Re: 1989 Johnson 140 Power Pack
The quote of "20 hrs or more" leads me right into the intermitent small amount of voltage being fed to the kill circuit problem regardless of what your meter reads. Even a microvolt fed to that circuit (black/yellow wire) will cause damage to the powerpack over a period of time.
No offense intended, but is it possible that your meter will not read an extremely low voltage (microvolt).... possibly the ignition switch is indeed intermitent and the voltage leakage simply wasn't present when you did the test. Weird things happen.
Yes, CDI is correct in saying that the engine does not need the battery to run BUT running that engine without a battery will damage the battery charging system.
If for no other reason to have peace of mind about the usual cause of a voltage leak, I would strongly suggest that the ignition switch be replaced....................
And while doing so, make sure that no other wire is connected to that black/yellow wire circuit. A ground wire from any accessory connected to that black/yellow kill circuit will throw voltage to the kill circuit of the powerpack whenever that particular accessory is turned on.
