Intermittent No Start - Completely Dead

[cdods]

Hi,

We have 1980 Johnson (J100 MLCSC) that has developed an intermittent no start. It seems to start fine out of the water (and at the mechanics), but once in the water will intermittently go completely dead. It's never died while running, but will be suddenly dead when attempting to start it. Once dead, it seems to stay that way until pulled from the water for a while. The battery tests out fine, so it's got to be a short of some kind in the wiring.

I've downloaded the wiring diagrams and am going to take a crack at figuring how what's up this week, but wondering if anyone has seen this before and/or might have any suggestions.

Thanks,

Caleb

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Intermittent No Start - Completely Dead

Probably not a "short" but rather an open somewhere. Check that all connections are clean and tight, a problem like that is often a bad connection of either the positive cable to the solenoid or starter, or the negative cable to the engine ground. Also check connections to the battery, again must be clean and tight. It's also possible to have a cable corrode internally and look perfectly ok.