1975 Johnson 40 hp. keeps blowing the fuse...

heiliges

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 12, 2010
Messages
47
I bought a jon boat with this motor on it. Owner had to jump her to get her started saying the ignition switch was bad but she started right up. So I bought a new ignition switch and the wiring color code does not match specs completely, so I am doing a bit of guessing on that front. The three wires I have connected currently is the battery power to the switch, 12 volts checking good there. The ground to the switch from the battery. A white wire that I figured out was the starter. And a purple with white stripe wire for the choke. I can get her to spin and no matter which of the remaining two blue wires I use, one with a white stripe, I am getting no fire. Also, The fuse was already blown on the engine come to find out so I replaced the fuse and there was another wire that was disconnected too that I connected it up. At this point, I keep blowing the bloody fuse. I know I have electrical hell here. I can get her to spin at this point, but trying not to have to jump the solenoid at every start up and would love to stop blowing this fuse. Thoughts?
 
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heiliges

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 12, 2010
Messages
47
So , figured it out. There were more issues than I knew what I had. First and foremost, anyone who is dealing with wiring issues. Get a book. I went ahead and broke down and got one. The wiring diagrams available between the different years is worth the money alone. Once I knew which wire was which, I was able to track it down. As I knew, I was in electrical hell. I had bad wiring that needed to be cut out and replaced, which I did to the solenoid. I replaced the solenoid as it was cheap enough from NAPA. Once I was sure all that was good, I had to move on to the start which was inconsistent to say the least. Come to find out , its an expensive as all get out starter to replace. Also, its rebuildable, who da thought? So, I pulled it apart thinking some cleanup and all would be well. Brushes were shot all to hell. Was surprised the dang thang spun at all. I finally find an old guy down the street with brushes. Some soldering and cleaning later. The starter kicks on every time. I am no longer blowing fuses and the engine starts with out issue.

Now if I can just figure out how to adjust this carb I will be good to go.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
So , figured it out. There were more issues than I knew what I had. First and foremost, anyone who is dealing with wiring issues. Get a book. I went ahead and broke down and got one. The wiring diagrams available between the different years is worth the money alone. Once I knew which wire was which, I was able to track it down. As I knew, I was in electrical hell. I had bad wiring that needed to be cut out and replaced, which I did to the solenoid. I replaced the solenoid as it was cheap enough from NAPA. Once I was sure all that was good, I had to move on to the start which was inconsistent to say the least. Come to find out , its an expensive as all get out starter to replace. Also, its rebuildable, who da thought? So, I pulled it apart thinking some cleanup and all would be well. Brushes were shot all to hell. Was surprised the dang thang spun at all. I finally find an old guy down the street with brushes. Some soldering and cleaning later. The starter kicks on every time. I am no longer blowing fuses and the engine starts with out issue.

Now if I can just figure out how to adjust this carb I will be good to go.

Yes it takes some reading and understanding and some trial and error sometimes to get things working. But we all started out the same way. So hang in there and read and do and learn as you go. No better experience then hands on. Just make sure what you try to do is not going to damage something costly to replace... As you read different threads on these forums, you will gain even more info to use... :thumb:
 
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