Please help!! 91' Johnson 100 hp intermittent start

When I purchased this boat, it started and ran beautifully. First time I took it out, I got stuck in the middle of the St. Johns river with a storm coming and had to be towed in. lol. Really dont want that to happen again. I replaced the spark plugs after that and stuck the ears on and it started perfectly and ran beautifully once again. So I take it out but as soon as I put it in the water it doesnt want to start??? The fuel primer pressurizes, the tilt is all the way down, new spark plugs, everythings hooked up to the battery. I hear the starter but it wont turn over. I dont know what to do. Am I missing something? Is there some kind of safety device? Low battery? Where is the choke on this type engine? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Thomas

Re: Please help!! 91' Johnson 100 hp intermittent start

Welcome to iboats. It sounds like a low battery. Clean all your connections from the battery to the solenoid to the starter. Also check and clean all your grounds. You may want to try it with a known good battery.

Re: Please help!! 91' Johnson 100 hp intermittent start

When starting the engine, push in on the key. This activates a fuel solenoid which injects extra fuel into the carb throats for cold starting. Generally you only need to choke when the engine is cold. You might want to check this solenoid to be sure it is working properly.

Re: Please help!! 91' Johnson 100 hp intermittent start

newbieboater10 said:

I hear the starter but it wont turn over. I dont know what to do.
Thomas

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Have you opened the cowling and watched the starter when it does this? My '90 115 solenoid will sometimes not push the gear all the way up to engage the flywheel. Makes kind of a spinning sound only, engine does no turn over. I have found that a little WD-40 on the shaft cures this problem. I think over time in the hot Texas heat it dries out.

Re: Please help!! 91' Johnson 100 hp intermittent start

I had a similar problem and it was found to be an ignition wire had broken/rusted and when it touched it worked, and when it didn't, it would just spin the motor but not catch. Once replaced that problem was gone.