Re: 1987 Johnson 225 - lost power!
KFranklin.... No offense intended to anyone here, but the 1987 200/225hp did not incorporate the S.L.O.W. feature. Question.... what is meant by the term you used of (16:6)? First time I've come across that.<br /><br />Regardless of the problem, it's best to take a compression reading. That engine should give a reading of approximately 100+ psi and even on all cylinders. Due to the nature of the beast, leave all the spark plugs in, excepting the cylinder you're reading, otherwise the starter bendix will kick out prematurely.<br /><br />NOTE: DO NOT have the ignition key in the ON position! Leave the ignition switch in the OFF position, and crank the engine at the starter solenoid (small jumper from battery side of the solenoid to the small 3/8" nut terminal.... not the ground terminal). You DO NOT want that engine to start while you're taking a compression check!<br /><br />Next, rig up a spark tester whereas you can set a gap of 7/16". Remove all the spark plugs. You should be able to get a strong blue flame that will jump that gap easily on all six cylinders.<br /><br />If you do not obtain spark as mentioned above, look under the flywheel closely. There is a stator there whereas the small shinny coils pertain to the charging system. The two large black coils you see at the back of the stator pertain to the ignition system. Those two large black coils supply approximately 300v AC to the powerpack(s).<br /><br />The charging portion of the stator is a 35amp charging system and runs quite hot. In time it results in having those two large black coils melt down. If so, you should be able to see a substance that has dripped out of them down to the powerhead area. When this happens, there is a voltage drop, the stator can not supply the needed 300v to the pack(s) and the pack fails to function. There are times when one cannot see the melt down and it is necessary to remove the flywheel to view the stator properly.<br /><br />Note that even with a melted down stator, there are times when the engine is cold that the stator will function. But as the engine warms up, and the stator gets hot, it (the ignition) fails as explained.<br /><br />Note that the flywheel nut torque is exactly 145 foot pounds. Failure to torque the nut will result in a sheared flywheel key and damage to the flywheel and crankshaft tapers.<br /><br />While you're looking under that flywheel, check to see if the magnets have come loose. They should all be locked (epoxy) in place with roughly a 1/4" space between them. Let us know what you find.
