you noted, of the inability to accelerate some times. Running it in fast idle for a while first prevents the problem.

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Update: REWARD if you can help me fix this!<br /><br />I know everyone here on iboats forums is learning from my experience and everyone else's; but to benefit whomever figures out for sure what my problem is I will buy you case of beer if I can get it running right by this weekend! Again I REALLY appreciate everyones help thus far, I never would be at this point without you.<br /><br />Today I checked the timer wheel and lubed it, it was already free moving. I had a hunch my sneezing/stalling/smoking problem (see original post) had something to do with the VRO but I wanted to do my due diligence and rebuild the carbs and check just about everything else. Out of desparation today I went and bought a brand new VRO and replaced the old one. Of course the engine still smoked more than it should for the first 3-5 minutes at normal idle as the motor burned the gas in the carbs which seemed a little more dark green/blue to me than it should but it was hard to say. After the 3-5 minutes I noticed quite a reduction in the idle smoke level but there was still a very small amount. I am now able to throttle the engine up in neutral (didn't try it in gear) and it does not stall anymore BUT it still does "sneeze/cough" a puff of smoke out the exhaust ocassionally. It is a definite improvement and leads me to believe at least part of the problem was the VRO or pulse limiter. Overall I had it running about 10-15 minutes total (shut off and restarted once or twice because the no oil alarm went off, probably wasn't completely primed but I pumped the oil bulb and the alarm shut off). I didn't have more time to toy with it but tomorrow I was thinking of running it more and maybe doing a lake test. I'm kinda thinking that there is still a lot of oil in the crankcase and pistons if the VRO was really pumping too much oil/not enough gas. A mechanic told me that VRO's can last a matter of months or 10 years or more, it is undeterminable. He also said that sometimes the fuel pump side diaphram ruptures and isn't pumping enough gas but still mixing the same quantity of oil. Any thoughts on this now?<br /><br />New symptom: in the last few minutes of running since replacing the VRO, I noticed a blue oil/gas? sheen on the water aparently coming out of the two exhaust nozzles on the back of the cowling. I put my hand in the exhaust stream and didn't get any gas/oil on it. Maybe only when it sneezes? Also there was a tiny amount of whitish/beige goo on these rubber nozzles looking like oil mixed with water.<br /><br />Thanks

 

[donnie7365]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

try mixing your own gas,, 50 to 1 16 oz to 6gal and undo the vro pump if it is the mix this will fix it have u changed plugs

 

[Captain Jeff]

Re: 1999 Johnson 115 coughs/sneezes and stalls when you give it gas

Changed plugs when I started having this problem. I'm going to swap another set in tomorrow and check the current ones, might be gummed up.