1985 johnson 25hp won't start

[old_longbeard]

I have a 1985 johnson 25hp elec start tiller handle outboard that I bought used, and have done some work to. I took it duck hunting Saturday, and it ran fine for about 20min. I let it come to an idle, and it acted as if it ran out of gas & died. It never would hit again after it died. I changed the spark plugs even though the ones I took out hadn't fouled. I have compression, or at least the manual crank is still fairly hard to pull, and both plugs are sparking. When you turn it over it just absolutely won't hit. I don't really know how long it had set up prior to me buying it. Does anybody have any advice as to what to do or check? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dukboat]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

Were you running good clean fuel with the proper mix? Sounds like a fuel problem, was the primer bulb hard? You can try spraying some pre mix in the carb and see if it fires. Also since you don't know the history on this motor it would be a good idea to give it a tune up with a carb rebuild and new water pump impeller.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

Sounds like the float stuck closed to me. Try taking off the float bowl and cleaning the needle valve really good. Wouldn't hurt to clean the whole thing while you're at it. As said before, you may have a bad hose or fuel pump as well. I would think that if you pumped the bulb that the carb would fill with fuel and it would run at least for a few seconds if that were the case.
Just a thought,
JBJ

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

I always like spraying the pre mix in idea to get a quick burst... If you got spark it's gotta sputter...

 

[old_longbeard]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

I mixed the fuel according to what the local johnson dealer had told me...50:1, and I know the gas was good b/c I got it at the station where I always fill up my pick up. Any tricks to getting the carb off, or is it just one of those "take you time & pay attention" type things? I would say that the fuel is reaching the carb, b/c I tilted the motor up to get it off of the transom saver & some fuel ran out of the front of the carb. If y'all have any additional advice or pointers...I'd appreciate any help. This motor is the first one that I have ever had to do anything other than just changing the impeller & grease in the lower unit...so I'm pretty new to this. Thanks for the help that you've already given.

old_longbeard

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

Like Samott said, get some 50:1 gas and put it in a spray bottle and squirt some in the carb throat. Use the premix because carb cleaner doesn't have oil in it to lubricate the motor when it cranks. If you try to start it and it runs and then dies in just a couple of seconds, you know you have a fuel problem. I'd be very careful this time of year disconnecting all your fuel lines and stuff because if there's any plastic fuel connections in there, they'll probabably be brittle and break while you're trying to get everything loose. If you have electric start, you'll probably have to take it off to get to the carb bolts. There should only be 2 nuts holding it on.
Hope this helps,
JBJ

 

[old_longbeard]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

I will give that a go and see what happens. I really appreciate the help guys. Computers are more my thing than boat motors . It will be the weekend before I can get to where I have time to work on it, but I will let y'all know what comes of it. Once again, THANKS for all of the help...I'm tryin to expand my knowledge on this thing...ok...the truth is I didn't want to spend $60/hr to have something fixed that might be simple enough that I could do it. HaHa At least duck season is almost over, and I will have all spring to get it fixed (if all else fails) before I go bow fishing...short of the time I will spend turkey hunting...

old_longbeard

 

[JB]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

I don't disagree with the above suggestions, OL, but before you start tearing anything apart or replacing parts do the "Outboard won't start" troubleshooting in the Engine FAQs. That will include the addition of fuel.

 

[old_longbeard]

Re: 1985 johnson 25hp won't start

Thanks JB, I appreciate the advice. I was once told that if you don't ask...folks will assume that you either already know or don't care. So, I've learnt it is a lot cheaper to ask for help on stuff like this. Thanks again to all of y'all.

old_longbeard