1970 60hp hydro-electric drive Johnson amplifier hook up?

[Dallas214Stars]

Just got this Johnson motor is in the best shape of a motor I’ve had yet. When I bought it the guy said the amplifier was bad so I ordered a new one and hooked it up as what I think is correct according to a diagram I saw. Problem is someone already tried to wire the old one up which had different colored wires that are not OEM so I have no idea if where I have them plugged in is correct. The motor will turn over when I jump the starter but does absolutely nothing with the key on the controller. I’m assuming this hydro electric has something to do with the ignition hence it says that on the amp. The flywheel has a spot where the chord could wrap around but even with that it won’t start. Can’t figure out why it cranks but won’t start no matter what I do I’m about to mess with the ignition switch to see if that was wired incorrectly. Thanks for any help.

 

[racerone]

Well ---the wire going to points does not look healthy.-------Pull the flywheel and inspect all the bits under there.

 

[F_R]

What's with the loose battery cable on the solenoid? That's an open invitation to amplifier death.

 

[racerone]

The amplifier in the picture----Is that the " new " one you ordered ??

 

[Dallas214Stars]

We got it to fire up now by jumping the starter which is more than we have had success with yet but we can’t get the ignition to work...I dunno what u mean by loose wiring cable to the solenoid we tightened the bolts down. In regards to the wire we had to buy a used amplifier and the wiring on it was not great there isn’t much real estate to work with and getting into the amp to run new wire seems impossible as the back is sealed but some sort of insulator.

 

[racerone]

What about the wire going to the breaker points ?------Looks like a sad piece of wire in your picture.

 

[F_R]

We got it to fire up now by jumping the starter which is more than we have had success with yet but we can’t get the ignition to work...I dunno what u mean by loose wiring cable to the solenoid we tightened the bolts down. In regards to the wire we had to buy a used amplifier and the wiring on it was not great there isn’t much real estate to work with and getting into the amp to run new wire seems impossible as the back is sealed but some sort of insulator.

This loose cable

 

[Faztbullet]

Still has the "monkey nuts" too...

 

[Dallas214Stars]

What about the wire going to the breaker points ?------Looks like a sad piece of wire in your picture.

It definitely is but like I said there’s no way to take that wire out of the amplifier so we spliced into a part where the wires was in decent but still sad shape. Let me ask this if that amp wasnt wired correctly would the motor still turn on if the starter was jumped?

 

[racerone]

The amplifier has nothing to do with the motor cranking.------It takes power from the battery.----Does some magic to step that up to a high voltage to store it in the capacitor.----The breaker points send a signal to the amplifier .---The pulse is sent to the coil.-----The rotor and distributor cap sent it to the right sparkplug.------The starter operates on a totally separate circuit !!

 

[Dallas214Stars]

The amplifier has nothing to do with the motor cranking.------It takes power from the battery.----Does some magic to step that up to a high voltage to store it in the capacitor.----The breaker points send a signal to the amplifier .---The pulse is sent to the coil.-----The rotor and distributor cap sent it to the right sparkplug.------The starter operates on a totally separate circuit !!

Ok so is there a way I can test the amp to make sure it’s receiving power and a way to test if the ignition switch is good? It has 12v at the battery connector on the ignition switch but we can’t get it to crank. If it were u what would you do to get the key working?

 

[racerone]

Well -------I would check the fuse first !!

 

[Dallas214Stars]

Well -------I would check the fuse first !!

Oh we did went though a 5 pack yesterday but realized they were only 10amp so we got the 15-30amp and now it’s not blowing

 

[Dallas214Stars]

Quick update after referring to the manual that came with the motor and some more research here on iboats we ended up grounding the open side of the starter safety switch that’s under the flywheel. I’m sure in the future I’ll install another one but I’m scratching my head because it will fire up great with the key yet I’m hesitant to take it out just yet because I completely disconnected the amp other than the grounding screws and it still turns on with the key... what am I missing here the amp is being bypassed obviously so what happens now will it run fine out on the water? What does the amp even do when it comes to this it says ignition on the box yet it seems to turn on with no amp at all. Any help appreciated I’m gonna do some cosmetic work for now and might take it on the water later. Know the motor runs great because when I jumped the starter yesterday she was cruising like a champ.

 

[F_R]

?????Are you telling us that the motor runs with no amplifier? That is impossible unless somebody has jury rigged the system to work like a car ignition system. Lots of guys have attempted that. Good luck.

 

[Dallas214Stars]

?????Are you telling us that the motor runs with no amplifier? That is impossible unless somebody has jury rigged the system to work like a car ignition system. Lots of guys have attempted that. Good luck.

Yep after finally hooking up the amp correctly and grounding out the starter safety switch to the block it fires right up with the key

 

[F_R]

So the amplifier is NOT disconnected.

You got lucky.

 

[Dallas214Stars]

So the amplifier is NOT disconnected.

You got lucky.

Let me clarify more because I didn’t write it correctly. Without the amp connected it was turning over but not firing up. Once we took off the old amp (we were seeing if it was really bad or it was just the safety switch) we plugged in the new amp and wired it up and indeed it started. For others that experience this problem check that safety switch and if you have no other option ground it out and you will be able to start it. Now what it does by bypassing that safety switch I’m not 100% sure because this is the first time I have worked on a hydroelectric and I’m not going to lie I’m not a fan other than the 1 throttle/shifter cable. I will also post a picture of the wiring of it that we have to be able to get it to run since I can’t seem to find any pictures on the internet. Thanks all for the help and replies!

 

[racerone]

The safety switch prevents the STARTER MOTOR from working if throttle is open too far !!----That safety switch only needs one white wire on it.----That safety switch is easy to take apart for cleaning.-----In my opinion the hydro -electric lower units are well engineered / simple / very reliable / never go out of adjustment over time . -----Just not well understood by many a novice !!

 

[Dallas214Stars]

The safety switch prevents the STARTER MOTOR from working if throttle is open too far !!----That safety switch only needs one white wire on it.----That safety switch is easy to take apart for cleaning.-----In my opinion the hydro -electric lower units are well engineered / simple / very reliable / never go out of adjustment over time . -----Just not well understood by many a novice !!

Gotcha ya I mean I did plenty of research on them I just don’t notice that much of a benefit vs a regular Johnson motor. I mean can you tell me the difference other than it seems to be in forward gear when starting. The only real other difference I’ve seen is the amplifier and one 1 cable for throttle and shift