1983 Johnson 50HP Randomly Died - Won't Start

[robstead]

Hey everyone, I have a '83 Johnson 50HP, J50BELCTA to be exact.

I've had this boat out all season multiple times and today I was tubing with one person who was maybe 175 lbs and the motor ran great for about an hour or so, and as I slowed down to turn around the motor randomly hiccuped and died. When I went to go start it will run for a couple seconds and then would sound like a spit or misfire and shut off. I was thinking it was the spark plugs and replaced them but no go.

Is it possible that a power pack went bad mid run or is it could it be something else? Much appreciated.

 

[boobie]

Check your spark. It should jump a 7/16" open air gap on a spark tester.

 

[robstead]

Check your spark. It should jump a 7/16" open air gap on a spark tester.

Im going to diagnose the whole ignition system tomorrow and report back.

Is it possible for the motor randomly to lose spark while running though?

 

[boobie]

Yes it is. Usually the biggest culprit is a bad pack. JMHO.