hydro electric drive issues johnson 50 hp

[Reigel1]

Hi all im new to boating and just purchased my first boat am looking forward to it but i need some help/advice the motor is a johnson 50 hp model #50ESL72C serial # E3463830 johnson hydro electric drive I am the second owner it was rerely used and garage kept for many years. I changed the plugs and oil in the motor and cleaned the carbs when i hook it up to the battery i have juice to the relay thats it i jumped over to the started and she fired right up and seems to run strong i had it hooked up to a hose and ran it for about 2 minutes.the controls at the steering wheel are giving me fits. the toggle under the key works the choke nicely. but when i hit the key nothing happens it seems like no fire ive checked all the wires and they seem fine.the lever from run to start works freely the drive handle goes through the R N D freely im at a loss from this point on and have no idea where to go from here. I am in Pennsylvania and know the only owner personally since he purchased the boat new it has been on the water maybe 30 times since he bought it and has never had any problems with it. it was in his garage for about 8 years till i purchased it from him. please help Thanks

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: hydro electric drive issues johnson 50 hp

Make sure the handle is in neutral. You might have to jiggle it to get it just right.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: hydro electric drive issues johnson 50 hp

As you may know, your engine shifts via application of electricty to a pair of solenoids in the gearbox. There is a shift switch in the control unit that directs the electrical current as needed. That same switch has a neutral safety switch in it - unless the shift handle is in just the right place, the circuit to the starter solenoid is open, hence the previous advice to jiggle the handle a bit. If this doesn't fix your problem, let us know.

 

[Reigel1]

Re: hydro electric drive issues johnson 50 hp

hello again i tried it very slowly in every possible position still no fire the hydrallic lift works fine the toggle under the switch works fine but still no fire as i said before i can run a jump cable from the relay in the motor to the starter and she fires right up please help with this one thanks,Dave

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: hydro electric drive issues johnson 50 hp

Sometimes the neutral safety function in the toggle switch will fail, while the shift portion of it continues to work. I would check that first, by opening the box and bypassing the toggle switch in the circuit. Look for the white wires - one coming from the back of the key switch to a splice in one of two white wires on the toggle switch, and one going from the wiring harness to the remaining white wire on the toggle. You can peel the isulation back on the toggle to harness splice, and jump from the post on the key switch to the harness. Try starting with the key - if it works, the neutral safety function in the toggle switch is bad.

You can confirm this by doing a continuity check through the toggle switch. For this test, disconnect he boat's battery or turn the battery selector switch to off. Now test between the post and the opened splice. Lack of continuity indicates and bad neutral safety circuit in the toggle switch.