1994 Johnson problems

Hello, I've got a couple of questions.<br /><br />First, on my last time out my motor started shutting down after 5-10 minutes at full speed. A couple of times when it started I dropped it down to idle speed and it stayed running but it usually just quit. The problem was intermittent. Sometimes it would start to lose power slowly and then go and sometimes it would never get up to full power. I was thinking fuel filter? But that's just a guess.<br /><br />Second, every once in a while the oil alarm will sound (continuous 1/2 second alarm with a half second pause). The alarm stops when I pump the bulb and the oil supply line. Oil usage seems normal but I've only had the boat for about 3 months so I don't have much to compare to.<br /><br />Finally, does anyone know where I can get a replacement oil reservoir? Mine has a very slow leak which is kind of a nuisance.<br /><br />Thanks for any help,<br /><br />Joe

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Is this a 250 hp Johnson or a 50 hp?Model number will also be of help.The rapid tone alarm you describe sounds like the "no oil" Vro alarm.Considering that your reservoir has a leak it is understandable that you would have a problem with air or water in the line.When this alarm sounds,pay heed,or you'll melt down some cylinders.At this point the first thing I would recommend is that a compression test be performed to rule out any cylinder wall damage due to lack of lubrication.If that checks out fine ,I'm guessing you'll find some problems with fuel delivery through carbs due to restrictions.<br /><br />After replacing or repairing oil reservoir you'll also want to thoroughly clean it and replace with new oil.Then purge clean oil through the oil supply hose to VRO to evacuate any air from system.The engine will then need to be operated using 50:1 mix in fuel tank until you can verify oil use from reservoir.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Sorry about that, it's a 40hp. <br /><br />Just to clarify, by slow leak I mean that in a month it leaks about a 1/4 cup of oil. <br /><br />One other thing I forgot to add, when I lose power the bulb on the fuel supply from the tank is soft.<br /><br />Thanks for the reply.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

If the fuel line bulb is going soft to the point of beginning to colapse while running,there is a restriction from the fuel tank to bulb.Pickup tube in tank,anti-syphon valve in tank fitting,tank not venting properly,or possibly defective primer bulb itself.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

OB, thanks for your quick responses. I'd like to get your opinion on something; while looking around this forum I noticed a lot of comments about running mixed gas until you can verify the oil consumption. It seems like there is a lot of mistrust of the VRO system's reliability and/or warning system. This makes me think I'd be better off just going with mixed gas. Can I just disconnect the oil supply line and run mixed gas? And would you recommend it?

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

jgrite,Without recommending what you should do as far as disconnecting the VRO and mixing 50:1 ,I'll just say that I mix 50:1 in my 96'70hp Evinrude and leave it at that.Disconnecting and defeating the oil half of the VRO and running premix is a simple procedure.<br /><br />However ,If you choose to keep it ,the fact that it is recommended to run 50:1 after opening and repriming the oil reservoir is to insure that all air is purged from system which insures proper oil volume through VRO and you can visibly confirm use by the tank level.<br /><br />You can do a search on these forums by typing in the search words "disconnecting VRO",or other word variations, and find several posts that give the procedure for doing so.Good luck.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

ob,<br /><br />Again, thanks for all the help. I've got another question about something that is hopefully unrelated. When this motor is running good I can throttle it all the way down and troll along at very slow speeds. But, when I do this the motor jumps around quite a bit. Is this just normal operation for a 9 yr. old motor of this size, or is it something I should be concerned about?

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Johnson/Evinrude 2 & 3 cylinder models by design ,don't liked to be trolled at in gear idle speeds for sustained periods.Best to throttle up to around 1100-1200 in gear.You also may want to insure that your steering links are not too loose.The self locking nut retaining each can be tightened slightly to adjust excessive looseness.Use caution not to overtighten to the point that it restricts free movement.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

ob,<br /><br />I did a little work last night and came up with this plan of attack. Let me know if I'm missing something.<br /><br />1. I'm going to bag the VRO system and just use mixed gas from now on. When I do this I'll disconnect and plug the oil line from the tank and disconnect the two sensor wires coming out of the tank.<br /><br />2. Replace the fuel line, fuel filter, and spark plugs. When I checked the plugs last night the threads were wet and the business end was corroded and just looked old. Do you know if the gap should be .030" or .040"?<br /><br />3. Take it out for a test run and see if my problem is solved. <br /><br />4. If not, I'm going to run a compression test. If I get to that point I might have a couple of questions on procedure. I've read a bunch of posts about it and there are some conflicting view points.<br /><br />Thanks for all your input.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

jgryte,If you choose to defeat vro here's what I did.<br /><br />Disconnect the oil line from the vro pump and cap off nipple.This will minimize possible air leaks to oil inlet side of VRO.<br /><br />Unplug the two wires (in engine compartment.)leading from oil reservoir and secure loose ends.This will disable the low oil alarm. <br /><br />Trace wire harness from vro pump to a black rubber amphenol plug and unplug it and secure ends.This will disable the vro alarms.<br /><br />Leave fuel pump inlet line from tank disconnected until you have purged fresh 50:1 mix from tank to pump and you can visually verify a hint of 2 cycle oil color.Reconnect hose.This will insure 50:1 mix is available to prime carbs.<br /><br />To verify the overtemp alarm is still operative with key in the "on" position ,locate the tan temp sensor wire near top sparkplug area and ground it to the engine block by peeeling back its jacket.The overtemp alarm should sound verfying that it is wired to the alarm circuit.<br /><br />You can either remove or leave the oil reservoir and it rubber hose in the boat.I use mine as a two cycle oil dispenser and leave the hose end plugged off when not in use.<br /><br />Recommended sparkplugs are Champion QL78YC gapped at .030".

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Sounds good, thanks for the advice. I'll probably get to it later this week. I'll let you know how it goes.<br /><br />BTW, I looked at the loose steering last night also and didn't find any self-locking nuts so to speak. I did find what I would describe as a spring loaded set screw type deal. It tightened up the steering nicely in about a quarter turn.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Hey ob,<br /><br />I finally found a place to look up my model number and realized my motor's a 93 model not 94. I assume that doesn't change anything you told me but I just thought I'd check.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

Sparkplugs and procedure remains the same on a 93' model.

Re: 1994 Johnson problems

FYI, I made all of the changes last night and everything seemed fine when I had it running on the muffs. I'm taking her out tomorrow morning for the full test. We'll see what happens. Thanks again for all of your help.