have anyone tried rope starting a big Johnson outboard?

[ib18]

have anyone tried rope starting a big Johnson outboard? My Johnson 90 v4 died while I was in no wake zone on the Potomac river. I tried to start it but my starter died too??? So, I am trying to buy a new starting motor and rebuild the old starter. In the mean time, I am trying to pull start it. 2 questions:
(1) have you done it before? what are the tips?
(2) Can you see what I did wrong in my video - please help - thanks? Took me awhile to finally figure out my rope knot should go into the 2 angle groves on the flywheel. Was I not pulling hard enough? I already got the gas and water hooked up, so in case the motor does turn over I wont burn my water impeller.

 

[ondarvr]

If it died and you don't know why, then there's no way to know if it will start at all, so trying to pull starting it may be a waste of time. Next, get a much smaller diameter rope, plus a tee handle on it so you can actually pull hard on it.

If it just clicks when you turn the key the solenoid could be bad, so jump directly to the starter and see if it works. Starters are cheap and easy to get for these motors, eBay will have one to you a couple of days (that's only if it is the starter).

 

[F_R]

Check battery cable connections. Don't just look at them, take them apart and clean all scale and corrosion off so they are shiny clean. Then reinstall tightly. That might be all that is wrong with the starter.

But I agree, since it quit running, it probably won't start again till you find out why it quit and fix that.

Yes, I have rope started them. But that's only for last-ditch emergency.

 

[ib18]

No Title

Thanks for the quick replies. I will get a smaller diameter rope, and try again with compression tester on. yes I will also take apart the battery connections and clean them. I suspected my solenoid gone bad too, so I tried jump start my starter directly after I removed the starter from the motor and the solenoid. I found one of the screw with the brush was loosen when I opened the back of the starter (didn't bother with the front part of the starter), so I cleaned It and put the starter back together. It did turn as I jumped the positive terminal on the starter with the terminals hooked up to the battery positive and negative respectively, but I wanted to repeat it and get it on video and accidentally touched the starter body with the positive cable and it sparked. It would not turn again - unsure if I shorted it or not. I took the starter apart again (back end only), but didn't see anything wrong with it. But, I will take the front part apart, and took out the armature and give it a good clean.

 

[interalian]

Even though my crossflow starts great every time, there's never a time where it will start in a single spin - cranks for about 2-3 seconds for a cold start, and 1 second or so warm. Even 1 second of cranking with the starter is probably 10x the rotation you'd get with a single pull.

 

[oldboat1]

Key switch would need to be in the run position, presumably. I started my old 85 that way with the emergency cord for the little plastic bag in the cover. It's a much smaller diameter cord, as somebody noted. Anyway, it worked -- difference is my motor was warmed up and in good running condition (just tried it to see if I could). Guess "emergency" starting would work for a dead battery or similar, properly tuned, warmed up, no other issues, etc. etc.

 

[Chinewalker]

I've started my Johnson 90hp a couple of times with a rope. About 4 years ago the voltage regulator went out and was drawing down the battery. I'd charge the battery with a charger, we'd go somewhere, and it would weaken to the point it wouldn't start. Motor starts easily, so roping it over wasn't too hard. Helps that I'm 6'4", 235.

 

[jimmbo]

In the 70s I rope started my dads 1965 Evinrude 90hp. In the 80s I rope stated my 84 115 merc lots of times after the alt quit working. The merc would almost always catch on the second pull when cold. Make sure primer bulb is firm, use choke or enrichner. Use proper pull cord with handle.

 

[F_R]

Touching the starter housing with both cables indeed will make some impressive sparks. But it will not damage the starter. Look for something else

 

[ondarvr]

Now to hijack the thread, we'll sort of, it's a warning story. A friend's (he's a fishing guide)150HP Merc had the rectifier go out, so the battery went dead, he had to pull started it a few times on this trip after they'd stop to fish. The next time he went to start it the throttle was increased a little too much, so when he pulled the rope and it instantly started the rope got hooked on the flywheel and it turned into a 150HP weed eater. The handle beat I'm up pretty good before he fell backwards, the client had to belly crawl back to the motor and shut off the key with the rope and handle spinning at about 3000 RPM over his head. My friend looked like someone beat him with a baseball bat.

 

[Fed]

Be much easier with a genuine OMC rope & handle, they only cost about $5.
I bought one & gave it a try on my v4 90hp, I was expecting it to be hard but it started on the first compression stroke & I nearly chucked myself into the cabin because & was fully wound up for a huge pull.
Mine was already warmed up so starting conditions were perfect.
I think for a cold start you need to set up the motor to give it the best possible chance.
Primer bulb firm, key ON, fast idle set, primer valve set for manual and then have it in your mind exactly what to do when it screams into life.

Start again & diagnose the non electric starting before you buy anything.

 

[oldboat1]

I wonder if your motor sucked up some water before it died out. I think I would pull the plugs and see if they appear to be washed -- and might check the fuel in your tank(s) and see if there is a layer of water down at the bottom.

Not sure about electrical issues with the starter. As mentioned above, I don't think the shower of sparks meant much. You have some corrosion going on, so the starter or anything in the starting circuit can be a source for problems.

 

[ib18]

Thanks for your replies. I will make sure the key switch is in the RUN position, because I certainly didn't do that when I tried to rope start it. The other thing was I didn't even have the battery cables connected to the starter motor when I was rope starting it. I did notice some corrosion and oily terminals and the negative cable from the battery to the body of the engine for the starter motor was not as tight as it should be. So, trying to tighten it but ran out of time fixing it. The socket was not deep enough either. So, will get back to work on the motor hopefully this weekend. will report back so everybody knows. Thanks a million.

 

[ib18]

I wonder if your motor sucked up some water before it died out. I think I would pull the plugs and see if they appear to be washed -- and might check the fuel in your tank(s) and see if there is a layer of water down at the bottom.

Not sure about electrical issues with the starter. As mentioned above, I don't think the shower of sparks meant much. You have some corrosion going on, so the starter or anything in the starting circuit can be a source for problems.

yes, I found the problem of the starter problem. One of the negative cable locked to the engine body was loose. I found that when I was removing it and I changed it to another nut. Now, the starter is working beautifully. I also cleaned out the corrosion as you suggested. The starting motor crank now as I turned the key.

The sparks didn't short the motor or destroy the motor. Thank you!

 

[ib18]

Found the problem why my motor stuttered and died. Solved it be keep trying it in different methods. It was because the fuel was stuck in the primer bulb that pumps the fuel from the external gas tank. I was pumping the primer bulb and noticed the bulb was filled with gas, but the fuel didn't fill the fuel filter (I emptied it to clean it) in the motor. Normally, the fuel filter on the engine would be filled after a few squeeze on the primer bulb. But, not this time. So, I tried to squeeze it as hard as I could. It would not budge. The fuel was still stuck. Nothing was going through the primer bulb. I decided to continue to squeeze but open the gas tank cover completely. Suddenly, I heard a loud pop inside the primer bulb when I opened the gas tank cover and continue to squeeze the primer bulb. The pressure was build up so much inside the tank and the primer bulb. It pushes whatever junk was inside the primer bulb through with the loud pop. I continued to squeeze and I saw the fuel flowed into the fuel filter. The bulb felt a lot softer and it inflated and deflated like a soft sponge. So, I know the fuel was not stuck anymore. Voila - a success, mission accomplished. It felt real good. Cost was my labor. The satisfaction of my hard work was beyond words. DIY not only save a few bucks but also brings so much satisfaction when things go right - Hahaha.

 

[ib18]

Good news - My good old Johnson 90 hp is kicking and running again. These are the things I did to make it run again -
(1) fuel stuck in primer bulb - FIXED.
(2) cleaned, polished, shined both Power Packs electrical contacts.
(3) replaced scepter marine gas tank adapter.
(4) Sprayed carb cleaner into carb air intake to get her to start.