1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

[chrome dome]

G'day from Australia,
first post on this terrific forum,
l have bought a project boat with a J70TLCNB '82 ( l believe ) 70hp Johnson that hasn't run for a couple of years,

l think? it's a solenoid or starter.. or both.. problem,

pushing in the key gets the click and the carbies opening, turning the key blows that little fuse, is it safe to replace that little glass fuse holder with a newer one?

bypassing the solenoid with a jumper lead on the starter has it engaging and turning the flywheel slowly.. not enough to turn over the engine, BTW should that happen?

with a test light the white lead into the solenoid has power but can't get power to the red lead going to the starter motor,

is it likely to be both or either or am l doing something wrong here..wouldn't be the first time :redface:

BTW, when it's running, carbies will be getting a service,

thanks for any help,
cheers

 

[jimdd810]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

The solenoid sounds suspect. I would also check and recheck all your wires for corrosion or shorts. It may be time to have the starter taken in and rebuilt or order a new one. I know this all sounds vauge (spelling) but these are the things that could be your problem.
Good luck

 

[Daviet]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

Is your battery completely charged?
Are the battery cables really clean and tight?
The clicking you here when you push IN on the key is the choke or primer solenoid, whichever you have, and does not have any effect on the starter.
Check battery volttage across the battery, somewhere around 12 volts. This is the standard you will use (battery voltage) to check your system.
Check for battery voltage at the battery side of the starter solenoid, is it the same reading you got on the battery, it should be.
You said you had voltage on the white wire on the solenoid, does the solenoid click when you turn the key to start, it should. If you get a click at the solenoid and no or low voltage out of the other side of the solenoid, the cable going to the starter, you have a bad solenoid. If the voltage coming out of the solenoid is the same as battery voltage, check the voltage at the starter itself, should be the same as what is coming out of the solenoid. If you have battery voltage at the starter and it does not spin or spins slowly, you most likely have a starter problem.

 

[chrome dome]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

thank you both for the help,

cleaned every earth and connection on the donk l could find,

after speaking to other sources bought a new solenoid, no change except the fuse doesn't blow anywhere near as much now,

starting to think power pack may be the culprit but not really sure so it's going to go to the electrical 'doctor' asap for his verdict, l 'll get him to check for shorts etc as l'm just going in circles,

cheers

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

power pack would not blow fuse. it is only for the controller, starting circuit. sounds like either short in harness, bad ignition switch. or worn out battery cables.

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

Be sure the cables area connected to the correct battery post. crossing cables, usually blows the rectifier, and can blow more.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad

 

[chrome dome]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

thanks td for the advice and suggestions for the wiring which l'll have a look at again after work ( around 6.50am now ) have borrowed a multimeter too,

but more importantly the diagrams ( which l had just started a search for ) specially the third one,

"hopefully" have found the problem, the earth wire is currently on the third lug ( from the top ), according to the diagram it should be on the 2nd one, that is, one down from the starter to solenoid one, is this correct?

that's the way it was when l brought it home and the way l put it back ( tied string on each wire, took notes, pics ) together when replacing the solenoid,

will change it around tonight after work,

do you or anybody else think that is the problem?
if so, is there likely to be anything that has been damaged from this?

again, thanks for all the assistance,
cheers

 

[chrome dome]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

ok..update,
bugger work..it sucks anyway , nah , l'm still going,

anyway, couldn't wait to get home , so re-arranged the wiring, hooked up the spare small fishfinder battery out of the smaller boat..and the motor is now trying to turn over so that "looks like" all it was,

will be buying a proper battery in the next couple of days, none here in the one horse and two pony town we live in and l need the large one in the 4wd to get to work,

have printed off the diagrams for future reference,
thanks again for all the terrific input, this site is fantastic!

cheers,

 

[chrome dome]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

another update..
brought a new battery, hooked it up, squeezed the primer, turned the key and away it went..a little rough but not bad considering it hadn't been used for at least a couple of years, a bit of tweaking and it should be fine,
thanks again

 

[jimdd810]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

Good job chrome! Now read this post and do what it says:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086

it will help!

 

[jlnkw7]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

I am having a very similar issue on a like model 90 hp. New battery, new power packs, new solenoid, like new starter as it has been tested. Just can't seem to get enough juice to get it started. I have 12.71v at the battery, same at the solenoid. Didn't have someone to turn the key for me to test at the starter. I have a 500 cranking amp starting battery.

 

[Fed]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

You need to find someone to turn the key for you to test it properly.
You can rig a momentary pushbutton to energize the solonoid but a helper is way easier.

 

[jlnkw7]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

Got a helper. I had 12.67 at the terminals, and 12.67 at the battery side solenoid post. When we turned the key, the reading on the south/starter side terminat of the solenoid was only reading 8-9 volts. I had a new solenoid on hand. I switched it out. I got the same result though. So I back tracked. With my partner turning the key, I went back to the top post of the solenoid and got a reading of 8-9 volts. Then I went back to the battery terminals. I got the same reading. When my partner shut off the key, the volts returned to 12.5. But, when my partner turns the key, I get 8-9 volts on the post.

 

[Fed]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

Try it with a known good fully charged battery.

 

[South Paw]

Re: 1982 Johnson 70hp solenoid/starter questions,

power pack would not blow fuse. it is only for the controller, starting circuit. sounds like either short in harness, bad ignition switch. or worn out battery cables.

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

Be sure the cables area connected to the correct battery post. crossing cables, usually blows the rectifier, and can blow more.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad

Thankyou so much Sir for posting those diagrams.