1955 Johnson 5.5

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Ok, plug wires are seated as well as I can muster. Points gapped at .020 when cam rider is at the key. Coil and condenser wires are tucked out of the way. One coil green wire got stuck when I first put them in and the insulation was abraded a little. I wrapped that part in electrical tape. Coil magnets are flush with the mounting piece. Attached is a pic.

Still no spark. I stripped the sheath off an extra section of the spark plug wires and they're definitely NOT solid core copper. Some braided silver coil metal. Will that make an appreciable difference?

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

The wires from laing's should be fine. Could your cam be upside down? Most of mine say "TOP" on the cam and I set mine when the pts. rubbing block is under the "O" in "TOP". Some of them don't say TOP on them. With new coils, condensers, and wires, if your flywheel is sitting on the key and the points are set right and clean, you should get spark at least on one wire. I think the points must be set wrong. Just a guess. Your flywheel magnet is still magnetic, right? I've never seen one that wasn't, but there's a first time for everything. How are you checking spark?
Good luck,
JBJ

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

One more thing, if you set your camera to "Macro" it will take clearer closeup shots. That might help someone identify your problem..
Good luck,
JBJ

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

My cell phone doesn't have a 'macro' setting. Cam is in right, flywheel is magnetic. Everything is adjusted correctly, I've tripled checked all the connections and diagrams at least five times today. I'm checking spark by plugging the old plugs back into the wires, holding the bases to ground and manually turning the flywheel.

On top of all this, my exgirlfriend just broke my can opener.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

One thing I've run into is that the felt for the cam oiler is too long in some sets of points. It extends under the rubbing block area and holds the points open. That might explain no spark on one wire but not both. I assume this motor has never run for you? I wonder if the points cam has been switched. Does the cam have a spot imprinted that says "top" or does it say "set"? It should say "top" in that year I think. If it says "set" that may be from a later year and may not be compatible. It's easy to get the green coil wire trapped between the bottom of the coil body and the bearing area of the mag plate. No chance that the green coil wire is grounding out on the frame of the points that holds the condenser and points wire? the wires need to be isolated from the frame by the fiber washers in there. Just throwing out some random ideas here. Now don't be upset but you are spinning the flywheel clockwise right? Dyslexia of the hands effects us all sometimes . Take a piece of business card with some rubbing alcohol or electrical contact cleaner and run it through the points once or twice. You may have gotten a couple of bad condensers. Try your original ones just for giggles. Good luck! you'll find it. You may have to scare up a multimeter.

Cheers........................Todd

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

The motor ran when I first bought it. I'm pretty sure the wires aren't grounding out but I can double check again. I do have a multimeter, what should I be using that to check for? I guess I could switch out my condensers.

I did turn the flywheel clockwise and the cam is original and reads "TOP". The fiber is a little long, I'll trim that a tad. I think I might have missed something about that green wire though. Where does the washer go? Could you explain what that sentence meant more specifically?

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

The fiber washer thing doesn't actually apply in this case as it turns out. So you can disregard that part. The whole "frame" that I was refering to where the wires screw to the points is isolated from ground. Unless the points are defective.

With a multimeter you want to check for continuity through the points when they are closed and check the resistance of the primary and secondary windings in the coils.

To start you want to set your meter to the lowest resistance setting and touch your two leads together and make note of what your zero is. Then touch your neg. lead to ground anywhere on the mag plate and your positive lead to the screw terminal on the points and check the restance with the points closed and then with them open. You should see the same zero reading with the points closed and maybe one additional ohm with the points open. that's the resistance of the coils primary winding. It should return to the same zero reading consistantly each time you close the points. Then you should check the resistance from the mag plate to ground on the engine block, it should be nearly zero. One or two ohms probably won't hurt anything.

Next you want to check the resistance of the secondary windings. So you want to check resistance from the clip inside the spark plug boot to the grean wire on the coil. You should expect to see somewhere around 9,000 ohms give or take a couple thousand. Good luck!

Cheers.............Todd

 

[Daviet]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

You might want to remove the points and clean the contact area on the bottom side of the points and the mating surface on the mag plate. I have seen some points that are coated and will not ground properly. I just use sand paper and rough up both surfaces. I could never see any tpye of coating but it has happened to me a couple of times. Just a thought.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I'm gonna remove everything, clean it all and then reinstall. See if this works.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

This is an interesting way to restart a dead thread.

Shortly after I wrote this thread, my motor rebuild project was put on hold... for several years. I had decided to move onto another part of the project and went to rebuild the lower unit. When I tried to remove the powerhead to access the impeller, one of the bolts was seized and I couldn't free it. So I mothballed the whole thing and it sat in my garage gathering dust.

Fast forward to a month ago. I have since graduated college and begun my career in engineering. I have learned a little bit more about working with tools and decided to revisit this project. I attacked the seized bolt and ended up have to drill out and re-tap the hole. Spurred on by my small success, I kept at it and am proud to say that I have made serious progress.

This is still the first and only engine I've ever attempted to rebuild. As of today I have:

*completely cleaned and rebuilt the pressure fuel tank, modifying it to function as a standard single line tank (I replaced all the line with new fuel line, new connectors and a new primer bulb, and I replaced the fuel and oil)
*completely cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor with all new components from a rebuild kit (soaked all the parts in carb cleaner overnight and blew them out with compressed air)
*cleaned the combustion chambers and installed a new head gasket
*cleaned and rebuilt the lower unit impeller and replaced the hypoid gear oil
*replaced all fuel lines and installed a brand new Mikuni fuel pump after removing the check valve from the intake manifold and plugging up one of the holes
*I also replaced the coils, points, condensers, spark plug wires and spark plugs and was able to figure out how to gap the points correctly using the resistance measurement method (I also verified that the coils are both good and both spark plugs now spark when the flywheel spins)
*I also rebuilt the starter unit and replaced the rope

So, now I have completely rebuilt the motor but unfortunately the old thing still won't start. I know the motor has good compression because it ran when I purchased it. I know I have good fuel delivery from the tank because I sprayed gasoline in my eyes checking it I know both plugs have good spark and the flywheel isn't hitting anything when it turns. I followed the cold start procedure and when I pull the starter one time out of ten the motor will start to run for about a second and then it goes dark.

I'm pretty sure it's a fuel delivery issue, but I don't really know what to check or do. I have concerns that the fuel pump isn't working but there's fuel in the glass filter bowl and there was oil on the spark plug tips when I pulled them out so I think there should be enough fuel to run the motor for at least a few moments.

I think I may have flipped the carb needles. Is the sharp one the high speed or slow speed?

Thanks for reading and any help.

 

[achris]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Squirt some fuel down the carb throat and give it a pull... Should run a few seconds on that. The other possibility is the plug wires are crossed over.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Sharp needle is the slow speed. Should be open 1-1/2 turns for a beginning point.
Blunt needle is high speed. Open 5/8 to 3/4 turn will get it going.

Does the flywheel spin freely with the plugs out, or does it feel tight? (Should spin freely)

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Ok, thanks for the speedy responses!

I checked the needles and they are in the right position. I pulled out the plugs and I would describe the flywheel spinning as a smooth constant motion. It's not spinning like a greased ball bearing, there is some pressure behind it but it's less than with the plugs in and it's definitely smoother.

I also swapped the spark plug wires and no luck. I had thought about the wires being crossed so when I adjusted the points I made sure to note which wire should be firing in relation to the piston position in the cylinder.

 

[Crosbyman]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

CD_Water_Pump.mp4 - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVOedhzPP7M

check this video for the impeller swap . 5.5 or 7.5 same process you will likely need a base gasket (under the power head)

btw.... do check the little oiler hose on the side of the engine. it may be cracked and needs to be replaced.

 

[geoffwga1]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

This is an interesting way to restart a dead thread.

Shortly after I wrote this thread, my motor rebuild project was put on hold... for several years. I had decided to move onto another part of the project and went to rebuild the lower unit. When I tried to remove the powerhead to access the impeller, one of the bolts was seized and I couldn't free it. So I mothballed the whole thing and it sat in my garage gathering dust.

Fast forward to a month ago. I have since graduated college and begun my career in engineering. I have learned a little bit more about working with tools and decided to revisit this project. I attacked the seized bolt and ended up have to drill out and re-tap the hole. Spurred on by my small success, I kept at it and am proud to say that I have made serious progress.

This is still the first and only engine I've ever attempted to rebuild. As of today I have:

*completely cleaned and rebuilt the pressure fuel tank, modifying it to function as a standard single line tank (I replaced all the line with new fuel line, new connectors and a new primer bulb, and I replaced the fuel and oil)
*completely cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor with all new components from a rebuild kit (soaked all the parts in carb cleaner overnight and blew them out with compressed air)
*cleaned the combustion chambers and installed a new head gasket
*cleaned and rebuilt the lower unit impeller and replaced the hypoid gear oil
*replaced all fuel lines and installed a brand new Mikuni fuel pump after removing the check valve from the intake manifold and plugging up one of the holes
*I also replaced the coils, points, condensers, spark plug wires and spark plugs and was able to figure out how to gap the points correctly using the resistance measurement method (I also verified that the coils are both good and both spark plugs now spark when the flywheel spins)
*I also rebuilt the starter unit and replaced the rope

So, now I have completely rebuilt the motor but unfortunately the old thing still won't start. I know the motor has good compression because it ran when I purchased it. I know I have good fuel delivery from the tank because I sprayed gasoline in my eyes checking it I know both plugs have good spark and the flywheel isn't hitting anything when it turns. I followed the cold start procedure and when I pull the starter one time out of ten the motor will start to run for about a second and then it goes dark.

I'm pretty sure it's a fuel delivery issue, but I don't really know what to check or do. I have concerns that the fuel pump isn't working but there's fuel in the glass filter bowl and there was oil on the spark plug tips when I pulled them out so I think there should be enough fuel to run the motor for at least a few moments.

I think I may have flipped the carb needles. Is the sharp one the high speed or slow speed?

Thanks for reading and any help.

I have two of these little "Fishermen " and great little motors they are.The older one was like yours ,dual fuel line and pressure tank.When I first did the conversion I had exactly the same deal you have.The motor would start and run for a few moments ,then die.I was tearing what hair I have left out and then a sudden thought hit me.As you have prolly found out there is only one place on the motor where you can bolt on your Mikuni under the cowl and that is at the rear on a head bolt so that's what I did and that's when the trouble started.Then I had my great flash of inspiration and moved it to the port front leg of the recoil starter.I attached it with a couple of cable ties.
The meat of the deal is that by doing so I shortened the pulse line to the pump from the manifold.With the length of pipe to the rear of the motor the poor little thing couldn't maintain enough vacuum to get enough fuel up through the longer pipe.Never had a moments trouble since.Hope it works for you.
Geoffwga1

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I think you might be right. I'm using a section of fuel line for the vacuum port on the pump. Should I be using another kind of line? I also have it ziptied near the shift handle.

There is fuel in the carburetor. I even tried spraying a little bit in there and it still exhibits the same problem.

 

[nwcove]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

try sitting the tank on a stand thats higher than the carb....you can actually bypass the pump and connect directly to the carb using a gravity feed. just pump the bulb till the carb is full and see what happens. ( i personally dont think thats your issue tho)

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I put the tank on a box above the motor height and I'm still having the same issues. I'm worried the flywheel is hitting something in the ignition but I was very careful to make sure the coils were flush with the stator plate and that all the wires were tucked away.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I don't either. Even with no pump or tank installed at all, it should still run for at least 30 seconds with the fuel in the float bowl. The fuel pump or pulse line has nothing to do with starting.

Now, Im assuming that the fuel bowl is actually filling, and that fuel is being drawn in while cranking. If you spray some pre mixed fuel into the plug holes, then reinstall the plugs, will it run for a second or two?

What is the compression of the motor?

I also don't see anywhere that you mention testing the existence/quality of the spark. It should jump a 1/4" gap with a bright blue ZAP!! on an adjustable inline tester. If not time to revisit the ignition. Even new points needs cleaning.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Compression on the cylinders is 60-65 psi.

There is fuel in the carburetor bowl, it spilled out when I removed the high speed needle to check it.

The spark on the inline tester wasn't a big blue zap, it was more like a medium orange zap. Could it be dirty points? I suppose I could clean them.