4 hp johnson will not fire; it has good spark, compression and gas. Please help

[byronjacobson]

My neighbor asked me to work on his 4 hp johnson model 4W76M. It has good spark, compression is around 60 psi on both cyclinders, but will not fire at all. I put gas in the spark plug chambers and sprayed starting fluid in the carburator but it doesn't help at all. I see gas going thru the clear tube into the carb from the fuel pump. I cleaned the carb, and also took off the flywheel to check the points. they are gapped at .020 and I cleaned them with rubbing alcohol and swiped them with a clean business card when done.
I even switched the plug wires thinking they were backwards but nothing helped . plugs are J8c instead of j6c but didnt think that should make a difference. I gapped the plugs first at .030 and then tried .033.
I might add that the owner said he had a person put in new coils before he gave the motor to me.
Please help me out as I have no idea what to try next. You can also email me direct at jake331@charter.net

 

[nwcove]

compression is borderline, whats your method for testing spark? it should jump 1/4" with an audible snap using an open air spark tester ( $10 tool)

 

[byronjacobson]

I use a spark plug tester that goes between the plug and plug wire. Not sure what the distance is but it is easy to see within the glass tube. do not hear an open air snap but the plug tester is enclosed within a tube.
This evening I notice that when i moved the throttle lever, the ignition plate under the magneto seemed to move quite a bit. Was wondering if there could be some grounding occuring as i pull on the starting rope.

 

[byronjacobson]

I'm still hoping somebody out there can give me some ideas of what to try next to get this outboard running.

 

[nwcove]

your neon bulb spark tester is not a good way to test spark.....an open air tester is the proper tool, and as mentioned, 60psi is on the low side, but it should still fire up with fuel and good spark. jmo

 

[racerone]

Many folks are confused when testing spark.------Only a tool that has adjustable gaps should be used.--" good spark " is spark that will jump a gap of 1/4" or more with a snap that you can hear.