I have a '96 70hp Johnson (J70TLEDA) that is giving me fits trying to start. The problem has been getting worse over the past year and has now gotten to the point where it is constant. Sorry this is wordy, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
The motor turns over just fine with the key. If I pull start it with a cord, it fires right up and runs just fine. It starts just fine with the key once the engine has warmed up, even after sitting for an hour or two. Once the engine starts, there are no problems. It runs fine and accelerates fine.
I replaced the plugs (were Champion QL78YC, now NKG 6422) with gap set to 0.030 and plug wires, the battery (fully charged), and the ignition switch. I've cleaned the positive and neg battery connections on the motor and battery. I've checked voltage and voltage drop at several points along the system and everything seems fine. The starter solenoid tests fine with a multi-meter (voltage drop and resistance). I haven't checked timing and it is obviously getting fuel and the priming solenoid is doing it's job.
Here is where it gets strange. Turning the motor over cold, I get one spark off each cylinder as the key is released (no spark while cranking). I discovered while troubleshooting that if I disconnect the Amphenol connector that has the temp sensor and the yellow/red start wire that goes to the Power Pack, the motor fires right up. However if I charge the battery up completely and then start immediately it will sometimes fire right up (but I get one shot). I'm guessing that this would be from the motor spinning fast enough to keep running from just one spark
Any ideas of what I should check? Thanks in advance for any help and thanks again to jtexas for helping me get this far on my problem.
The motor turns over just fine with the key. If I pull start it with a cord, it fires right up and runs just fine. It starts just fine with the key once the engine has warmed up, even after sitting for an hour or two. Once the engine starts, there are no problems. It runs fine and accelerates fine.
I replaced the plugs (were Champion QL78YC, now NKG 6422) with gap set to 0.030 and plug wires, the battery (fully charged), and the ignition switch. I've cleaned the positive and neg battery connections on the motor and battery. I've checked voltage and voltage drop at several points along the system and everything seems fine. The starter solenoid tests fine with a multi-meter (voltage drop and resistance). I haven't checked timing and it is obviously getting fuel and the priming solenoid is doing it's job.
Here is where it gets strange. Turning the motor over cold, I get one spark off each cylinder as the key is released (no spark while cranking). I discovered while troubleshooting that if I disconnect the Amphenol connector that has the temp sensor and the yellow/red start wire that goes to the Power Pack, the motor fires right up. However if I charge the battery up completely and then start immediately it will sometimes fire right up (but I get one shot). I'm guessing that this would be from the motor spinning fast enough to keep running from just one spark
Any ideas of what I should check? Thanks in advance for any help and thanks again to jtexas for helping me get this far on my problem.
