HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

[learningasIgo]

Hi to all. I am newly registered to iboats - even though I have been reading many of your posts over the last month or so and have found much of your knowledge very helpful. I am new to working on outboards and really new to boating as well. I am an industrial maintenance technician and a mechanic/farmer's son. So I'm not concerned about my ability, just need some guidance and knowledge if you would be willing to lend a hand. That all said, here's the problem:

Bought a 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 hp the other day for $175. Seemed like a great deal considering all the similar motors I was checking out were asking $450-$900. The motor has great compression on both cylinders and has been garage kept - though it is obvious it has seen the water several times over it's life. Has new oil in lower unit. Tried to see if it would fire and the way it "jerked" made it obvious to me that it was only trying to fire on one cylinder. Pulled the plugs and checked the fire and found that - sure enough - the lower had no fire. Of course I swapped the plugs to ensure that it wasn't cause by a bad plug - it wasn't.

I am assuming that there is a coil under the flywheel that I will need to get to and replace either that or the wire. Any case, is there anything I need to know about pulling the flywheel that may cause me problems on timing when I re-assemble it? Does anyone have a good link to a manual or good diagram of this motor. I found a parts diagram on marineengine.com, but it's not quite what I was looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Travis

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Re: 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Just a bump to hopefully get a look from someone who knows these motors.

 

[MudLake]

Re: 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Re: 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

I have two indentical motors.
both are 1961 18/20 HP on my 15 foot starcraft.

There is no timing issues to run into with these motors.

I did have to change both coils an points in each of mine and
the water pump for good measure.

Easy to work on and very depenable.

cheers

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Thanks. Parts are pretty easy to come by and affordable?? Was $175 a good deal??

 

[MudLake]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

this url should help

http://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-parts.php

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Anyone know what the torgue spec for the flywheel is on this motor??

 

[lindy46]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Anyone know what the torgue spec for the flywheel is on this motor??

40-45ft/lbs

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Thanks for the info. I have now go the points set (0.020") and new spark plugs (gapped @ 0.030"). I now have spark on both cylinders. Took the carb off as well and went through it. All looks good. Will torque flywheel back on and install carb tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

I was trying to look up parts on marineengine.com, to get prices on coils and points for my motor. Can't seem to find parts. Can anyone help with this please. Thanks.

 

[cajuncook1]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Thanks for the info. I have now go the points set (0.020") and new spark plugs (gapped @ 0.030"). I now have spark on both cylinders. Took the carb off as well and went through it. All looks good. Will torque flywheel back on and install carb tomorrow and see how it goes.

Why are trying to buy points and coils if you have good spark on both cylinders. If you set the points and you now have spark/fire, then leave them alone.....there fine. Maybe I missed something??

There are parts available here on Iboats for your ignition and carb.

coils http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...gd_poid=109172&gd_row=72&**********=037917577


tune up kit( with points and condensers)

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...gd_poid=111576&gd_row=15&**********=037917577

carb kit without float

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...gd_poid=109333&gd_row=28&**********=037917577

water pump/ impeller repair kit

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...&gd_poid=110866&gd_row=9&**********=037917577


Here is the complete list of parts for your motor that Iboats has to offer.

http://www.boatmotors.com/parts/johnson/

Any marine gear oil that is 80/90W should do fine. (Wal Mart, Academy and etc)

Good luck!!

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Why are trying to buy points and coils if you have good spark on both cylinders. If you set the points and you now have spark/fire, then leave them alone.....there fine. Maybe I missed something??
Good luck!!

Really just wanting to have info handy. One coil (the one that goes to plug that didn't have spark before) is a little cloudy and other one is very clear. Also, points show some definite wear. Don't really know how long they (coils and points) last?? Forgive the ignorance. Very new to working on outboards.

Thanks so much for the info.

 

[Glenn Romain]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

You got a good motor The SeaHorses are real Workhorses Tought and dependable. I rebuilt a 1963 FD17 with new coils condenser points and plugwires with a new carb kit also. A few other things that you should look at are the fuel lines in the motor compartment . I was out on the river when i had one break off the fuel pump it happened just after i shot this little video lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM_JGQn4wbE

Also make sure your recoil rope is in good shape because it can leave you stranded also and dont forget a spare shear pin and cotter pin for the prop you never know when you will need them. Once you have done all these little things it's happy boating

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

You got a good motor The SeaHorses are real Workhorses Tought and dependable. I rebuilt a 1963 FD17 with new coils condenser points and plugwires with a new carb kit also. A few other things that you should look at are the fuel lines in the motor compartment . I was out on the river when i had one break off the fuel pump it happened just after i shot this little video lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM_JGQn4wbE

Also make sure your recoil rope is in good shape because it can leave you stranded also and dont forget a spare shear pin and cotter pin for the prop you never know when you will need them. Once you have done all these little things it's happy boating

Thanks for all the tips. I learned the hard way already about the shear pin (not with this motor) when I was at the river last week. Thanks for sharing the video. Motor still not running yet. I'll give the update in the next post.

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Ok. Cleaned up carb, put new spark plugs in, and torqued flywheel back down. Still won't start. Squirted a little gas/oil mix in through spark plug holes and got a little fire - actually back fired a couple of times too - but never really "took". Just a couple of fires and nothing. Any thoughts on this?

I really was hoping to be a real cheap skate on this and just clean things up and have it running. Do I need to go ahead and put a carb kit in this - even though everything looked good? What about fuel pump and filter? They "look" fine too - even though I did have to repair the plastic outer fuel pump housing. How about leaf plate assembly? Can this be disassembled without having to replace the gasket or anything? Do I need to have parts before tearing into it? Can someone give me a good idea for "starting point" settings for the high and low adjustments on the carb?

I am focussing on fuel right now, because I really think the fire is good and I am fully confident that the compression is good (though I don't have guages to put on to actually test at this point).

Please let me know what you all think. Would really love to get this thing going in the next few days.

 

[Daviet]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Lets start at the beginning. You have good compression, checked with a guage, not the finger on the spark plug hole method? You have good spark, checked with a air gap tester, not the hold the plug against the block method, spark should jump a 3/8" gap and be bright blue.
If all the above checks out, you have a fuel delivery problem. Remove the fuel line from the carb and pump the primer bulb, gas should come out of the line. Squirt some fuel into the carb and see if it will fire off, if so you have a carb problem. Remove the carb and overhaul paying attention to the passages under the core plug on top of the carb. It is going to cost some money for parts, that's the way it is.

 

[flintcreek]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Daviet is right you need to check your compression and have a hard set of numbers, a gauge will be around $20.00. Next you need to check spark, an adjustable gap type spark tester is what you need about $8.00 Advanced Auto, $4.00 at Harbor Freight. With these tools the guys on this forum can point you in the right direction, much cheaper than taking it to a shop.

Good Luck,
Flintcreek

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Lets start at the beginning. You have good compression, checked with a guage, not the finger on the spark plug hole method? You have good spark, checked with a air gap tester, not the hold the plug against the block method, spark should jump a 3/8" gap and be bright blue.
If all the above checks out, you have a fuel delivery problem. Remove the fuel line from the carb and pump the primer bulb, gas should come out of the line. Squirt some fuel into the carb and see if it will fire off, if so you have a carb problem. Remove the carb and overhaul paying attention to the passages under the core plug on top of the carb. It is going to cost some money for parts, that's the way it is.

Fair enough. Cheap never ends up right - that's what I tell my company when I repair equipment anyway. I'll get a set of guages and a gap tester and and I'll let you all know what I find. Thanks.

 

[flintcreek]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Take a look at this link, between it and the guys here on the forum I got my motor running good and it had several issues. I have found that setting the points on these old motors is a little more difficult for me anyway than one might think, this helped me.

Flintcreek


http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa... 5.5 HP 1954-1964 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

 

[learningasIgo]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

Take a look at this link, between it and the guys here on the forum I got my motor running good and it had several issues. I have found that setting the points on these old motors is a little more difficult for me anyway than one might think, this helped me.

Flintcreek


http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa... 5.5 HP 1954-1964 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

That's a really great link. I really enjoyed that and learned something new about setting those points. This should be added to the "top secret" files as well. I think a lot of other "newbes" to boating will learn a lot as well.

 

[scanman]

Re: HELP!! - 1961 Johnson FD-15 18 HP - no fire on lower cylinder

I too enjoyed that link! I just rebuilt the powerhead on my 1975 evinrude 9.9, & the "double oil" for the break-in period of 10 hrs is really fouling plugs fast! At least now I'll know the gap & timing are correct! THANX!