1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

Hey guys,

I have a 1986 Johnson 50 VRO that only runs when you prime the bubble or intermittently push the choke. Do you have any ideas what it might be?

What I have done recently to the motor:

New plugs
Rebuilt both carbs in july
bypassed the VRO completly (fuel does not even go through the vro unit) ...Has not ran right since I did the full bypass.

Does the fuel need to go through the vro unit even if I don't use the vro?

Any replies would be much appreciated.

-lakerider

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

Acts like it is not getting fuel thru the idle circuits.

What are you using for a fuel pump? And are you pre-mixing your fuel at 50:1?

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

Thank you for your help. I'm not sure what type of fuel pump i'm using. Where should I look to find the fuel pump? As for the mixture, I am using 50:1.

I just got the boat in June. I cut out the vro oil tank and cut vro electrical wires and stared mixing my own gas and oil. After that, I put it in the shop and had work done on the carbs. Once I got it out the boat ran great until the starter started messing up. The boat set for about 3 months. I bought a starter and installed it myself. I went to try and crank the boat and when I primed the bulb gas went everywhere. I noticed it was coming from the vro unit. I decided to bypass the entire vro unit. Does the vro unit work as a fuel pump?

Once again thank you for your help.

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

The VRO IS the fuel pump. There is a fuel side and an oil side. If you have it bypassed entirely, how would you expect fuel to get from the tank to the carbs? You either need to replace the VRO with a fuel only pump, or reconnect the fuel side of the vro and block off the oil side of the vro. The engine will not run any other way.

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

Ok, I was afraid that the vro was the fuel pump. As for the fuel getting to the carbs, I connected the fuel line that went into the vro directly to the fuel filter. So the gas goes from the tank to the carbs. I can make the motor run so long as I keep pumping the bulb or push the choke. I had it at the lake this past week and road around for a while. Is there a way to add an electric fuel pump? I believe new vro's are around $300.

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

What lead you to the decision to bypass the VRO?

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

The reason I bypassed the vro was because I was told that I really did not need it. I was also told that after a while the vro becomes unreliable and could damage the motor if it ever messed up.

What type of fuel pump could I use? Would it be an electric inline fuel pump or would it need to go where the vro unit is now? Honestly I do not have a lot of experience with boat motors. I appreciate all of your help.

Re: 1986 Johnson 50 vro only runs on choke

use one of 40 or 50 horse commercial engine