84 johnson no start

[dpond855]

ok folks if you can help I would appreciate it. I have an 84 65hp Johnson outboard model #J65TELCRS I turn the key and get nothing. after a half dozen attempts it might turn over and start or will cut out and i'll get nothing for another dozen attempts. new battery so im wondering if its the ignition or solenoid. im not a mechanic but can follow direction. any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[Vic.S]

Bad connection somewhere most probably

Best tested with test lamp on a couple of leads rather than a meter ( modern digital meters draw so little current that they will give a "normal "reading even through a bad connection)

Don't overlook the possibility of a bad connection on the negative/ground.

Could be a bad keyswitch, only testing will tell.

I am assuming that when you say you get nothing you do not even hear the solenoid operate. If you do then perhaps bad contacts on the solenoid or bad connection on the high current side of it.

Possibly bad starter motor.

Read " Outboard wont start " on the Engine FAQs board

 

[Tim Frank]

It would be really helpful if first posts contained a reasonable "story" that would help us to help you.
Have you had this motor a while, and this is, then, a new problem? Or did you just acquire it and it has always had this issue?
You say the battery is new; was that an attempt to fix this problem or something else?

Vic's post has great starting points, the only thing I'd add is that there's one test I'd always do as #!.
By far the most common cause of these symptoms (in my experience) is the connections at the battery.....loose or dirty. No test required there; just remove both connectors, clean battery terminals and connectors....reconnect, and see if that solves the problem.

I'd love to know how many batteries and starter motors have been replaced unnecessarily.

 

[dpond855]

ive had the boat for five years and this is a new problem. i replaced the battery because a) it needed replacing and b) i was hoping it was the problem. connections at battery are clean. the switch connections are covered in grease so its hard to tell what they are like. and when i mean nothing, then yes no clicking at solenoid.

 

[dpond855]

think I found problem!

 

[dpond855]

ok so this needs to be archived as I have read a similar post with exact same problem. when I lifted the ignition switch out of throttle body I noticed a broken terminal wire. didn't know if I caused it to break when lifting switch out but my getting weak battery sound when turning over or completely no response at all could be because broken terminal would occasionally make contact with itself. then on the umpteenth try it would start cause it made a good enough connection with the two broken ends. I fixed the terminal, reconnected wire and it turned right over. also it was the power wire that was broken fyi. thanks everyone for your posts and help.
greatly appreciated. 52 cent fix, don't get much better than that.

 

[dpond855]

let you know if it acts up again!