1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

kw32

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Aug 30, 2012
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I bought this engine at the end of last season ( I was running a 58 35hp evinrude bigtwin ). I bolted it on took it down to the river and it fired right up. I quickly noticed I had no reverse, no biggie took it out anyway.... I hit the selectric forward button and away I went, engine sounded great! 5minutes later, it died.... Cranked and cranked, nothing. Got it back on the trailer with my 55 7.5 kicker, drove home and parked it. Now I got walleye fever again and I'm on dry land scratching my head....

I read every forum I could find on this engine, and applied as much as I could. I bought the manual as almost everyone suggested I do, and still haven't got it running. I'm having a hard time with the wiring as my engine seems to not be wired correctly or with the correct colors, in other posts with pictures there seems to be a bus bar and diodes I don't have on my engine and some kind of vacuum switch I have and they dont.... I know I'm not getting spark, my question is why?? I found a wiring diagram for a cdi amplifier and everything is hooked up correctly in that department, at least I think... My engine model is 60ESL-71C, amplifier# is 389549...

Krisenginepic.jpg
 

STARCRAFT16SS

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Mar 25, 2008
Messages
344
Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

Wow..don't know what to say...hmm..
I don't see the coil where mine is located..
Yep looks like someones rewire job...
 

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orbanp

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Jun 26, 2011
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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

Hi Kris,

As your engine died while it was running, chances are that miswiring is not the cause of the lack of ignition.
You mentioned you have the required manual, so there is a wiring diagram that would let you identify the amplifier (CDI) module wires.
The ignition on your engine is a battery CDI unit. When the ignition is on, follow the +12V that the amp unit is getting it (purple wire). You could measure the current there, with the ignition on, engine not running, the amp should draw about 0.2A. When engine is running around 4500RPM the current draw should be 1.5A - 3A.
The other important wire for the ignition is the breaker point, that is what triggers the ignition. It is the black and white striped wire. Remove the connection from the stator and manually giving ground there should give a spark. Test it! Before the distributor you should get about 1/2" spark in free space. If you do not get spark then either the amp or the ignition coil is at fault.
If you get spark with manually grounding and breaking the black and white wire, then probably your points are not set correctly. Remove the flywheel and check the points. The gap should be 0.01". There is also an anti-reverse spring, it shorts the points if the engine is rotating backwards. Check its operation!

That should get you started!

Peter
 

boobie

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20,826
Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

From the pic you posted the p/h looks more like a 68-69 55 hp. The vacuum switch (about the size of a silver dollar and black) by the choke solenoid gives it away.
 

kw32

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

Yeah boobie... that wiring diagram makes a heck of alot more sense... Is there another place to check the model number other than on the mount?

orbanp.... I'm getting ready to check what you've suggested... I'll post my results. If infact the amp is bad, is there a way to make it run without it? I remember reading something about retrofitting a car coil or something for much less money?

starcraft... I think boobie nailed it, I seem to have got a frankenstien
 

boobie

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

In your pic there may be a plug right behind the throttle arm about the size of a nickel. It may have #'s on it. Check the rest of the block for a plug that size.
 

orbanp

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

...
orbanp.... I'm getting ready to check what you've suggested... I'll post my results. If infact the amp is bad, is there a way to make it run without it? I remember reading something about retrofitting a car coil or something for much less money?
...

Hi Kris,

Here are some threads about ignition conversion. Different engine models, but they have the same kind of ignition as yours, if I am correct:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=497802
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=453010

Peter
 

kw32

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

Thanks peter and boobie... I have confirmed the powerhead is a 68... The amplifier is bad.. I'm going to try my luck hooking up a coil off a 70s harley, I figure it should be able to take the vibration. I keep reading about how fragile these points are, but I can't see how they're any different.... I also don't see the reason for an ignition box for a boat motor, obviously they don't seem to work too well... lol

Coil, ballast resistor, and condensor

I'm gonna keep it simple, and if I fail... I'll have some engine parts for sale!
 

boobie

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

I've heard of the coil, ballast resistor and condensor before but never tried it myself. It would probably be fun to see if it works. Keep us posted.
 

kw32

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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

So I installed the coil resistor and condensor, started right up! ran good on earmuffs.... took it to the river, fired it up, had nuetral when in reverse, and no reverse at all, said the heck with it and went out any way. ran good at just over idle, seemed to jump out of gear when I opened it up, then it died, restarted, then died again, wouldn't restart. I got it back on the trailer after a slow drift back to the dock. Got it home, inspected the battery and found the cables not in too great of condition, pulled on the pos cable at the start solenoid and it seemed loose in the terminal, going to replace the cables. I'm going to give this engine one more attempt, but I'm getting to the end of my fuse. Seems like it would make a better anchor then anything else! lol
 

kw32

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Aug 30, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1971 60hp Johnsonrude electrical nightmare

All New wiring.... Even pulled the lower unit, and sure enough, those wires were bad too..... So I get it all done, charged the battery while I was working on it, turn the key and click, now the starter dont work.... WT? I'm beginning to think my motor is cursed!! Although it seems any time I work on my own stuff.... I have nothing but trouble.... Btw I've been a diesel tech for 15yrs, maybe I need a bigger rig! haha
 
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