1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

[backstop13]

Hey guys, have a question for the Evinrude/Johnson "experts". I recently purchased another CC boat with a 1998 Johnson 130 J130TLECE and noticed some odd things around the engine. First, the VRO has been disconnected, which doesn't bother me, but I also noticed the port side temp sensor tan wire has been disconnected. We ran the boat on muffs at the sellers house and it purred like a kitten, shifted smooth, and responded to all of the throttle controls. My question is: Will the disconnected tan wire to the port side temp sensor have any affect on it's performance or cause the alarm to go off or the engine to overheat? I have read that disconnecting the temp sensor has no bearing on performance but could affect cold start, is that accurate?
My other question is: Is premix REALLY better than using the VRO, or is it even relevant? I'm not worried about fuel efficiency, it's a V4 130, but every little bit helps nowadays. Also, I'm upgrading from an 18' CC to a 20' and going from an Ocean Pro 115 to this big Johnson, did I make a mistake giving up the Ocean Pro for the 130? I hear the late 90's Johnson, non ocean models, were virtually indestructible and that's what I'm looking for.
As always I appreciate any input, opinion or fact.

thanks

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

The 130HP Johnny should be a good motor. I have the V6 version of it (150HP). You should be using both temp sensors, so find out why that one is disconnected. The obvious choices are that the sender is bad, or that side of the engine is overheating. The two wire temp sensor is for the QuickStart system and temp sensor combo. I recommend you find out what the issue is with the one sensor, and fix it.

Using the VRO (actually OMS) pump could save some oil over remixing, but would not make any difference in gasoline usage. The OMS pump mixes at about a 60::1 ratio, vs 50::1 for premix.

 

[backstop13]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

Thanks for the reply, I haven't had it in the water yet just on muffs. According to the previous owner he thought he had an electrical problem in the dash and didn't use the boat for over a year, turns out whoever installed his radio accidentally tapped into the rear live well with the radio ground wire. Anyway, when I saw the boat I didn't notice the wire disconnected but we ran it on muffs for a good 20-25 minutes and I touched the block on both sides and it didn't seem to be running hot, idled smooth, and was responsive to throttle controls. I'm hoping it's just a bad sensor! So now I'm wondering WHY the VRO (OMS) was disconnected, did it fail or did the customer just disconnect it to avoid failure? I'm gonna run it like it is and if it performs well, after replacing the temp sensor, then I may look into the oil injection system.

 

[racerone]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

The oil injection pump is very nicely made.----The owner of the motor must inspect parts of the system ( tank / filters / hoses etc, etc ) to make sure it keeps operating automatically.----Some folks would just rather mix their own.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

I never did trust that piece of CPS and would rather pre-mix and use it for a fuel pump only.

 

[backstop13]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

I had the opportunity to play with the motor yesterday so I hooked it up to the muffs and ran it, runs smoothly and neither head got too hot, I put my hand on it and held it there for a few seconds without any problem. I did notice the pump water didn't get much above slightly warm, not sure how hot it's supposed to get normally so not sure there is a problem with the cooling system. Compression on all cylinders was between 144-149 and no visible signs of any head gasket leaks so not sure why the t/stat was disconnected except maybe to silence the alarm or make it run smoother because of a faulty sensor? I'm 51 miles from the nearest lake so I'm trying to do a thorough checkout before I load it up and head to the lake, which is now privately operated and they charge $9 just to launch the boat and run it around and $15 if you plan on fishing, per person! Anyway, I know I'm gonna have to go run it at some point just want to make sure I've crossed all my T's and dotted all my I's before I go.

 

[backstop13]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

Use it as a fuel pump? What do you mean?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

Well, A bad temp sensor would kick the motor into SLOW mode, where it only runs on 2 cylinders. Maybe that is why it was disconnected. From your description, it doesn't sound like you have an overheat problem, but you were only running on the flusher, with no load.

You should be able to test the overheat sensor using a stove, pan of water and a candy thermometer. The sender should ground when it detects overheat. So put an ohmmeter on the sender wire and element that would touch the block and warm the water until it approaches boiling. The sender should short at 190*F or so, certainly below 212*F.

If the sender is good, maybe the waterpump or thermostat is bad? You can run the same test with the thermostat. It should open by 150*F. if the stat is good, maybe the waterpump is bad.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1998 Johnson 130 temp sensor question

Using it as a fuel pump is when you disconnect the oil side of the VRO, mix your fuel 50:1 and run it that way.