cant get it started 225 johnson

[motway]

ok i know how to start an outboard, iv owned 4 in my life. i just bought a boat today even went out fishing on it before i paid for it. it has a 225 johnson on it and it ran great all morning.
i came home and some friends wanted to go out so i said i would take em.

boat needed more fuel so i went to the gas station and followed the old owners instructions for mixing gas with oil. i put in 24 gallons and mixed in 64 oz of oil, is that correct? i think the problem has to do with the gas or the oil/gas mixture.

when i put the boat back in the water it started right away and ran for a few seconds then started to cough cough worse and shut off( think the old fuel was in there for the start then the new stuff started to get in to it). have not been able to get it started again. it kicks over on every try but will not start.

the fuel was bought on a military base, i always use it in my truck and have never had a problem.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

The mixture is right. The engine requires a 50:1 mix which equates to one pint in each six gallons of fuel. You have 24 gallons so 24/6=4 pints or 2 qts which equals 64 ounces. Geez the metric system is so much easier to use. Anyway -- you don't mention the year but when you start the engine are you squeezing the primer bulb until it's firm?. Once that's done, are you turning the key to RUN (not START) and pushing it in and holding for a count of 10. Then turning to START? If not, try it. The 10 count allows the primer solenoid to provide the extra fuel needed for a cold start. It is also possible to have flooded the engine. If that's the case, move the fast idle lever full open and crank to remove excess fuel. This is a new engine to you so it's starting procedure may be very different than the others you owned.

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

iv tried everything but the 10 count thing. primer is pumped hard. its a 1990 year model. its weird dont think it was flooded (or at least thats not the main problem)because i tried to get this @#$%!# to start for about 5 hours.

if you put it in neutral and hold the throttle open maby a quarter of he way it will kick over, hold it all the way it wont kick over until you bring it back to idle. trying to start in idle with no choke being used it kicks over, and it gives me the same reacton when i use the choke. fuel is getting to it because after i have tried starting it for a while fuel(colored black) starts to drip out the exaust. but in all my other engins i have never seen it drip out so thick and black?

cant figure out how a 12 mile drive could have changed it so much, the only thing i changed was putting fuel into it before tha t it ran great.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

It sounds like you have it hopelessly flooded. Remove the plugs, pull the kill switch, spin the engine over, dry the plugs or install new ones and see what happens. Don't forget to install the kill switch lanyard. Cranking an engine for five hours is hard on the starter, battery, and the engine and is a pretty good sign something is wrong that won't get better by more cranking. I agree with you that it's not the fuel or the fuel mixture.

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

What you do have is a QuikStart ignition system that is designed to be easier to start if you know that you have it. It advances the timing for a cold start, and goes back to normal when the engine reaches 96 degrees and/or 1500 RPM.

Mine works best if I don't touch the primer except when the engine is cold and has been sitting awhile. It also works better if I push the key in while I am turning the key to start instead of before I turn to start.

If you set the warm up lever too high and the engine hits 1500 RPM, it will disengage the Quikstart advance too soon. Quikstart engages for a few seconds every time you restart the engine, but cuts out quickly if the engine temperature is already 96 or more.​

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

ok heres an update on this, it sat for a week and i tried it today, engine will start for about 5 seconds and then shut off. tried for a while it runs pretty rough for those 5 seconds and does not get over 1000 rpm. i pulled all the spark plugs and they were all clean except for the 2 in the middle and they were a little wet.
would an engine run for 5 seconds on 4 cylinders? where should i start
all spark plug wires and connections are good, plugs are new.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

compression, spark check with a tester, remove the fuel line at the carb, turn it over and see if getting fuel that far. check spark again after it shuts down. did this engine sit a good while, before you used it, could be crud clogging the low speed jets. have you tried spraying fuel mix (not starter fluid)into the carbs. just a few. is the arrow on the primer bulb pointing toward the engine.

 

[Windykid]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

Question: Do have an oil injection on that motor also, if so you would be getting twice the oil.

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

Go the the cylinder head and disconnect the black and white wire that runs to the powerpack from the temperature switch. This is the wire that controls your QuikStart ignition system in the powerpack. If disconnecting the wire makes no difference, you most likely have an ignition [electrical]problem.

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

got it started, including pictures of what i pulled apart. it started right up as soon as i tried it, but would not shut off using the key so i had to put the connection that i pulled apart back togeather to get it to shut down. if i try to start it with the connection put togeatherit will do the same thing its been doing and start for about 5 seconds or less and then shut off. i also tried it in the water and when i put it under a load it bogged down and shut off. the wire that was on this connecton looked black with a yellow stripe.

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

That's a kill wire. It grounds out the power pack.

The wire runs from the second M connection on the ignition switch to the powerpack and is also connected to the emergency kill switch. Both have a ground, so that when you turn the key to Off, the gound wire M connection closes and grounds out the power pack. The emergency kill switch does the same thing.

You either have a bad ignition switch, a loose emergency kill lanyard, or a short in the black and yellow wire. Check the emergency lanyard first because it's easy and the plastic holders go bad frequently.

The second black and yellow circuit may also be the problem in your case. It is the shift interrupt switch which is located behind the shift arm on the starboard side of the engine. That switch is supposed to short one bank of 3 cylinders when you downshift into neutral with the idea of making it easier to shift. If you locate the shift interrupt switch, you may want to disconnect the ground wire on it, reconnect the plug you showed in your picture , and see if the engine will start.

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

so does this give any indication as to what might be bad(like a power pack) since when i disconect it the engine will start?

 

[Windykid]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

Make sure the kill lanyard is properly installed.

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

Probably nothing major. The Shift interrupt switch could be loose on the bolts, The shift lanyard may be weak - its just plastic. The diode may be bad.

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

From what you have said, there is no reason to think that there is anything wrong with the powerpack. It just looks and sounds like a wiring problem.

 

[motway]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

thanks for leading me in the right direction guys, found the problem it was corroded wireing in the ignition wireing where it connects to the engine. runs great now

 

[ezeke]

Re: cant get it started 225 johnson

Glad that it worked out. Thank you for sharing the results with everyone.