1978 Johnson 35 HP Safety Switch

[JoeFromAkron]

So I recently got a 35 hp Johnson 35EL78R. The electric choke didn't work becasue of corroded contacts on the choke switch so I just got a new push to choke switch. That works great. I also got a safety switch becasue it didn't have one. I am getting confused on exactly how to wire up the safety though. The one I got has two M poles and two S poles. I know I am supposed to use the M poles but am not exactly sure how to wire it in. I am thinking I am supposed to put it between the same wires that go to them M poles on the ignition switch? Thing is, the colored wires on my harness don't match the wiring diagrams.

I know this is a simple thing, I've just never done it before. The picture is what I have. I had already taken off the lead for the battery that was red. The little purplish cable there is going to the choke switch from the A pole and the choke lead was Purple and white like it should be. So on the new ignition switch I have nothing on the A pole. I dont have the cable for the tachometer I've seen in a bunch of diagrams. I am thinking I am supposed to put the safety between the Blue and the Blue/White wires for my particular setup but I wanted to ask first.

My Plan is to just get some wire and screw terminals and connect either end to the M poles on both the switch and ignition and that will give the ground to stop the motor if I fall out.

Thanks for any guidance. I know this is simple stuff I just don't want to fry anything because the motor is perfect.

Joe

 

[racerone]

Make sure you DO NOT apply 12 volts to any M terminals.-----That might get expensive.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

Make sure you DO NOT apply 12 volts to any M terminals.-----That might get expensive.

Ha, yeah I do know that one. I got the actual ignition working just fine. :joyous:

 

[Bosunsmate]

You just need to put a ground wire with the switch on that line and the other end connected to the black kill wire (sometimes theres a double connection on it but you can rig up your own connector). That way when the switch activates it puts ground on to the killwire line

 

[JoeFromAkron]

You just need to put a ground wire with the switch on that line and the other end connected to the black kill wire (sometimes theres a double connection on it but you can rig up your own connector). That way when the switch activates it puts ground on to the killwire line

My plan is to get the ground from the raised M on the ignition to the safety switch and then from the safety switch to the sunken in M on the ignition which if I know what I'm talking about should be the kill wire. Does that sound ok?

On mine, the kill wire is blue & white (looks dark in the picture) at least I am assuming its the kill wire becasue that's what I connected to the sunken M and all the diagrams show to connect the kill wire that terminal and it works. The ground wire to the battery is the blue one that I connected the the raised M. I am thinking someone "customized" the wiring becasue none of the colors match any of the info I've found.

 

[F_R]

You are right, somebody has messed with the wires. Blue and blue/white are for magneto ignition. Not that you can't make it work if you ignore colors in favor of where they actually go.

More to the point, yes connect your kill switch between the two M terminals.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

You are right, somebody has messed with the wires. Blue and blue/white are for magneto ignition. Not that you can't make it work if you ignore colors in favor of where they actually go.

More to the point, yes connect your kill switch between the two M terminals.

Well thanks for confirming that. All the various diagrams and explanations I found here made it seem like that, I just never installed a safety switch. To be honest, I've never even used one but I figured it's never too late to make sure your boat does not run you over if you fall out. Could the wiring harness be for a different year and just happen to work? I looked at it again tonight and it actually looks "un-customized"... Its got the proper black plug and all the wiring on the motor looks original also. It's actually in really good shape.

 

[F_R]

No Title

This might be the wiring harness you have. I have no way of verifying it from here. This is the diagram for a 1976 40hp with the OMC Lo-Tension Magneto.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

Ha! Yeah that's actually exactly it, at least from the plug to the ignition. Or it was, except now it has a push to choke ignition switch. I am wondering if the guy I got it from just gave me the wrong wiring harness. He had about 50 outboards of all sizes and years. After seeing this diagram I would not be surprised.

 

[gm280]

JoeFromAkron, That is the same wiring diagram for my '76 40 HP Johnson OB. It is in the factory shop manual. If you don't have one, I would recommend you buy one. Everything is in that factory shop manual for your engine. JMHO

 

[JoeFromAkron]

JoeFromAkron, That is the same wiring diagram for my '76 40 HP Johnson OB. It is in the factory shop manual. If you don't have one, I would recommend you buy one. Everything is in that factory shop manual for your engine. JMHO

Thats on my list of stuff to buy. I do have the Clymer manual and it's not terrible but it covers about 30 years so....

 

[JoeFromAkron]

You are right, somebody has messed with the wires. Blue and blue/white are for magneto ignition. Not that you can't make it work if you ignore colors in favor of where they actually go.

More to the point, yes connect your kill switch between the two M terminals.

So I Know it been a little bit..... I connected the safety switch between the two M terminals on the ignition switch and when I pull the switch it has no effect.

Also, I did get the Johnson service manual from somebody on ebay.

 

[gm280]

Joe, I see you now have two threads about your new-to-you engine. You can post every issue concerning your engine in one thread and that way everybody knows everything about your engine. Maybe the mods can combine them into one. JMHO

 

[JoeFromAkron]

Joe, I see you now have two threads about your new-to-you engine. You can post every issue concerning your engine in one thread and that way everybody knows everything about your engine. Maybe the mods can combine them into one. JMHO

This is just copied from the other post.

So I have a probably stupid question. This motor is new to me. This past weekend I had it out and at some point the choke solenoid quit engaging when I pushed the key in. I discovered this becasue the motor stalled due to a air leak somewhere coming from the fuel tank but I think I fixed that. I figured out last night that the choke does engage when the engine is cranking and I push the key in at the same time so it works.

That's all good except that I won't be able to choke it on and off as it gets up to temp. Anyone have any idea what might cause that? I have the service manual but couldn't find anything about this issue.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

Joe, I see you now have two threads about your new-to-you engine. You can post every issue concerning your engine in one thread and that way everybody knows everything about your engine. Maybe the mods can combine them into one. JMHO

So what I meant was that the choke, when cold, does not work unless I am also cranking the engine. Meaning that if I push in the key on my new ignition switch while not turning to the start position it does nothing. But that's a new thing, becasue I've had it out a few times and it worked like it should at first. I'm honestly not sure what it was doing when the engine was warm.

I had the motor stall out at low speed when I was coming back to the dock sunday. It started right back up but when I got to the dock I took the cover off and saw a big air bubble in the fuel line between the connector and the fuel pump. The guy I got the motor from had put clear fuel lines on it. I think that issue was a crap connector on the tank. I bought a new tank a hose assembly when I got the motor but I got this "universal" Atwood one and it was plastic, seemed cheaply made and leaked when I disconnected the line. I got the correct brass connector and fuel line connector. I think that issue is fixed after I get the air out of the line. It actually was running fine until it stalled.

That long story is how I noticed the choke not working becasue I started it after I had the cover off and saw it wasn't working. When I got home last night I went out, just to see if it magically fixed itself and when I just push the key in I get nothing but when cranking it the choke does engage. In fact it fired right up, which I know is not something I want to be doing even for a second or two without muffs on. I didn't expect the choke to work, so I didn't think it would start... yes I do dumb stuff sometimes.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

And when I got home last night it had magically fixed itself and still worked this morning. I hadn't touched anything but the ignition switch key. Gotta be a wiring issue, right?

 

[Bosunsmate]

most likely

 

[JoeFromAkron]

I had some new fun with this motor this past weekend. The choke still works right. I went up to Lake Erie and tried trolling with it. My problem that I thought was air in the fuel line is something else. It wouldn't start back up after I stopped it and switched to the electric motor for a bit. I did think that it was producing more smoke than it should. I was convinced it was still a fuel delivery issue so I re-plumbed the fuel line to the fuel pump on the water and took out the safety switch because I thought it was not firing. I keep a cen of starting fluid for emergencies, but nada. Nothing worked. I couldn't get it to start for about 45 mins. As I was almost back to the ramp I had the bright idea that maybe it was flooded. I pulled the fuel line, cranked it and after about 10 seconds it started. I plugged in the fuel line real quick and as long as I kept the throttle up a bit it was fine. I ran it roughly 8 miles back and forth after that with no issue.

I got back home, pulled the plugs and they were fouled really bad and gaped a bit wide. I got new plugs and ran it on muffs in the driveway for 25 mins at lowest idle. Pulled the plugs again and they were fine. Today, I took it back out to a smaller lake, it stalled out again at lowest speed but this time the fuel lines were dry. It started back up after I pumped it back up. I ran it at a low speed just putting around for an hour or so. it was smoking too much again except when I ran it full throttle for a few mins. It still wanted to stall if I took the throttle all the way down bit was OK if I kept it up a bit.

When I got home I consulted the fuel sections in both my Johnson Service and Clymer manuals. The Clymer one describes a fuel pump issue when a pinhole in the diaphragm leaks excess fuel into the crankcase and causes excessive smoking, rough running, foul plugs and will flood the motor at low speeds but be fine at full throttle. It even says most people will assume there is an ignition issue.... Which describes me pretty well. The fuel pump is showing its age pretty well, so I ordered a new one. I certainly hope that's what it is because the carb does not appear to be flooding.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

No Title

I got the new fuel pump on last night. The old one definitely showed signs of leakage. At least it what I would expect to find if it was leaking.... Both sides of the gasket had oil/fuel on it and the pump itself had fuel/oil in the port. Ran it on the muffs for about 20 mins, reset the low speed needle. I realized while doing that, I could never really get it to "sneeze" trying adjusting the low speed needle. Makes sense I suppose that if the motor is getting extra fuel from a failed fuel pump that it would never be running lean....Hopefully that fixes it.

 

[JoeFromAkron]

So after I got the new fuel pump on it was still flooding, just not as bad. It wasn't stalling but if I ran it at lowest speed it would bog down when I increased the throttle for a bit then clear up. I figured there are enough posts on here about carb cleaning and such.... I also noticed a slight bit of fuel coming out of the carb. .I took it all apart cleaned it out and put it back together. All the gaskets, the inlet valve and low speed needle all looked good so I didn't get a new kit. If it still acts up im going to do the full kit. I ran it in the driveway at low speed for about an hour with no problems or noticeable flooding in the carb after reassembling.

I did have to set the low speed needle a little less than 1 full turn out to get it to run smooth. Probably closer to 3/4 out. I'm wondering if I am just a moron and had the way needle to far out... The service manual said to start 1 1/4 turn out and adjust from there so I kind of feel like I shouldn't have had to turn the so far in though.