1995 50 HP Johnson, won't idle

[Scottycat]

Put away running in top condition. Fogged with Johnson engine fogger.
Now, won't idle, runs good at WOT.

Have to rev up and slap into gear to get going, idled ok in driveway.

Both Plugs are wet, gas is good, bulb is tight.

Will change plugs this week to see what happens.

Idle can't be adjusted to the point to get it to idle.

Lastly, motor and components are in good shape, not abused, low hours, stored indoors all winter, never freezing.

Any help would be great. Always had Mercury's are Johnson's all this quirky?

Thanks,
-scotty

 

[91kuhndog]

Re: 1995 50 HP Johnson, won't idle

Scotty,
Sounds like you have a low speed jet plugged. Pull the carb cover off and you'll see two srews on the back of the carbs..... the lower is the high speed oriface and the upper one is the low speed oriface. take the screw out, and if you shine a flashlight back in there, you'll see a brass oriface. Carefully remove it with a common screwdriver. OR....run a piece of safety wire back in there (or tristy-tie wirre) in there to clear any debries out of the jet. There non adjustable so you're safe to pull them and reinstall them, just don't strip them out.

 

[Scottycat]

Re: 1995 50 HP Johnson, won't idle

pulled and cleaned, I'll try her in the morning, don't want to wake the little ones.

I will say this. This motor does not want to start without me priming the heck out of it.

Once I get it going, I choke the top carb with my hand, the motor perks up a bit. I do that to the lower carb, it shuts down.

Would you say the top carb is probably the culprit?

I was telling another fella tonite, these motors are sooooo finicky, I can't believe it. My last boat had a merc. outboard and the thing was bullet proof.

I'm losing hair over this one.

Thanks and good nite.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1995 50 HP Johnson, won't idle

the only way to clean those carbs is to remove the and dismantle them. See carb cleaning in the TOP SECRET FILE. if you do not over-think things it will be easier. there is a screw on the starboard side of the carb which is the slow speed adjustment screw, start at 2 1/2 turns out for soft seated.

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: 1995 50 HP Johnson, won't idle

I have pretty much the same engine, but a commercial one. I had an idling problem for a while, where it would only idle on 1 cylinder. Pulled the carbs , rebuilt them with new kits, didn't see anything that I felt would be the cause, but once it was all back together it was totally fine.
I'm with TD on this one, don't just leave them on and stick wire into the orifice, all it's going to do is cram whatever is blocking it further into the carb, and either make it worse, or cause that gunk to run through your engine, potentially causing more problems.
If/When you do rebuild the carbs with new kits, your idle will need to be set again, on the water, in neutral, with the engine fully warmed up. Doing it at home on muffs won't work, no back pressure on the engine.