85 Johnson Starter Won't Catch?!?!?

[shawnswan]

Can someone please help me. I bought a 1985 Johnson outboard. When the guy sold it to me he started it up with no problems. I tried starting it tonight with no luck. The starter gear spins but won't spin up. It's a new battery. Is there something I'm missing?? I'm not to familar with boat motors.
Thanks,
Shawn

[WillyBWright]

I hope I don't offend, but red goes to pos, black goes to neg. I know this sounds weird, but the most frequent offenders seem to be Electricians. Just keep in mind, Black is not Hot when it comes to DC.

The other possibility is a stuck bendix. It just might need a dab of grease.

[jtexas]

yup, either not spinning fast enough, or stuck...I use a couple drops of 3 in 1 oil. Have a multimeter? Make sure all the battery power is getting to the starter - inspect cables & terminals for corrosion. although I did once reassemble a starter in a way that made it spin bassackwards........

[tashasdaddy]

new batteries are not always full charged. clean tight connection are necessary or battery and engine ends. if cable are original check for nicks, cuts. they tend to deteriorate from the inside out, if the insulation is broken.

[emdsapmgr]

You can bypass the engine and hook jumper cables directly from the battery to the starter. This will tell you if the problem is the starter itself or the relay, key switch or engine wiring.

[tashasdaddy]

the only problem with that is if the battery is weak. it will do the same thing. i know i had a dead cell in a battery 6 months old. almost bought a starter.

[shawnswan]

Thanks for the advice. I thought I might have the wires backwards, I had black on pos and white on neg which should be right. I'll grab the jumper cables tonight and see if this works. I need to get this thing running before monday!

Another question, can anyone recommend a good book for a 1985 30hp Johnson outboard?

[tashasdaddy]

where the heck did white come from? you also probably blew the rectifier, connecting backwards, and no telling what else.

[tashasdaddy]

the recommended manual is available here, new, http://www.kencook.com/evinrudejohnsonmanuals/ you can also get the manual number and watch ebaymotors / manuals / johnson-evinrude

[shawnswan]

How would I know if I blew the rectifier? Man, I don't need anymore problems.
I don't think the motor chokes properly either, but I can't tell until I get it started.
Tashasdaddy, thanks for recommending that site for the book.

[alden135]

Are you sure the "white" wire isn't actually a red wire that's faded out?

[shawnswan]

Red fading to white definitely possible. Have I done much damage by reversing them?

[Windykid]

Follow the cables. Does one go to a starter or a relay? Does one go to a ground lug or bolt to the side of the motor? Normaly the negative terminal is smaller so you dont make these mistakes.

[jtexas]

good thinkin windykid, neg cable is attached to engine block. Usually the only downside to a blown rectifier is battery won't charge - quick test (assuming the motor starts) is to measure the battery voltage with the engine running at idle - if it's higher than battery open circuit voltage then it's okay otherwise you smoked it. Also there's simple instructions for rectifier test in the engine FAQ section.

If you're going to be doing your own maintenance (which btw is well within the grasp of the average doityourselfer) a digital auto-ranging multimeter is a very handy thing to have round the house

[shawnswan]

It's alive! I had the wires backyards.......I have a lot to learn! Thanks to everyone for helping me with this. I have a multimeter so I'll check the rectifier tonight.
So now that the engine is running, I have another question.
On the carbarator there is the piece that flips open and closed, I noticed when I started the motor that my flippy thing didn't move, even when I choked it. When the engine was running, I put it in forward and gave it some gas and the flippy thing still didn't move. Everything works fine, the boat goes forward and doesn't stall, is this normal?? I'm pretty sure with my last motor that when I choked it the flippy thing opened.

Thanks again.
Shawn

[tashasdaddy]

i think your engine has the primer instead of the choke. if so the is only one plate in the carb, throttle plate, at idle should be closed, at wot should totally horizonal open. with the engine off. put is gear, move throttle all the way forward.

if it has the choke, the first plate you see is the choke plate, closed when choking open when running. the throttle plate is behind the choke plate.

get a manual, make it your best friend, the knowledge, can save a fun afternoon, that could have gone really bad.

[shawnswan]

It must have a primer 'cause there is only one plate. So my throttle plate doesn't move. There is an arm that comes off the throttle plate and runs up to the underside of the big gear that starts the engine. The end of the arm rests on a white semi wedge shaped thing. When I give the engine gas, this wedge moves moves the arm slightly forward. It appears that it's supposed to open the throttle plate but it must need an adjustment to to tighten it up. There is a big screw turn knob on the front of the carb, do I turn this to adjust the throttle plate arm?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm ordering a manual today, but it won't show up until next week and I have to have this boat running by monday.

[jtexas]

The arm connected to the underside of the "flywheel" (big gear that starts the engine) is "advancing the spark" - as rpms increase the spark has to occur sooner in the process. The hi-idle lever will open the carb plates only a little bit, it mostly just advances the spark. In gear, the spark advance starts before the throttle plates start to open. The plates should end up horizontal at wide open throttle, but there's quite a lot of throttle lever travel before you see movement at the carb.

what horsepower is your motor?

[shawnswan]

It's 30hp.
I haven't put the throttle wide open yet, that's probably why it didn't move. I'll fire it up tonight and see what happens.
Thanks.

[Pony]

It's 30hp.
I haven't put the throttle wide open yet, that's probably why it didn't move. I'll fire it up tonight and see what happens.
Thanks.

You really shouldnt go much above idle speed on muffs (assuming thats what you are using).....they are really just for test starting and flushing etc.....but not for running the motor through the rpm band.

[Kevin W]

It's 30hp.
I haven't put the throttle wide open yet, that's probably why it didn't move. I'll fire it up tonight and see what happens.
Thanks.

Don't open it wide while it's running unless its pushing a boat or in a test tank!

An unloaded outboard at full throttle will self destruct itself almost instantly.

[shawnswan]

thanks.....good catch, I would have killed my motor tonight. Guess I'll have to wait until monday to open it up.

[Kevin W]

You can check it without it running.
it will open whether its running or not.

[shawnswan]

I have opened up the throttle while it's not running and the throttle plate doesn't move. Is this easy to adjust? It's not sticking. The guy who sold it to me put in a new carb kit.

[ezeke]

If you are speaking of the control arm, it first engages forward gear and then moves the throttle at around 40 degrees off the perpendicular.

If that is not the issue, try having someone move the throttle so that you can watch what the cable is doing at the engine end.