Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

[HighTrim]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Interesting, never seen one of them before!

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

I removed the red coil and tested it per Hightrim's link that he provided in his post above. The only difference was that my multimeter ohm settings were in 2's instead of 1's, ie 20, 200, 20k etc instead of 1, 10, 100 etc. When I tested the primary winding I got a reading of 1.0. The link said I should see 0. When I tested the secondary winding i got nothing. Does that mean my coil is bad?

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

A pic of my multimeter just to clear up any confusion. This is the setting I used to test the coil.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

I removed the red coil and tested it per Hightrim's link that he provided in his post above. The only difference was that my multimeter ohm settings were in 2's instead of 1's, ie 20, 200, 20k etc instead of 1, 10, 100 etc. When I tested the primary winding I got a reading of 1.0. The link said I should see 0. When I tested the secondary winding i got nothing. Does that mean my coil is bad?

it appears that way. Swap the coils and see if the no spark moves to the other cylinder. It sure looks like the red coil had damage on the top

 

[bwkre]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

The Primary winding is a heavier shorter wire and will show a resistance near zero. I would say your primary winding is good. To test the secondary winding with a digital meter you will have to change the range. You are on the zero to 200 ohm scale and it will indicate an open circuit if the resistance is above 200 ohms. The secondary winding is a much smaller wire and a longer winding than the primary one. You will have to move the range on the meter to 2000K which is a maximum of 2 million ohms. Redo the test on the secondary and see what you get. Be sure to keep your fingers off the tester probes as the resistance of your body will affect the result. Try it, one probe into each thumb, if you don't get a reading press harder or lick your thumbs first. Don't worry no shocks from this test! Let us know what your reading of the secondary is.

If you do not get a reading or you get a decimal reading ( like .6 ) then move to the 200k range. Keep dropping a range until you get a whole number reading. ( in some cases it may not be possible so you would use the decimal result). The reading you get will be multiplied by 1000. Example 12 on the 200k range is 12000 ohm. 85 would be 85000 ohm. The same holds true for the 20k and 2000k range but it allows for a different maximum resistance . Make sense? K is a multiplier of 1000

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Ok.. I turned the crank shaft and what I found was the points on the bad cylinder did not open. They did nothing, stayed closed. They dont seem to be touching the cam on the crankshaft at any point while rotating it. I noticed that the points on the good cylinder would open when the word "top" on the crankshaft would touch them. Make sense?

 

[bwkre]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

If you look closely at the word "top" you will probably see a tiny triangle pointing to the edge. When the points arm lines up with this mark, the points will be open. That is when the plug fires. You got it right. If one set of points is not opening the that cylinder is not going to fire. If you disconnect the coil and capacitor you can use your meter to test the open/close of the points. Be sure to ONLY turn the crank CLOCKWISE or you could damage the water pump. Here is a good link to checkout. It is for a 3hp but the operation and repair is basically the same. Once you are ready to set your points, the timing, it is better to do it with the flywheel and the timing marks on the mounting plate. I think it is more accurate.

3 HP Evinrude Lightwin Ignition System Tune-Up 1952-1967

another good explanation, read the fourth post here. He tells exactly how it set the timing

http://forums.iboats.com/johnson-evinrude-outboards/1959-johnson-18-hp-fd-13-timing-554795.html

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

So do I need a new set of points or can I just set the gap on the points that are alreay there?

 

[bwkre]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

If the points are in good shape, no pitting, gouges, burn't spots, irregular surfaces, etc. then you should be able to just gap them. A tune up kit is cheap and would include points and capacitors. When I did mine last year( 61 18hp ) I just changed them so I could rule out any problems that might have affected spark. Probably $20 for the kit! How did you make out testing your coil secondary winding? Did you get a reading?

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Yea i did get a reading. Cant remember exactly what the number was however and I just finished putting it back on. I swaped the coils to see if the issue moved to the other cylinder to rule out the coil I thought was bad. Haven't been able to start it yet to see. I am going to get a feeler guage and set the points tomorrow and then I'll try and fire it up.

 

[bwkre]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Make sure you torque the flywheel nut or you take a chance of shearing the key and possibly damaging the taper on the crank and flywheel. I'm not sure what the spec is but you should be able to find it doing a search, or maybe some one will post it for you.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

If the poins are not opening/closing there is something mechanically wrong with them. You wont even be able to set the gap until you figure this out.

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Hightrim the points do open, they just weren't touching the crank at any point while the crank was turning to make them open up. I rotated the crank to where the word "top" on the crank was over the point and then rotated the point adjustment screw until the point opened up. Now when I rotate the crank the point opens up just like the other one. I am going to get a feeler guage today and set the gap and go from there. Hopefully I can get this thing going because Saturday duck season opens back up and it has to be running by then. :rant:.

I really appreciate all the help!

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Clean and re-gap the points at .020 and you're good to go. It's that simple. If the points aren't opening, then they just need to be adjusted. Make sure the securing screw is tight, or they'll just move again. Put a tiny dab of grease on the can, so the heel of the points don't wear off as quick.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Ah I understand now.

After setting them, be sure to clean them well. I clean them with acetone, then run business card stock through them.

Put the flywheel on, and pull it over before you torque it all down to ensure you have spark.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Can you set the points without a test light? I don't have one and have seen in other post that all I need to do is align the key on the crankshaft with the point arm and then set the gap at this position.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

You can do it with simply a feeler gauge at 020 when the points arm is on the highest point of the cam.

This is the point when the viewing window in the flywheel is overtop of the points.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

zap, if you already havent, you should have a look at the top secret file at the beginning of this forum....lotsa good info and tips!

 

[Zapit2um]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

First off I want to thank everyone that participated in this discussion! Lots of helpful advice given and I really do appreciate it! I reset the gap on the set of points that was failing to open and checked the other set and they needed reset also. Fired the motor up in my homemade test tank and it purred like a kitten!!! :rockon: I did the spark plug test by unhooking each plug and the motor stayed running so I am getting spark to both cylinders now! I may take it to the river tonight, not sure yet, if not tonight then tomorrow after work when I have some light. I know I need to reset the high speed idle as I jacked with it thinking that was the issue at first. I expect it to run just great but will let everyone know after I do. Again thanks for all the help!!! This forum is awesome!

:joyous::joyous::joyous:

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Help with 1960 Johnson 18hp Seahorse

Awesome, enjoy the run!

Im jealous, all mine are sleeping for the winter.