'71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

[nautme]

Last fall on my last outing, the motor overheated, apparently from impeller failure. Two wires were in contact with the head and the insulation melted and the motor died. These two wires come from something (I think a thermal switch as best as I can tell from the wiring diagram) in the head next to the lower cylinder. Now the motor will not turn over with the ignition switch. The wires are so faded it's hard to tell, but I think one is purple and the other is purple/w yellow stripe. One goes to the #5 terminal and the other to #7. I thought about splicing the two back together, but the insulation where the wires go into the switch (if that's what it is) is totally burned to a crisp. I checked the compression by jumping straight to the starter, and thankfully, I got readings of 120, 122 and 115, so I think the motor is OK mechanically. I also checked the fuse and it was OK. Is there some way to bypass these wires? and if not, does anyone have any ideas?

 

[nautme]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

OK, after studying the wiring diagram, I'm wonderimg if I can jump the #5 and #7 teminals, bypassing the switch. Seems like it would work if the swiych is normally closed. What do ya think?

 

[nautme]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

Well, after studying the wiring diagrams I began to think that switch has nothing to do with the engine not turning over. So I hooked up the gas, turned on the ignition and jumped the starter, bypassing the solonoid and she fired right up. Now I'm thinking it is either a bad solonoid or ignition switch. Any opinions??

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

you are on the right track. i would try solenoid first, i really don't like opening those old controls, as the wire are brittle.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad

 

[nautme]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

Well, I think I got it down to the solonoid. I jumped the battery direct to the solonoid, bypassing the ignition switch and it wouldn't even click. Thanks, Tasha!!!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '71 Johnson 3 cyl. 60 hp won't turn over

jump from the bolt where the large cable comes from battery, to the smaller post that has the red wire to it. if it works the solenoid is good.