6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

AaronR

Seaman
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
52
My father gave me this engine a few years back and I pulled it a few times and saw it had no spark so I just gave up on it.

Someone tole me it was the rectifier, another person said it was a coil problem.

What is the easiest way to diagnose this problem?

I have a 25hp Johnson but I would like to fix this one because speed is less important to me than fuel economy for my small fishing boat.
 

jasper60103

Commander
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Sep 18, 2008
Messages
2,055
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

What year motor?
No spark on either plug wire?
 

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

Johnson Seahorse or Gale-made Sea King??

Model number??
 

AaronR

Seaman
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Feb 15, 2009
Messages
52
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

Its a johnson sea horse, Sorry for the confusion.

It has no spark at all on either wire. I think it is 77-78 model year.
 

AaronR

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Feb 15, 2009
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Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

So no opinions at all of where to start?
 

AlTn

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Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

if you'll read every post relating to a 6 hp in the last 25 most recent pages, you'll probally encounter most things you're gonna have to do to revive that motor...from water pump impeller replacement to pulling the flywheel and inspecting the coils, cleaning and setting the points, rebuilding and cleaning the carb, etc....the first place to start is doing a compression test, then deciding which direction to go...if the compression is ok...I'd personally recommend purchasing the factory omc manual for you motor either from ebay or iboats...it'll be published by ken cook from iboats or outboardbooks.com
 

AaronR

Seaman
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Feb 15, 2009
Messages
52
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

It has compression, Like I stated in my first post, everything works just fine, other than the fact that all of a sudden it lost spark to both plugs. I cant imagine points making it lose spark to both plugs at once. I also can't imagine both coils quitting at once.

It still gets fuel just fine, I always drained the fuel out of the carb after use. I doubt it will need a carb rebuild, I'll replace the impellar eventually but the main task at hand is the fact that it has no spark at all on either plug.
 

AlTn

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2,813
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

I apologize, I thought this had been sitting for a number of years...I also was wrong about the points as 1977 and up had gone to CD1 ignition...sudden loss of spark to both cylinders on the 1978 would start with the grounding switch malfunctioning...that is the stop button...you can disconnect it and see if your spark returns...from there you can go to cdielectronics.com and follow their trouble shooting guide for your ignition
 

Vic.S

Rear Admiral
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May 4, 2004
Messages
4,719
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

can you clarify the year of manufacture, or quote a model number?

You mention points but you say you think 77or 78.

77 onwards are cd ignition so no points.

pre77 are points ignition

About the only thing common to both cylinders with points ignition is the shorting switch so if it has points that is the obvious suspect.

Once you move on to CD ignition then the kill switch is still a common part so still look at that but there are other common parts. The stator coil under the flywheel, the sensor assembly and the CDI power pack itself. The HT coils are separate for the two plugs
 

AaronR

Seaman
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
52
Re: 6hp Johnson sea king; no spark!

I only mentioned points because someone else said that was something to check.

I'm almost 100% positive it is a 1978 Johnson SeaHorse 6 hp. The motor has been sitting for around two years without being started, I was given the motor and told it ran great less than a week before I got it, I tried firing it up after I got it and found it had no spark at all.

So far I have inspected the few wires I could see thinking somehow a wire may have been broken while transporting the motor but found no problems.

I think replacing the stator coil would be the next logical line of attack as I don't think it is the kill switch itself, however it is possible.

I will order the stator coil tomorrow and get it replaced when I receive it.
 
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