1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

[dbarnes42]

I have a 68 Johnson 85 HP that I need help with. The engine harness needed replaced because the wires at the connector were frayed abd brittle. I bought a new harness from CDI and as I was attempting to put it on, I ran into a problem. The previous owner of the boat had cut some of the connectors off and had put new wire in. I have violet/white and violet/yellow wires that don't match up to wires on the new harness. If anyone has any experience with this please let me know. A wiring diagram would be very hlepful if anyone has one.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

That color isn't violet, it's purple.

Purple/white and purple/yellow both pertain to the electric choke solenoid.

However, are you saying that you have a new engine wiring harness that incorporstes a large BLACK electrical plug, and that those two wires lead from it, OR are you saying that those two wires exist elsewhere and you're unsure how to connect them to the harness?

Describe in detail exactly where those wires are and what they're leading from so that we can advise you.

Initially, when the engine was manufactured, it has a dual stage choke solenoid with two wires leading from it with the colors you stated, which were connected to like color wires. This setup was an OMC goof and was corrected to:

Both of the choke solenoid wires (purple/white & purple/yellow) should be connected to the engine wiring harness purple/white wire at the terminal strip. This allows the choke solenoid to be operated strongly when the choke switch is engaged.

The heat operated choke sensor which is usually on top of the starboard portion of the powerhead has a purple wire and a purple/yellow wire. This is no longer used. Cut, remove, and discard those two wires. The original thought of this sensor was to have the choke partially engaged until the engine warmed up..... however, many of the engines as time went by had a tendency to run cool, and this resulted in having a engine running with the choke prtially closed on a continuing basis. Not a good idea!

 

[dbarnes42]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

The harness that I bought is the one with the large black connector under the engine cowling. I did see that the wires in question are going to the choke solenoid. The new harness has a purple and red wire. I was thinking I could match purple to purple and then red to the other purple. Would this be a good idea? Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

It's NEVER a good idea to hook up wires without knowing exactly where they lead to.

With the battery disconnected, and the two BLACK plugs connected together, use a ohm meter to find out where those two wires lead to at the dash, console, control box, whatever type unit you have there.

If that purple wire leads to the "I" terminal of the ignition switch, connect it at the engine to the same terminal that applies 12 volts to the pulsepack, also usually a purple wire.

The red wire you mention, if it leads to the "B" terminal of the ignition switch, and especially if at the engine it has a 20amp fuse holder in it, that would attach to the battery terminal of the starter solenoid.

Use the ohm meter first to be sure, then let us know what you find.

 

[dbarnes42]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

I will take a look at what wire goes where. Thank you very much for your help so far. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[dbarnes42]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

This what I have found: under the back of the flywheel, there is a black wire that goes to a connector and a screw under the flywheel. There is another black wire that is grounded to the power head. This connector also has a red wire and a grey (?) that have been cut. This connector was originally hooked up to the amp.

The rectifier has a red wire and what looks like is supposed to be 2 yellow wires. The yellow wires are spliced together.

The amp has a purple. black/white and gray going into one connector and a blue going into another connector.

The coiland yoke assy has 1 black wire going to a connector, another black wire grounded to the coil and another black wire going to ground on the power head.

 

[dbarnes42]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

Could someone please tell me if this engine has a voltage regulator and if so, where is it located on the engine.

 

[dbarnes42]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

Joe, I took some pictures of what I was trying to say with regards to the wires. Do you have a e-mail address and phone number so that I can send you the pictures and then call and discuss?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1968 Johnson 85 hp engine harness

That's always included as below. Just let your cursor hang over it and click.