New to me 65 HP Johnson 50th Anniversary Hydro Electric Shift - Two issues

[rsamsel]

Hey all.

This is my 2nd post b/c the first one was deleted with iBoats server issues.

I have a new to me boat motor and trailer.

You can't laugh at the fact I bought a Hydro Electric shift b/c I only paid $800 for the whole lot

1970 Fiberform 16'
1972 65 HP Johnson
1986 EZ Loader trailer.

The boat starts runs and does great in drive and neutral. I put a 17 prop on it and it runs 32 mph with my wife and I and 30 with 5 people. I'll take it.

It does come with two issues tho. :
1) Reverse: I BARELY have it. I know there are issues with this motor shifting into reverse. Mine is a little different i think. Mine starts fine (neutral like it should be) it goes into forward like it should. It goes back into neutral as it should...and it kicks into forward gear when you shut it off. Now the problem. Reverse sounds and works TERRIBLY. It "bumps" when going into reverse the same way as it does when you put it in forward. Normal. It then continues to bump bump bump. My motorcycle type brain is telling me stripped reverse gears or it isnt fully engaging for some reason. I have gotten it into reverse once and could give it some throttle but normally i can only idle in reverse and even then it isn't "biting" all the way. I did replace the lower unit fluid with type C when i got the boat. They stuff that came out did not look like type c and it had pieces of metal bigger than the standard stuff you see on the end of magnet bolts. There was one that was the size of a small finger nail clipping.

2) No charge: The lack of reverse I can live with but this I can't. I don't think the battery is CHARGING. I took the boat out for a couple full days now and at the end of the day the battery is flat. I took a volt meter with me last time out and ran some tests. I am terrible with volt meters...keep that in mind...if I sound like I know alot I might have you fooled. Heres what i know. 11.8 volts with the boat off. 11.8 volts with the boat idling. 11.9 volts when the boat is on plane.
I assume this means its not charging at all. I think the .1 was just a coincidence and not real.

Could some of the experts to weigh in and tell me tests that I can run to fix the electrical issue.

Also, if you have input on diagnosing whether it is indeed the reverse gear and if it is fixable i would like to fix that as well.

Thank you very much.
Rob Samsel
Renton, WA

 

[Daviet]

Welcome to the forum.
If you have metal particles in the lower unit oil, I think I would pull it down and see what kind of damage is in there.
You do have a rectifier in the system that controls the voltage output, maybe it's defective.
Do you have a FACTORY manual for your engine, it will take you through the steps to check and repair your engine.

 

[F_R]

By your description, it certainly sounds like the reverse gear and/or clutch dog is toast. However, before you tear into it, make sure you are getting voltage to the wires going to the lower unit. You might just have a bad shift switch or wire problem. There are insulating sleeves over the wire disconnects where they come up from the lower, near the side of the powerhead. Slide those sleeves back, exposing the disconnect terminals, but leave the terminals connected for the test. Now, put your voltmeter on the green wire (and ground), ignition switch on and control in neutral. Should have battery voltage. Put control in reverse, and check voltage on both the green and blue wires (separately). Should have battery voltage on both.

If that checks out, it is on to the lower unit. The chips in the oil are a bad sign. That system can't tolerate dirty oil.

 

[F_R]

99% of the not charging issues are due to a blown rectifier.