1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

[jdcarter]

Alright guys - need some help.
I picked up this motor last night from a buddy - unfortunately he doesnt know anything about it and it has recently been involved in somewhat of a house fire. The boat was probably 20-25 ft from the house and it appears the only thing it really got was the ignition switch on front of the motor. Well the bad thing is the keys were in the house and are no where to be found now so my question is - how can i tell if this thing was electric start and any idea where i can find a new switch or can i bypass it.

its a 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse
Model - 25E76E

Heres a pic of the switch:

 

[jdcarter]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

ok - what based off the model number - looks like this is an electric start motor so now my question is - how can I bypass the switch?

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

Those are battery cables going into the motor so it's an electric start. You can also see the bottom edge of the starter in the upper right side of the photo.

 

[bktheking]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

It's electric start, i can see the starter in the pic. You are going to have to replace the wiring to the solenoid (the big red wire looks cooked) and possibly cut it back and rewire at the switch. A simple 6 pole OMC switch is around $17. To test hook jumper cables up to a batter, black to ground and red to the starter red wire lead right on the starter itself, but you won't want to do this forever.

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

Does that mean that you don't want the electric start?

 

[jdcarter]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

oh no - i want the electric start - i was just wondering if i could by pass the switch and put in a push button or something like that.

 

[bktheking]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

Sure, just buy a momentary switch designed for marine use, wire one side to positive on the battery and the other to the small terminal on the solenoid. You will lose the ability to shut it off by the switch so you will have to choke to stop if it won't shut off by the throttle being backed off.

 

[jdcarter]

Re: 1976 Johnson 25 Seahorse

yea i didnt think about how I'd cut it off - a new switch will be in the works once I make sure it'll run.

Thanks for the help guys! I'll post the outcome once I have a chance to work on it some!