85 johnson 20 hp no spark out of things to replace

[kooner]

im working on a 1985 johnson 20 hp with remote controls. its a J20ELCOS. boat ran fine in the driveway then when i got to the lake no fire. brought it home and started investigating. im not getting any spark. also had a problem with the starting solenoid. after fixing the old wires with new connectors and a new solenoid i got that issue solved. now i still cant get any spark. so i replaced the ignition switch and neutral switch. still no spark. moved on to test the rectifier. ohm reading came out right in spec. moved to the stator. everything checks out there.getting upwards of 150V. moved to the cd box. couldnt get anything out of it. replaced the cd box and tried again. still no spark. tried going around the kill switch lanyard. still no spark. checked pug wires. checked out fine. surely both coils didnt just go out on the ride to the lake. i just dont get it. can someone please point me in some kind of direction because at this point im ready to toss a match in it an walk away :facepalm:

 

[just_james]

Do you have a OEM manual? Just throw parts on it hoping to fix it gets expense. The manual will guide you through the necessary troubleshooting

 

[kooner]

i found one online and i followed what it told me to do. but it didnt go far enough. im going to read back thru and make sure i didnt miss anything.

 

[just_james]

If it's a Seloc manual it's really vague. Go to cdi electronics and download the troubleshooting manual.

 

[flyingscott]

How did you check the tether switch, if you tied the wires together it will have no spark. Neutral safety switch and rectifier do not have an effect on spark

 

[oldboat1]

Don't torch it yet....

Sometimes folks say the spark is "good" when it ain't -- but probably could work the other way too. Are you measuring spark with some kind of tester? (If you are making an inference based on non-starting, there might be something else going on.)

Even testing spark with an adjustable tester, you will get no spark if there is a bad tester ground. (Likewise, no spark if there is a bad ignition component ground.)

And if you DO get spark using a tester, you know the ignition system is producing a charge -- but don't know if your plugs are bad (incorrect for motor, for example, or incorrectly gapped). Additionally, on and off again spark can be due to a poor connection in the plug boot.

So....what's the ignition/spark testing procedure, and what about the plugs?

 

[kooner]

How did you check the tether switch, if you tied the wires together it will have no spark. Neutral safety switch and rectifier do not have an effect on spark

to check the tether there was a wire going into the switch and then a wire coming out of the switch that was tied to a ground. i connected to the wire coming in and attached it straight to the ground. mine has the lanyard that when pulled away the button pops out killing the motor. do i do this wrong? the reason i checked the rectifier is thats one of the tests it tells u to check in the troubleshooting. i thought the rectifier had to do with charging? but i just wanted to give as much info as possible.

 

[kooner]

Don't torch it yet....

Sometimes folks say the spark is "good" when it ain't -- but probably could work the other way too. Are you measuring spark with some kind of tester? (If you are making an inference based on non-starting, there might be something else going on.)

Even testing spark with an adjustable tester, you will get no spark if there is a bad tester ground. (Likewise, no spark if there is a bad ignition component ground.)

And if you DO get spark using a tester, you know the ignition system is producing a charge -- but don't know if your plugs are bad (incorrect for motor, for example, or incorrectly gapped). Additionally, on and off again spark can be due to a poor connection in the plug boot.

So....what's the ignition/spark testing procedure, and what about the plugs?

as far as testing spark i have done the screwdriver in the plug wire and watch for an arch off the block. ive used a plug and grounded it to the block as well. i dont have a light that plugs into the wire to use. the plugs in the motor r brand new and the plugs taken out i kept and they were working fine just had some age to them and i replaced them. i even tried using the old plugs and got nothing.

 

[jbuote]

Not trying to step on any toes, but usually that tether has the switch open so there is NO continuity to ground for normal operation.
​When you pull the lanyard, that closes the switch which completes the circuit to ground, and thus grounds the magnetos/ignition shutting off the engine. (Kills spark)

​Sounds like by grounding it, you've effectively shut off the spark.
Disconnect that wire from ground, and you should have spark..

​That's how I understand it anyway.. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong... lol

 

[flyingscott]

to check the tether there was a wire going into the switch and then a wire coming out of the switch that was tied to a ground. i connected to the wire coming in and attached it straight to the ground. mine has the lanyard that when pulled away the button pops out killing the motor. do i do this wrong? the reason i checked the rectifier is thats one of the tests it tells u to check in the troubleshooting. i thought the rectifier had to do with charging? but i just wanted to give as much info as possible.

Those wires need to be completely disconnected from ground. Take the wires off the tether switch and tape both ends so they cannot touch ground. When you disconnect the tether from the switch it sends the ignition to ground and kills the spark.

 

[kooner]

Those wires need to be completely disconnected from ground. Take the wires off the tether switch and tape both ends so they cannot touch ground. When you disconnect the tether from the switch it sends the ignition to ground and kills the spark.

ok ill try this again. ive tried once before and still got nothing. i took it away from ground and tried it and got nothing. ive been thinking this could be where my problem is but i guess what i was doing wasnt helping my situation. ill try this an see what happens

 

[kooner]

flyingscott do i have to have the remote box grounded in any way? while i have been doing this i have had the remote box off the boat where i can move it around in order to test connections etc.

 

[flyingscott]

flyingscott do i have to have the remote box grounded in any way? while i have been doing this i have had the remote box off the boat where i can move it around in order to test connections etc.

No the box does not need to be connected to everything you are fine with it that way. You just need to make sure the tether wire does not go to ground.

 

[kooner]

well i owe u a huge thank u. the motor fires and runs.i was starting to get a little worried. i by passed the kill switch the correct way and tried it again and it worked. the problem came down to a bad cd box and while trying to confirm i created another problem by incorrectly by passing the kill switch. now the boats all back together and with all the new parts it runs better than it ever has.