1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

[nomisx98]

Hello Everyone,

Let me start by saying this is a great site and it has helped me out alot in the past. I am having problems starting up my motor and was wondering if some of you fellas could give me some pointers. I have a 1995 Johnson 150hp Oceanrunner, the motor always started up right away and ran great. I have been out of town and have not started the boat up in a 3 months and now when I try to start her it won't start. I have plenty of fuel and oil. The starter works and it appears it is turning the flywheel pretty good. But when I did a spark test I knoticed I was not getting a spark. What I did was pulled a spark plug and stuck it back in the wire and held it near the engine block to see if I get a spark when I crank the motor. Tried couple plugs and both had no spark. Can anyone give me some input on this? Would a weak battery cause no spark at all? Thanks again!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

welcome to iboats

it is time to trouble shoot properly. using a spark tester, record spark on all cylinders. you only have one power pack, if no spark could be power pack, BUT it could also be a bad ignition switch, a shorted kill wire (black with yellow tracer). you can unplug the big red plug, and use a remote starter switch to jump the starter solenoid, and recheck spark. also read this http://www.boatpartstore.com/page35.asp

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

There is a minimum RPM that the starter has to crank the motor at before the ignition system will begin to operate. It might be worth putting a charger on your battery for awhile and see if that helps.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

Does that motor have a kill switch and lanyard, separate from the ign switch? A lot of them do, and if that is tripped, you will get no spark.

 

[nomisx98]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

Does that motor have a kill switch and lanyard, separate from the ign switch? A lot of them do, and if that is tripped, you will get no spark.

Yes it does, but would that still allow power to the starter from the ignition?

 

[nomisx98]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

welcome to iboats

it is time to trouble shoot properly. using a spark tester, record spark on all cylinders. you only have one power pack, if no spark could be power pack, BUT it could also be a bad ignition switch, a shorted kill wire (black with yellow tracer). you can unplug the big red plug, and use a remote starter switch to jump the starter solenoid, and recheck spark. also read this http://www.boatpartstore.com/page35.asp

I just purchased a manual from the site, so I can figure out what is where that you have described. Thank you for your help will keep you posted in my progress.

 

[nomisx98]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

There is a minimum RPM that the starter has to crank the motor at before the ignition system will begin to operate. It might be worth putting a charger on your battery for awhile and see if that helps.

I will be looking into purchasing a charger over the weekend. I'm long over due to purchase one anyway. Will give it a try, thank you!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

If the kill switch is tripped, the motor will crank but not start.

 

[nomisx98]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

Update on motor, I fully charged the batteries and the motor started up. It ran for roughly 15 minutes and then it shut off on its own. I tried to start the motor again and no luck. A few times the motor sounded like it was trying to kick over but nothing. Could it be the motor is flooded? Any suggestions?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1995 Johnson 150 Oceanrunner starting problem, no spark.

I would start by verifying that you have spark to each cylinder. If not, find out why. It could be as simple as a bad/waterlogged kill switch or bad ign switch.