1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

[Blazrer01]

I have a 1988 Johnson 225 "Looper" Mod# J225TXCCE on a Proline 230 walkaround (about 5000 lbs Loaded) running a 15 x 17 prop. The engine hour meter is showing 1100 hours. The last few times I've used the boat, it has been very, very slow to get up on plane (the hull is clean & the prop hub isn't slipping- rpms are slow to climb), but once on plane will run 5000-5200 rpm, 39-41 mph. I bought this boat/motor in 1991, it would run 5600 47-48 mph I replaced the power pack last year (the engine would not turn off -3rd power pack) and that worked for a few trips, but now I have the same problem. BTW-replacing the power pack did not affect the loss of power. Any ideas on early power pack failure ? I also did a compression test, the only way I could do it was to pull only one plug at a time and crank the engine with the ignition off by jumping the solenoid. If I pulled more than 2 plugs, the bendix would not stay engaged more than half a revolution. I'm guessing that the engine turns about 200 rpm while doing the compression test. I'm getting 73, 73 & 80 psi on the port bank top to bottom and 75, 75, 75 on the starboard bank. I've used decarb - Valvetec & Seafoam over the years, but I'm afraid I've got some stuck rings. I did my first compression test on this engine (the same way) in 1994 and got 74, 75, & 88 port, 83, 78 & 79 starboard. I'm guessing that these compression readings are low even considering the way I'm having do the test. I did test the top port cylinder with the engine running (900 rpm) and got 105 psi. I know this is a long post, but I want you to have all the info :/

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

I have a 1988 Johnson 225 "Looper" Mod# J225TXCCE on a Proline 230 walkaround (about 5000 lbs Loaded) running a 15 x 17 prop. The engine hour meter is showing 1100 hours. The last few times I've used the boat, it has been very, very slow to get up on plane (the hull is clean & the prop hub isn't slipping- rpms are slow to climb), but once on plane will run 5000-5200 rpm, 39-41 mph. I bought this boat/motor in 1991, it would run 5600 47-48 mph I replaced the power pack last year (the engine would not turn off -3rd power pack) and that worked for a few trips, but now I have the same problem. BTW-replacing the power pack did not affect the loss of power. Any ideas on early power pack failure ? I also did a compression test, the only way I could do it was to pull only one plug at a time and crank the engine with the ignition off by jumping the solenoid. If I pulled more than 2 plugs, the bendix would not stay engaged more than half a revolution. I'm guessing that the engine turns about 200 rpm while doing the compression test. I'm getting 73, 73 & 80 psi on the port bank top to bottom and 75, 75, 75 on the starboard bank. I've used decarb - Valvetec & Seafoam over the years, but I'm afraid I've got some stuck rings. I did my first compression test on this engine (the same way) in 1994 and got 74, 75, & 88 port, 83, 78 & 79 starboard. I'm guessing that these compression readings are low even considering the way I'm having do the test. I did test the top port cylinder with the engine running (900 rpm) and got 105 psi. I know this is a long post, but I want you to have all the info :/

Does anyone know if these compression reading are OK considering the testing method ???
^

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Does anyone know if these compression reading are OK considering the testing method ^

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

The compression readings are fairly even which is a good sign. Have you done any troubleshooting & do you have the OMC shop manual? I'm thiking you are runnin on five - not six.

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

The compression readings are fairly even which is a good sign. Have you done any troubleshooting & do you have the OMC shop manual? I'm thiking you are runnin on five - not six.

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Yes, I have the OMC shop manual, and I checked all of the plugs for fire several years ago, I will check again ^

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Thanks, Solittle - I checked all six coils, they are all just like the manual .1 ohm on the primary to the block and 263-286 ohms on the secondary to the block. I been running the engine 1 time per day since last Sunday on a mix of 16oz. Seafoam to 3 1/2 quarts gas - run it until it reaches full operating temperture, then @1500 rpm - choke it until it dies - hoping to possibly free up stuck rings. Anyway, while running it today I pulled each spark plug wire. The engine slowed down with each one, and the #5 coil arced to the block when I pulled it, but quit arcing and the engine sped up when I replaced it. I know you said that the compression seemed OK considering how close the numbers are - but I'm still wondering if it should be higher - like 105+ ?? ^

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Pulling each spark plug wire will give you an indication if the plug is or is not firing but not how well. Do a test for spark using a spark plug tester (or make one). The spark should be a bright blue, jump a 1/2' gap with a loud snap sound. Test all six and they should be the same. Also do all six plugs look the same?

On the compression - I would like to see them higher but I am not that farmiliar with the specs for your engine. Your description of a power loss does not seem to me to be related to compression.

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Thanks Solittle - I engineered a variable gap tester - set the gap to 7/16" - All six fired throught the gap with a snap I can hear over the engine running and all six fired throught the gap before I actually got the plug boot on the tester. The arc was plenty bright to see in bright sunlight. As for the plugs, they are all clean (maybe due to Seafoam for a week), I replaced them last year and they only have about 25 hrs on them. One thing I have noticed on the plugs, ever since I've had this engine, the plugs are always wet when I pull them, mostly oil. After heating up the engine today, I was going to do another compression test with the engine hot to see if there is any difference, but when I jumped the solenoid with the ignition OFF, it cranked and ran - seems to run off of the starboard bank, didn't notice any spark on the top port cylinder....any ideas ??? ^

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Your last sentence is a puzzler to me. Lets hope one of the "heavies" jump in on this.

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Thanks for your help. The last sentence goes back to the original post - the engine keeps running after the ignition is turned off, and from what I've been told - it's a symptom of the power pack going bad. I don't think the power pack issue is related to the engine's loss of power....I'm afraid ($$$) it's time for a rebuild.. ^

 

[Blazrer01]

1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss - More Opinions?

1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss - More Opinions?

Need more opinions, especially on compression and why power packs are failing ?? ^

 

[Walker]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Check the anphenol connector to that powerpack for bent/corroded/broken connection pins, especially the one that corresponds with the kill circuit wire. The black with yellow stripe wire. Then check continuity of that wire to ground with the key switch off. Should be zero resistance.

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Any progress???

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Yes - I re-checked the compression - I've been running the engine once/day in a horse trough using 3/4 gal gas: 16oz Seafoam (the smoke will darken the sun). The comp 2 weeks ago was 73,73,80,75,75,&75. Now it is 74,75,88,83,78 &79. It's still cranking with the ignition off - I'm planning to check the power pack wiring today...will post results later - thanks for the help.

 

[Blazrer01]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Re-checked the compression again today - 78, 79, 88, 82,78 & 81 - slight improvement - planning to go to the lake and run 1 or 2 six gallon tanks mixed at 48 oz seafoam to 6 gal gas. Any of you outboard gurus know if running on the lake w/Seafoam is better than doing it in the horse trough ??? All the running the last 2 weeks in the horse trough has been in neutral. Checked the power pack wiring black wire w/yel stripe with ignition off. It read .6 ohms to ground. That's the amp connector outside the power pack on the top of the starboard cylinder bank. The black w/yel stripe inside the power pack was open to ground. ??? ^

 

[Stumedic]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

Bad or wrong ignition wires will blow the power pack. Also pulling the ignition wires to check for a dead cylinder without grounding the wire isn't good for the powerpack either. I've been haveing probs with my 175, and when it drops a cylinder my rpms won't go over 4k.

 

[BigwayNZ]

Re: 1988 Johnson 225 - Power loss

If it is slow to get on the plane maybe it was like mine, same motor, maybe the timing advance thing is seized with corrosion. IMine now moves to 21 degrees or something and it jumps out of the hole and lands on the plane.