1978 Johnson 115 V4 Problems

Rmoore45

Seaman
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
68
This problem is driving me insane, I hope that one of the forum can help me diagnose and find the problem. I have a 1978 115 that's lacking power and will not idle correctly in the water. I got the motor running fine out of the water, I set the idle at about 1200 rpm, expecting the rpms to drop 3-400 once in the water. When I put the motor in the water, it will not idle. I have to rev it up a lot for it to stay running. I fiddled with the idle on the water until I could get it to start, idle, and shift into gear. My problem is when I take it out of the water and flush the motor starts and screams at around 2500-3000 rpm. The motor should not run like that. There is also a noticeable lack of power, it doesn't seem like it has 115hp. The motor runs good at all other rpm, wot, etc. It just will not idle properly for some reason.

Here's a list of the things I have done
Carb rebuild- The carbs are extremely clean, I bought the good rebuild kit with the little press in plugs that have to be replaced.
Timing check- Within specs at idle and at wot
Compression test- 110-120 psi on all cylinders, within spec.
Had 2 questionable ignition coils, they did not jump a 7/16" gap in open air. Replaced the coils.
New spark plugs Champion L77JC4 set at .040 and not .030 because the larger gap is supposed to help with idle issues. Its firing on all cylinders.

I always thought that it was going to be low compression on one or more cylinders so that once it was in the water there was too much back pressure causing these problems. However I was surprised at the compression numbers when I did checked it today.

I would really like some help on this guys. I'm the kind of person that likes things to work correctly and when it doesn't it drives me insane.
 

emdsapmgr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
11,551
It may not be firing on all 4 cyls. That engine will seem to run just fine on the trailer when only running on 2 or 3 cyls. It's hard to tell. You need all 4 firing when it's in the lake and the exhaust is 24" underwater. Weak ignition components tend to fail once the engine heats up to normal operating temps, so check for spark when it's well warmed up. A cyl drop test is a good one, or use an inductive timing light to check spark on each plugwire. Either are a good test method.
 
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