1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

[KewlBird]

Hi everyone this is my first post and I want to say that this is a great website. Already found a ton of information.



I have a 1963 Johnson 40hp Sea Horse Electramatic, I just purchased the boat/motor with some work necessary. It appears that some things were left unfinished when the motor was put in, for instance there is no way to put the motor in gear (no electric control for the shifting), easy fix for me now that I found this website and found electric diagrams.
After cleaning the carb and getting the old fuel out I got the engine to start with starting fuel. The engine will only run when the throtle is at least half way open (I had to by pass the safety switch in order to start with the throttle that high up). Once it gets going it will run but is blowing out of carb every 2-3 seconds (backfire). If I rev it higher it will not do it so much. If I try lower the throttle to normal idle speed it will stall out. Any suggestions?, Looking at a wiring diagram the plug wires seem to be hooked up backwards (Look at the picture), I tried switching them but the motor wouldn't run. There is also one hose coming from the side of the carb that is not hooked up (it is blocked off by a bolt, see picture). Let me know if the plug wires are ok and if that hose is neccassary to be hooked up to something. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

Be sure you have a good strong spark.The coils on these motors tend to fail.you should pull the flywheel and check the coils if cracked or chalky
replace.Back firing is sometimes an indication of lean condition usually from a dirty carb.take it apart and check all jets and passages be sure float operates properly.

 

[KewlBird]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

I cleaned out the carb yesterday, and it ran the same way. The spark looked ok, I put new plugs in too. The fuel started to shoot out of the tube in the carb and from the bottom of the carb when starting even with fuel line removed. It wouldn't start until it stopped shooting fuel out of that tube, anyone know why it would shoot fuel out of carb?This is 3rd instance that it did that in the last 2 days. And the only way I get it started is with starting fuel, once it starts I have to crank the throttle up to keep it running on its own. Here's where the fuel was coming from:

 

[F_R]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

Your carb flooding is caused by a bad float or float valve. Buy a carb repair kit from a dealer, which will include an new float, and do it right. The automatic choke hoses are not connected right. That is one of them with the bolt in it. Can't see which one it is. Matter of fact, you don't even have the automatic choke on the carb, so I guess you don't have anything to hook the hoses to anyway.

 

[KewlBird]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

Your carb flooding is caused by a bad float or float valve. Buy a carb repair kit from a dealer, which will include an new float, and do it right. The automatic choke hoses are not connected right. That is one of them with the bolt in it. Can't see which one it is. Matter of fact, you don't even have the automatic choke on the carb, so I guess you don't have anything to hook the hoses to anyway.

I'm picking up the carb kit tonight. The carb does have an automatic setting on it, so if the hose is not connected it only affects the automatic setting correct?

 

[F_R]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

Yes. Since there is no automatic choke even on it, you have choke on, choke off, and choke whatever.

 

[KewlBird]

Re: 1963 40hp Electramatic, running issues.....

Well, I rebuilt the carb. and the engine runs great now. First time starting it fired right up. I adjusted the low speed valve and it works great. I did have to use a little bit of starting fluid couple of times when I was on the water, only after it stalled because I had the throttle way down. Thanks for all the tips. Now I need to work on the shifting part (awaiting the controller).