?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

[Folly77]

First 3 trips this season: motor runs good initially but after shutting the motor off for awhile and restarting it runs like crap (alarms not sounding). Seems like its running on 2 cylinders. Sometimes I can play with the throttle and get it to run good; other times I can shut down the motor and restart and it runs good. The fuel in the water separator looks OK so I don?t think it?s bad gas but might be (gas is 5 months old but had good ol? 2+4 in it). One of the batteries seems to be going bad but all cabling and connections appear good. Service manual should be here tomorrow but thought I?d start w/ you guys and get some pointers on where to look. Never had any problems w/ this motor from the day I bought it in ?97.

 

[jtexas]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

welcome to the forum!

your manual will tell you to do a compression test and spark test first. compression should be even across all cylinders (lowest within 5 or 7% of highest). spark should jump a 7/16" gap.

fuel line should hold pressure.
fuel tank vent should be open and unblocked.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

check your spark immediately when it acts up. you have 2 power pack, one could be going out.

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

Thanks guys...I've been lurking for about a week now and have found a lot of great info via the search. My 115 is pushing a BW Outrage 17 w/ internal fuel tank and the bulb is firm. Can't wait to get the manual so I know what the hell I'm looking at under the cover. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

OK..manual didn't arrive.

Had a friend over and started checking a few things. Tried cranking the motor and it wouldn't fire. It cranks and flywheel turns but nothing. Checked spark and nothing on any of the 4 cylinders. Disconnected kill switch (pulled blk/yel wire from ignition) and still no spark. Then we found where the port side temp sensor wires had corroded off of the connector. This probably caused my initial problem (see 1st post). Motor was running in S.L.O.W. mode because of the bad temp sensor connection. We spliced the sensor wires back together but nothing. Will wait on manual...

Could the bad sensor connection cause me to lose all spark even after reconnection?

Thanks

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

Well?let me start over. I have a ?97 Johnson 115 looper that started acting up when I first took it out this season. Now, on the last trip (5 enjoyable hrs. tubing with the kids) the motor occasionally (more that once) dropped into S.L.O.W. mode (low RPM/motor knocking really bad) but I was able to get it running right by playing with the throttle or shutting it down and restarting. Back at home, I go to flush the motor and the motor will turn over but no fire.

I have since checked compression (135 ? 145 psi on all 4 cylinders) and spark. I found spark on the first cylinder I checked ? none on subsequent cylinders. I go back to the first cylinder I checked and no spark. I have seen this twice on different cylinders ? after allowing the motor to sit overnight I see spark on the first cylinder checked, none on other cylinders, go back to check the first cylinder again and no spark.

So is there anything that could cause me to see spark while cranking the motor the first time and then have it go away? I now have a repair manual and I think I?ve ruled out a problem with the kill switch (pulled the port side connector w/ blk/yel wire off of the power pack and checked for spark ? nothing) and now I?m moving onto the stator.

P.S. I did find a corroded wire on the port side temp switch that I think was causing my initial problem (periodically grounding out). I have temporarily fixed it.

 

[levittownnick]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

On my '97 J150 the "Shifter Switch" was causing a similar problem. This switch is supposed to cut out the port bank "Momentarialy" when shifting into neutral, this causes a split second hesitation which unloads the Dog gear to allow shifting into neutral. Instead, it stayed engauged killing the spark causing a stall and keeping it from starting. Bringing the shift lever to reverse and back to neutral clears it till the next time. I don't know if your engine has this switch but if it does, it's worth a check.

Good luck,
Nick

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

Thanks, Nick but according to the manual, I don?t have the shift switch (1997 60deg LV4).

But it gets weirder. Thought I?d check it one last time before taking it to the shop. Pulled the connector w/ the blk/yel wire form the power pack and low and behold, I got spark! Plugged the connector back in and still got spark! Hooked up the flush and the motor started like it was brand new. Ran it for 10 minutes, then buttoned everything up and went in for dinner.

After dinner, thought I?d check it one more time. Hooked up the flush, turned the key, motor turns over but no spark. Unplugged the connector and still no spark.

Any ideas on what to check next? Seems like a bad connection somewhere but no problems with the starter engaging.

 

[ezeke]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

The V6 motors have the shift assist switch but not the V4.

You might want to try disconnecting your rectifier. It is usually step 2 in most troubleshooting guides like the free download one at CDI Electronics:

http://cdielectronics.com/portals/0/downloads/Troubleshooting Guide 2006.pdf

BTW, See page 28. There are several other guides but most of them attribute the source as this one. It is a large file so be patient, then save it.

One other thing, you still need 300 RPM to get a good spark on a cold start. The battery has to be fully charged and powerful.

 

[ottertail]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

This is one of those problems I would love to be standing by with a DVA in hand. but as that is not possible I would suspect the powwer pack on this unit. It has the slow feature insidde of it and relies on input from the sensor to put it into slow. being your wire was corooded off the input would not be there foro the pack to get the signal to go into slow so slow should have never set in. (unless the pack side of the wire was touching ground) it is possible and I had seen it more than a few times for the pack to initiate slow when the engine was cool and no input from the sensor, it is all electronic and can fail. It also could have the spark problem you are dealling with. With out a peak reading volt meter you guessing, but it is the most likely culprit

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

Thanks Ezeke. I've downloaded the file and will give it a shot. My motor's got the OIS 2000 ignition so disconnecting the rectifier is on step 10 but I'll try it before dinner tonight.

Ottertail...yeah, I need a DVA. I've got a good multimeter and resistance readings seem good. But now that you mention it, the alarm was not sounding when it went into slow mode so the temp switch grounding out may not have been the culprit.

BTW, I'm working from the Seloc service manual and I'm getting real close to the end of my comfort level. If not running by this weekend it's off to the shop.

Thanks again for the great info.

 

[Folly77]

Re: ?97 Johnson 115 intermittent stall

Just an update. Took the boat to a trusted mechanic. He replaced the optical sensor and the timing wheel and it runs like a champ. He did say that the Quick Start feature was no longer working but the only way to fix that was to replace the power pack. I decided to save the $350 and do without quick start for awhile.

Thanks again for all the helpful info...I'm sure I'll be back!