1977 Evinrude 115 with ignition problems

howdy folks. recent purchase ofa 1970 Fiber Craft with a '77 115. runs good only when i jump it straight to the motor. new battery will not start it. new starter will barely spin if not spin at all. so i jumped it from my car battery hot to the starter and ground to the cylinder head and she started. when i turn the key in its original battery hook up, it just doesnt seem to get enough juice from the battery to spin up the starter motor. was going to put it in the water for the first time today and didnt even get out of the driveway when i tried starting it before i left. good thing to or i would have went to the dock for nothing... HALP!!!!!

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115 with ignition problems

You explanation indictaes that either a cable/wire is lose or tight but dirty.

Remove and clean all cables/wires pertaining to the electric starting system, including the battery terminals, solenoid connections, ground at the powerhead, etc. Clean the cable and wire terminal ends and also the component that those cables and wire attach to.

After the above, if the problem persists, feel the main cables for hot spots as it's possible that a cable can start to corrode internally. Should you encounter this, replace the cable. HOWEVER.... clean the cable terminal ends as above first as a loose connection or a tight but dirty connection will also result in a hot cable.

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115 with ignition problems

You could have a bad starter solenoid. If the internal contacts get burned (with age and repeated use) they will not supply enough current to run the starter normally.

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115 with ignition problems

well as i suspected it was the cable ends. they were all terminated with split (or fork) terminals. so i cut and crimped all new ring terminals and cleaned everything and she started like a champ. once old gas in the lines were cleared out she ran out fine, mixed marvel mystery oil in the old gas and topper her off with fresh mid grade. for about the first 40 minutes i had problems getting her to stay running, but after the cobwebs were blown out she starts and runs strong. didn't hammer on the throttle as i am still trying to burn though its first tank of gas. i have a video of it in the water and running from the Severn River back over to Sandy Point in Maryland.

and another short one of start and warm up.