1975 Johnson 70 stopped dead!

[breadcasters]

We were cruising smoothly along when our 70 hp Johnson suddenly stopped dead - no warning whatsoever. Now, we seem to have no spark.<br /> <br />Also, the power tilt is finicky - sometimes, all we get is a clicking sound (solenoid?), and I'm afraid it will soon stop working altogether. (Of course, if we can't get the motor running again, this will be a nonissue).<br /><br />Any suggestions would be most welcome.<br /><br />BreadCasters

 

[12Footer]

Re: 1975 Johnson 70 stopped dead!

I can only give you a very basic list of possable failures.<br />First thing to check is the kill switch lanyard. Disconnect the wires from it, to see if it will start.<br />Diconnect the stator ground-out wire at the terminal at the engine to see if it will start (note....if there IS a problem here, the engine will not shut down with the wire disconnected). Be carefull when handling this stator ground out wire,as they sometimes carry 1 gajillion volts

Handle by insulation only.<br />The stator could have failed,or coils or powerpack or all of the above.<br />Check these, starting with the stator for the apropriate voltages and current readings. You will need the shop manual here.<br />But these manuals never fail to pay for themselves after a repair job.<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi?current_category=&search_in_category=t&keywords=manuals&cart_id=097099479

 

[PaulP]

Re: 1975 Johnson 70 stopped dead!

Hey Bread,<br /> I also had a 70something Evinrude and we also were crusing smoothly and our engine suddenly went silent and died but thats because it fell off the back of the boat and sunk,but thats another story. your motor you say is 1975, if it has points I would pull the flywheel and change them and condenser.If you have no spark on any cylinders I would rule out plugs,wires,coils,the chances of all failing at once are rare. Look for reasons why no spark anywhere, Points,condenser,stator.<br />As for the trim/tilt I had the same problem,dont wait until it wont trim up at the boat ramp like I did.I was unable to pull out or back in with out breaking my skeeg,If you do get stuck,undo a hydrulic line to lift motor by hand and prop it up.I would try to isolate motor wires,power them up to see if tilt motor runs ok by bypassing all other electrical. If it seems ok I would look at soloniod, just dont wait for it to completly fail like I did. good luck, Paul

 

[seaman]

Re: 1975 Johnson 70 stopped dead!

ok