1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

[tmlee]

Hi, and Thanks in advance for any replies. I have recently bought a boat, motor, and trailer from a friend. This boat has sat for about 8 years. Now, here I come along and am very anxious to get into the water to wet some lines. This boat is a 1965 glassmaster in good shape. My question is the motor.... I am no marine mechanic and I do have an order in for a manual. But until that gets here, maybe you all can help. I bought a new battery and am trying to get it started and I cannot seem to get any spark. While I am familiar with auto engines, I am not too familiar with marine. I have removed the black box with the spark plug wires and cleaned that. Put it back on. Try to start...no spark. What else could I check? The battery cables run to what looks to me like a voltage regulater or something then the wire runs to the starter....looks a little crappy but i dunno.any help would be appreciated. Thanks todd

 

[OBJ]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

Hi tm and welcome to the forum.<br /><br />It would be real helpful if you would please post the horsepower and model number of the engine. The model number can be found on a metal tag on the transom bracket or on a soft plug on the engine block. Also please elaborate a little on the black box. Does it hang off the back of the engine and is belt driven? Smart thinking on the manual. It will go a long way in troubleshooting. Thanks!!

 

[tmlee]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

ops sorry about the model number...it is vxl-11c and it is a 60 horse motor. The black box I am talking about is where the plug wires come out of. When I took it off it looks like a distributor cap from a car only square. I believe it is belt driven on the top. I will take a pic tomorrow and post it if I can.

 

[alcan]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

Hi Tmlee<br /> You have a 1965 60hp V-4 Johnson. The black box you refer to is the belt driven magnito. You are correct the part where the spark wires protrude is the dist. cap. Did you remove the belt and drive pullies? Did you clean the points while you had it apart? What about the rotor? If the points are good and set to .020 and the cap and rotor are good, then you should get spark. If not, then the system may be grounded some where.Kill switch, bare wire,etc. If you messed with the belt you will have to re-time.

 

[tmlee]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

Thanks for the help guys, WIll post update by end of week on status of motor, running or not!, Hopefully the latter....RUNNING ARGH....<br /><br />wish me luck

 

[dkondelik]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

mornin' tmlee,<br /><br />Take a look at this site. It may prove helpfull.<br /><br /> http://www.precisionserv.com/Outboards/Revitalization.htm <br /><br />Good Luck<br />HAVE FUN!

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1965 Johnson Super-sea horse NOT RUNNING!! HELP

hopefully, your manual will show exactly how to do a tune up. used to have a 59 Super Sea Horse and the Seloc manual for it and several other years was really good for all maintenance items. As I remember, you can take the top plate off the timing belt pulley. Once you do that, look for a timing mark (arrow I think) on top of the pulley. Pull the top plug, put it in neutral and turn the flywheel until the top (No. 1) piston is right up against the spark plug hole...that's top dead center. Now look for a timing mark on the flywheel adjacent to the timing belt pulley. At TDC, the timing marks on the flywheel and pulley should point to each other and the rotor in the dist. should point to No. 1 plug terminal on the dist. cap. It probably does, unless its jumped timing. Now take the top off the dist. and see if one set of points (2 in there) is open. Now turn the flywheel and watch for the other set to open. If they don't open, that's why you have no spark. wouldn't hurt to pull the points and clean/replace/regap them anyway. Once you get a manual, this whole inspection/tuneup process will take only an hour or so with some practice. good luck.