Locked Up On Lanier

[my70johnson]

My son and I restored a 77 Lakecraft pontoon, restored the boat - not the motor. The 70 Johnson (I believe to be an 84 model) runs OK, if it starts. I am having a problem I have seen discussed in another thread on a different motor, wondering if it could be the same.
It is stuck near neutral - will go forward all the way down. I took it all apart, didn't seen anything that looked out of place, put it all back together, it cranked right up, went into forward, reverse (with some shuttering) but worked and I tooled around the lake for a while, shut down, then just to see, bumped the starter and it fired right off.
Next night my son goes back to the boat, slides in the key and nothing, not a click. He checked to see if it was in neutral and found it was locked again, out of reverse - goes into forward no problem. I saw one of the threads that suggested it was a nylon part with 2 "teeth" which I saw when I had it apart. Could this be the same problem? I've taken the cables off on the engine end and the shifters work fine on that end - so I believe the problem is in the box somewhere. I suspect that if it isn't in a perfect position the button isn' t compressed on the "no start in gear" box so this is why we aren't even getting a click (except the remote choke will click if you push in the key).
I need some help here please - summer is slippin away as fast as the water in Lake Lanier

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

99%. go here and look up your engine, look at remote control. if not there, go to accessories, in the beginning of the search. should show you a diagram.
http://www.evinrude.com/en-US/Accessories/Literature/

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

Could be the cables need replacing, as they may be streched or just sticking within the shield....

 

[my70johnson]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

Thanks for the input. I went back, undid the connections to the cables at the engine. Nothing happened. I completely took apart the power box and looked for any excessive wear or missing parts. It appeared to be a little out of alignment with neutral. I checked the cables and there was some adjustment needed to bring the cable to a good neutral without any stress on the location of the cable and to set the position of the safety switch inside the power box to fully compressed. I reassembled everything and the good news is it switches from neutral to forward, back to neutral to reverse more smoothly than before - problem is there is 0, not even a click of starting going on. As if there is another kill switch that has decided something isn't right and it won't let it go. Is there a kill on the engine? Where? What contact is needed for it to allow the start? Is there an in-line fuse I need to check somewhere. I looked at the diagrams and it appears there is a 20 amp fuse but would that be why I don't even get a click?

 

[jtexas]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

Yes, the 20-amp fuse supplies power to the keyswitch - when it blows, nothing works.

There's also a neutral safety switch in the control box that shuts off the 12V from the keyswitch to the starter solenoid when the motor's in gear - it it's still functioning, you can still activate the electric choke by pushing the key in.

 

[my70johnson]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

Two developments.
1. I found the battery wasn't sufficiently charged. I checked the lights (we have strong fog lights front and rear and both "looked" good) but the battery was near dead.
2. I checked the fuse in the link adjoining the solenoid. It wasn't just blown, it was shattered. I replaced it before I knew the battery was dead - and found that the engine would at least "click" now when I turned the key.

Where is the "kill" or "neutral" switch on the engine?

 

[jtexas]

Re: Locked Up On Lanier

when you turn the key to "start", the starter solenoid clicks?

Ok, now measure the voltage from the starter terminal to engine block ground while somebody engages the solenoid. If you get 12 volts (give or take half a volt or so), the starter is bad. Low volts at the starter, then disconnect, clean, and reconnect all the connections from battery (+) to solenoid to starter, also battery (-) to engine block. When I say clean, I mean make 'em bright & shiny, use sandpaper or something to buff 'em out.

Voltage at the large solenoid post (leading to battery) should read the same as battery open circuit voltage, if it doesn't, replace your battery cables. Assuming a fully charged known good battery and good connections, voltage at the small solenoid post with the red/yellow wire should read 12V (+/- half a volt) with the key engaged. If it doesn't, troubleshoot the wiring harness. Voltage at the solenoid post leading to the starter should read 12V (+/- half a volt) with the key engaged, if it doesn't, replace the solenoid.

The neutral safety switch is in the control box in series with the red/yellow wire attached to the "S" terminal of your keyswitch. The kill circuit is the black/yellow wire, when connected to ground, grounds out the ignition, but has no effect on the starting circuit.