Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Thank you Ezeke! Unfortunately I read your diagram after tightening and closing the gal up. Why is this unfortunate you might ask Well, whoever put
the thermostats in before i got inside of her, put the cork thermostat gasket
on top instead of sliding up the body like your diagram shows! I wonder if you Guys can guess which way I installed the thermostat gasket.... Exactly, just like the person who put the thermostats in that I just replaced. My hopes are it
will still operate correctly; to late to run her to see if my hot issue is resolved, but I have my fingers crossed I"ll have my answer in the morning.
it operated before with the thermosta gasket in reverse position hopefully it will do as before, any feedback on this latest fiasco would be appreciated. Thanks again Guys for all your help:)
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Drop the lower unit a ton of sand everywhere! Removed the thermostat.
Flushed all cavities well. The water pressure really opened up a lot of the passages just as Joe suggested. I think for now, with increase of water flow
that I saw after the third flushing of the unit. I'm safe from having to deal with the head that got hot, (gasket). Installing new water pump tommorrow
Impellar Kit! Hopefully tommorrow at the end I will be on the cool side once again. Thanks Guys For All your help. sometimes we get ahead of ourselves
asking for advice, but doing it our way; then going back and doing it the right way with someone who has shed light on the subject.
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Good news Bad news. Good news engine running not getting hot. Bad news
when connecting the shift rod i moved the throttle a little bit to line it up. When
I put it in forward gear nothing. Put it in reverse something. call me crazy
but it seems when its in reverse the prop looks like its spining. forward anybody have aheads up on this one. Thanks Guys.
 

emdsapmgr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
11,551
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Not necessarily bad news. The shift rod screws into the lower. As such it's height is slightly adjustable. Screwing it in or out will alter the measurement and it's shifting. There is a specific measurement that is in the service manual. Unlikely that you changed this measurement much during your repairs. If you moved it only slightly, you may be able to make an adjustment at the end of the shift cable in the cowling. Unhook the shift cable under the cowl and see if you can shift the lower by hand into F-N-R. If it manually shifts ok, make your adjustment to the engine end of the shift cable and reconnect it. If there is not just enough adjustment left there, you will have to remove the lower and reposition the shift rod to the right height.
 

ezeke

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
12,532
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

The measurement for the shift rod is from the mating surface of the gearcase to the center of the hole at the top of the rod with the gearcase in neutral.

The numbers are:

Standard long shaft = 21.834" +/- .036";

Extra long shaft = 26.834" +/- .036".

You can make a measuring device with a pair of inexpensive yardsticks and a crosspiece. Use your most accurate measuring device to set the crosspiece.
 

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Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Emdsapmr Thank you. When I pushed the lower unit in I left the shift rod straight the way it came out. Never checking the top of the shift rod when
putting back the lower unit, I discovered that it was not lined up in the center to connect it. I dropped the lower unit a little to turn the rod with pliers
maybe turned 1/4 of an inch if that much to get it dead center. I will try disconnecting the cable to see if I can manually shift F-N-R as you suggested.

Ezeke thanks for the numbers on the height of the shift rod.And
the yard stick photo.

I also noticed when I started the motor it was idling fast. The part where the idling screw is attached was forward about a 1 1/2", so I push the part back so the rubber stopper on the idle screw rested flush against the engine (normal idling position upon start up.) When I let the part go it snaps back to 1 1/2"
forward. This is kinda strange because I never adjusted it. The idle screw previously has always rested flush on the engine. Any advice on this issue
will be a wonderful thing. Thanks Guys for all your help!
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Emdsapmr, got the cabling off the shift mechanism. Manually moved it backwards (stern), which I'm assuming is the reverse gear, the shift rod clicked in place. Moved shifter dead center straight up clicked in placeThinking it must be neutral.

Shifted forward toward the bow. would not engage all the way;it just shifted out of gear back to straight up position, I'm assuming to the (neutral ) position.

My question is 1. in which direction do I turn the shaft clockwise or counter clockwise;
to get it all the way in gear in the forward direction?

2.Can I Dropped the lower unit a little to clear the linkage where it connects, and
rotate the shift rod with needle nose pliers?

3. Or the smart way dropping
the whole unit and measuring the shaft with the numbers Ezeke provided? Hmmm..... Any thoughts to this scenario would be great! Once again Guys thanks for all your help!
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Fantastic news, one of the cables was in the way, preventing the shifter to engage
when pushed forward. Looks like its just a cable adjustment issue. so now I'm
able F-N-R with the current shift rod adjustment! Thanks again Emdsapmr.
I'll let you Guys know how it turn out after I adjust the cabling. Peace:)
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
24
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

Cable definitely an issue here, It was always kind of goofy. Thought it was the
Control throttle. Turns out to be a blessing in disguise, the shift cable broke. Happened to have a cable off an VRO 85 115 johnny Hanging around. Ran it through hooked it up; its a little longer than the original, but it works great!


Clamped down the excess so it wouldn't crimp. Throttle feels Nice and Smooth!
Thought I would have to get a new control Box. But it was the bad cable
that gave it an awful feel. Hopefully I can get it to the water this week sometime cant wait.Thank All of you Guys for your input on Getting my boat up and running sweet again I really Appreciate it :D
 

sweetmelissa

Cadet
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
14
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

I have a couple of problems and I'm looking for some help:

Problem #1:
At full throttle I start to lose power and I have to squeeze the primer bulb which is soft and it will pick right back up to normal speed running fine. It will stay hard for a little while and go soft again sometimes minutes later during the same test run. Any thoughts?

Problem #2:
I start the engine and within 3-5 minutes At low idle speed in nuetral and also when in gear at low speeds under 5 mph I will get an alarm that goes off ( 1 beep per sec. )This will continue until I rev the engine in nuetral or go faster than 10 mph in gear and then it stops. If I'm in gear going at a trolling speed and it sounds I can move the trottle and go faster and the beeps get faster ( 2-3 per second ) and then it stops beeping. The alarm has never sounded at speeds 10 mph or faster... Once the alarm goes sounds I can speed up and the beeps get quicker as I speed up. If I slow back down they get slower. But once I reach a certain speed around 9 - 12 mph they alarm stops..... I can run the engine at a slow a trolling speed and it will sound and then I can go fast and it will go off until I slow back down then within a few minutes of going slow again it will sound. Any thoughts?

Engine is a 1985 Johnson 90 hp.

Questions: What would make this alarm sound? Heat, Oil, water pump?

Here is the last work I had performed at the shop on June 24th, 2007:
1 - fuel filter 3/8" - $5.90
2 - KIT AY, F Pump&LMTR - $335
3 - KIT AY, Carb repair - $57.99 ( quanity 2 )
4 - Starter - $184
5 - Gasket V4 T-stat OM -
6 - Thomostat 130 Degr ( quanity 2 ) - $19.98
7 - Relief Valve Poppet - $2.19
8 - L77JC4 - Spark plug - $11.60 ( quanity 4 )
9 - Grommet OMC 321692 - $6.38 ( quanity 2 )

Mechanic Notes:
- Load tested battery it is O.K.
- Checked starter, it was drawing excessive amperage, replaced
- Checked fuel system, replaced several broken fuel clampsl
Test ran engine, excessive smoking due to several issues, replaced bad VRO pump, rebult carbs and repaired fuel leaks.
- Engine was running extremely cold, replaced thermostats.
- Engine runs much better now, shift and temp tested O.K.
- Engine is starting to have some internal wear.
Final Bill: $1297.57 ( ouch ) Engine ran great with no issues until August of 2009. I got 2 good summers and now I'm having the following issues mentioned above.
 

ezeke

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
12,532
Re: Continuous alarm sounding Johnson 115 "79

To sweetmelissa:

Issue 1 is caused by a fuel obstruction prior to the primer bulb unless it is caused by the primer bulb itself.

Check tank vent, pickup screen, anti-siphon valve, filter if before the primer bulb. Fuel line should be at least 5/16.

Issue 2 is from your VRO system. There are adequate tests outlined in your service manual. Have you checked for air leaks in the system? Have you changed the oil filter in the oil tanK?

When there is a fuel obstruction in the gasoline side of a VRO, the oil side will pump too much oil. If there is an air leak the VRO will also pump too much oil and you have the added risk of running lean and damaging the engine.
 
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