Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

[merc4me62]

Hi There!

Last year I bought a small walk-thru that has a Johnson 115 (115ESL-73M) hanging off the transom. Took it out maybe 6 times...and; at the time it was starting although a bit hit-or-miss.

Now, I may prime/pop it off at home, before going to the lake, then when I get down the boat ramp at the lake, it either 1) doesn't start or 2) takes a whole lot of dinking around and a battery or two and a "lot of luck" to get it going. Also, last year; on occasion, after starting it, would shut her down in a cove...relax then try to re-start and had problems...would spin but NOT POP Over.

WHAT I'VE DONE...

Pulled the Carbs, the carbs were VERY CLEAN, Turned over the Carbs...and the floats were "Parallel with the Carb Chassey" like the manual describes. Compression tested; numbers were AWESOME and Level. Spark Plugs all gaps look good...plugs a bit Black but seem OK. Just really don't know what else I should be looking for!?

Please Advise

"The weather is Great and the lake is only 5 Minutes away" :O

Eric

 

[Windykid]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Change plugs anyway for cheap insurance.

Is the fuel bulb remaining firm?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

have you check spark with a spark tester, blue spark jump 1/2 inch? had 2 that vintage, known for the power pack to act up. check ALL wiring connects, remove then clean and replace. are this plugs wet when it won't start. also here are several pages of electrical testing find your engine. http://www.boatpartstore.com/page30.asp

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Anytime you fool with the carburetors on the V4 1973-1977 engines, you have to verify that the chokes are 100% absolutely closed when you hit the choke switch or you cannot possibly get a consistent clean cold start.

The only way that you can possibly verify that they are all 100% fully closed is to be looking down the barrels while someone hits the switch. Move the choke solenoid up and down in very small increments to adjust.​

 

[merc4me62]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Re: Fuel Line/Fuel Bubble...should have mentioned it...It is fine and stays firm as it should.

 

[merc4me62]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

re:Choke Adjustments - I believe that I set it as you have advised. I was "religious" about this. However, I will check it again. Currently, the solonoid is not connected and is only set for manual use.

 

[merc4me62]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Sir Tashasdaddy, I think you may be onto something here! The boat came with an extra old powerpack in the glove box. I know absolutlely nothing about the PowerPack. I printed the link that you provided. I will examine the sparks and most likely just replace them. Maybe I am a bit dense...can you offer any additional advise on what a P-pack does?...should I try to try to examine it for any defective characteristic? Do Spark Plugs sometimes just go bad?

Thanks you (and everybody else!) for all your help!!!

Eric

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

yes plugs go bad. the powerpack also known as the switch box, sends the signals, (electricity) to the coils for the proper time to fire. it's basicly the brain box, in cars today.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Tried to find a thread from a few weeks ago, but failed. Anyway, he was convinced that his chokes were closing, and somewhat amazed at the fact that when he hit the ignition switch the vacuum immediately opened the chokes by almost 1/8". That of course will not work.

 

[merc4me62]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

have you check spark with a spark tester, blue spark jump 1/2 inch? had 2 that vintage, known for the power pack to act up. check ALL wiring connects, remove then clean and replace. are this plugs wet when it won't start. also here are several pages of electrical testing find your engine. http://www.boatpartstore.com/page30.asp

Mr. TASHASDADDY...

Thanks for the LINK...I printed it out and compared the Procedure to that of my Shop Manual regarding the "Charge Coil Output Check"...Then proceeded to do the Test. To do the test it appeared that the TOOL required was (as the manual stated) a S-80 or M-80 Neon Tester. A examined a multitude of other iBoats posts relating to that tester and they pointed me to DMM's that had the "Peak Hold" feature as an adequate alternative. So, I ran the test with the DMM instead.

The test called for Peak Voltage Testing the Power Pack across the No7 and No8 (Charge Coil Brn & Charge Coil Brn/Ylw) Screw Blocks. I ran 2 series of Voltage tests...The first with the plugs out and the second with the plugs in.

My Plugs-out test (done first) yielded Peak Voltage of ***140/147*** and the Plugs-in test yielded Peak Voltage of ***126/96***.

Gentlemen, please offer your advise on my findings.

Eric

 

[tschamp20]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

if the stator is going bad you wont get a strong enough spark.look under flywheel for green "GOO". if present its probably failing. good luck

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

A lot of the advise you get here is general in nature, from folks who have never owned or run a 1973 V4.

I have and do own not one but two, and as the others who have the motors will surely confirm, if you can get it to start at all, it is almost never an ignition system problem.

It is almost always a question of not getting enough RPM because you need a fully charged battery big enough to crank 300 RPM, or the chokes are not closing fully enough to allow the pistons to pull the necessary fuel through to the combustion chambers for a cold start.

Now once the motor is warmed up, if it does not run smoothly, there certainly may be other issues.​

 

[SeaSaw]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

if the stator is going bad you wont get a strong enough spark.look under flywheel for green "GOO". if present its probably failing. good luck

This Goo you speak of..........could it be brown?

Like this?

 

[tschamp20]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

booyah that is definately what it looks like.sorry.my gutt tells me that could be your problem.was mine anywayz.

 

[F_R]

Re: Johnson 73' 115 v4 PwrshiftII - Starting Problems...Help!

Most all of the '73 stators leaked goo within the first couple of years and one would think that they surely must have all been replaced by now. But maybe the replacements are leaking too? If they leak, it absolutely makes them hard to start.