Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

[mister-hankey]

Hello,

I am new here and relatively new to boat ownership. I recently
got an older 16' deckboat with a 74 Johnson 115 outboard.
We went to the lake last weekend and the first day out it
started and ran great. In fact we went all over the lake and
shut it off and started it several times. However when we
returned to shore for several hours and went to start it
again.....nothing. It won't even turn over and acts like there
is no power going to the motor as it makes no sound at all when
I turn the key. I think it might be an electrical problem because
I know the battery is good. There was some water in the bottom
of the back of the boat with the cables and wires. Is it possible
water got into something and shorted it out or something shook loose?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give me.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

welcome to iboats!

yah, my boat had wiring like that when it was first given to me. you'll sort that out whenever you get time. But I highly recommend moving "bilge pump" to the top of the priority list.

But a little bit of dampness back there isn't likely to shut ya down. Unless it's a chronic condition, in which case you want to take apart all the cabling battery to solenoid to starter, clean it till it shines and then make it tight-tight-tight!

Look on the port side, high on the engine for an inline fuse holder on a red wire that runs between the starter solenoid and the big red main harness plug. If that 20-amp fuse is blown, no power will get to the keyswitch.

If you can hear the choke solenoid engage when you push-to-choke, then that fuse is ok.

There's a neutral safety switch in the control box, if it fails, power won't get from the keyswitch to the starter solenoid.

before ya open up the control box, get out your multimeter and see if you're getting 12 volts to the solenoid, the small terminal (the one without the black ground wire). Good voltage to the solenoid, and the solenoid ground is solid, but it doesn't "click", then you got a faulty solenoid.

 

[crb478]

Re: Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

Along with what has already been said clean all of your connections at the engine and the battery until they are shiny. make sure that you have good current comming through. If possible try to substitute jumper cables for the battery cables to make sure that you can get enough current thorough.

 

[mister-hankey]

Re: Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

Thanks for the advice. I will see what I can find.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

The handle on the remote control has to be straight up to be in neutral or the neutral safety switch will not allow you to restart the motor. Put the handle straight up and shake it a little to be sure you have disabled the switch.

 

[mister-hankey]

Re: Problem with 74 Johnson 115 outboard

Thanks for all the great advice. Ezeke, turns out you were right.
It is the neutral safety switch. It seems to be faulty. Every time
I try to start it, I have to shake the throttle handle a couple of
times before it will turn the engine over.

Can the safety switch be easily replaced or do you need a
new control box?

Thanks..........