1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

[seppy61]

Appreciate any knowledgable feedback. I have a 94 Fast Strike 150. Had it out probably 15 times this spring with no problems took it to the lake past weekend and would not fire just winding up. took a plug out and checked there was no spark on the water. when i trailered it i checked again, no spark. when I got it home I hooked the ear muffs up and took a plug out to check again and it fired right up?? Has me baffled? Could this be a short somehwere. It was a wet rainy morning and my Humminbird fish finder has a low voltage reading on it? I checked my terminals they all seemed fine. Wondering if this is warning me of something with my battery. I took it to the lake the next morning and it fired right up and ran up and down the lake fine. Just cant understand why there would be no spark at the lake then fired right up a cpl hours later.... Thank You

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Seppy, The ignition on that motor does not run on battery power. The ignition is grounded to kill the spark. The next time this happens, disconnect the black/yellow wire at the ign switch and see if spark returns. if it does, it is likely you have a bad ign switch. If not get a service manual and trace it out.

 

[seppy61]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Thanks Chris. Is the ignition switch something that will go bad all at once or can it work when it wants to until it finally goes bad?

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

get a dva adapter and download free troubleshooting guide in my sig below

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Seppy, when water gets into switches, most anything can happen.

 

[hidef]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Also check for loose wire connections. Hauling the boat back and forth from the ramp might have caused something to come loose.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

corroded battery terminals is a possiblility....as well as loose and corroded......the weak signal to the fish finder says thats a possibility...even though it doesnt fully explain your lack of spark...

if you do have a weak battery or a poor connection at a point in time..then the motor isnt getting enough juice to crank the flywheel fast enough to MAKE SPARK.....

so start off by making sure you have a strong battery, and good clean connections....then you elliminate that aspect...and if it continues , you start to troubleshoot your ignition...

I have had the weak battery not making spark issue.

I have also had a broken wire , making contact, then not making contact, then makign contact...and that was in a wire in a harness on a straight section..inside the plastic sheathing.....hard to believe...but it happens


go slow elliminating things one at a time

good luck

bob

 

[hidef]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Good point a bad or even a damaged battery with loose plates could cause the issues experienced by the OP. Depending on the age of the battery it might be time for a replacement.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

My '98 Johnny uses battery power to boost the spark when the motor is cranking. After it starts, the ign voltage is supplied solely by the stator. Just a point of reference.

 

[seppy61]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Thanks for all the useful info guys. The battery I have in the boat is a high dollar one about 4 yrs old. I downloaded the ignition troubleshooting guide for my motor and am going to try and eliminate some things after work this evening. It is just frustating when it is something inconsistant like that because its hard to find a problem when its working fine. Good point about the loose connection connecting and disconnectiong on the way to and from the lake. That was one of my thoughts of what it can be. Thanks again!

 

[seppy61]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

Also to see if my battery is the problem would running jumpers to my trolly batt next time it did it tell me?

 

[hidef]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

If it starts when you jump it from your other battery then you know where the problem lies. I would also bring a volt meter and check the voltage on the battery.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

it would be hoooooove you to remove and clean the terminals on the battery as well as the ones on the motor....wire brush everything...make sure no coorsion and re clamp them tights!!

its a good thing to do anyway..and it clears that aspect of doubt....

another thing i have found via working on my car..is the cabel can corrode INSIDE the sheath..and while you cleaned the terminals...the copper strands inside could be corroded like crazy and not passing the current as it used to.... i bet there is a voltage drop you could check at the motor.

I have heard some of the electrical gurus here talk about bad electronics that shut down with a rise in temperature of the device.. and the 60 degree motors seems to have those components...like the power pack going bad with a rise in temps...

make sure all the connections to the coils are good and tight, as well as clean

good luck

bob

 

[hidef]

Re: 1994 Johnson Fast strike 150 no spark

I would think and Bob I believe you are on the right track with this that there is physical fault in the wiring some place or a fault in the battery. The plates inside a battery can come loose over time from being bounced around. The loose plate could drop battery voltage or ground it out completely. Because the OP had just splashed the boat and it wouldn't fire but it did when he returned to the driveway would indicate a faulty intermittent connection some place in the electrical system.

Power Packs, Regulators, Coils and Plug Wires can fail at temperature causing cylinders to misfire and other odd behavior.