'56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

[cs350]

Hi all. New to the forum. Just aquired a 56 winner with a 56 johnson 30 hp Seahorse hanging off of the back. Spent most of my Sunday trying to get it started with very poor results. This motor has a two hose fuel system which I've never seen before. Is the second hose supposed to pressurize the fuel tank? If so, I'm fairly sure I know why the damn thing wouldn't hardly start or run for long all day. Hooked up a 12v car battery to get things going, didn't give any thought at all to the fact that it may be a 6 volt system. Anybody think I did any damage? The hull on this boat is cracked at the bottom. The trailer damaged it. If I can get the motor running I'll tackle fixing the hull. It's a neat little boat. I'd love to see it in the water.

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Just found the thread about the pressure tanks in the topsecretfiles. Guess I was doing it wrong. Oh well.

 

[lindy46]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

1956 electrical system was 6 volts. 12 volts probably didn't hurt the starter, just don't crank it too long. 12 volts could hurt the 6 volt choke solenoid. You should also use a 6 volt starter solenoid. If you have the original wiring harness/junction box and it's still good, it's probably cheaper just to buy a 6 volt battery rather than convert to a 12 volt system. And then you'll keep it original. The motor has no fuel pump and uses air from the engine to pressurize the tank and push fuel back into the carb.

 

[F_R]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Most people run them on 12 volts. It will start instantly if it is going to, so the 12 volts won't have time to over heat and melt the components. However, if you are grinding away at the starter on a balky motor, you will let the smoke out of something.

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Thanks for the quick responses. I had to replace the original solenoid as it was extremely corroded and did not work. I used a ford fender mount solenoid I had laying around. The motor cranked over very quickly and the started did get hot but I was careful not to push it. I gave it plenty of time to cool down in between attempts. Sometime during the week or the coming weekend I will purchase a cheap electric fuel pump from autozone, wire it up real quick, and install a bypass in the fuel line to keep pressure very low at motor. Hopefully it'll start. If it does, I will move on the fixing the hull. If not, I will probably part the boat out. I have another boat that needs work that I know runs. I only have room for one project at a time. Thanks for your help. I think I just found my favorite forum.

C

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Sorry guys, got another question right away. Anybody got a wiring diagram for this motor? I was wondering what the solenoid like part is that's located just to the left of the carb. Has a single wire going to it. Also wondering what the wire is that comes from the motor, out the bottom cover and over to the throttle lever.

Thanks again.

C

 

[Daviet]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Electric choke solenoid. I would not install an electric fuel pump in your system, could be dangerous. You have no way to control fuel flow if a line should break, fuel goes every where.

 

[F_R]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

The wire going to the throttle is for the starter safety switch. Prevents starting at fast throttle settings. You have already burned it up if you connected that Ford solenoid to it, so you might as well forget that function.

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Electric choke solenoid. I would not install an electric fuel pump in your system, could be dangerous. You have no way to control fuel flow if a line should break, fuel goes every where.

I understand the danger of the electric pump and would never hit the water with something like that rigged up. I'm only trying to get it to run in my backyard for a seriously minimal investment. If I can get it going, I'll buy the correct parts and put it together the right way. For instance, the water pump impeller is toast. I clamped my garden hose to the pump outlet tube and turned the water on low to supply coolant for test runs. If I get it to start, idle, and run up to rpm I will purchase a new impeller, fuel tank, fuel lines, fittings, gearcase oil, and so forth.

 

[lindy46]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Check compression first. If it has good compression, then you can dive into the rest of the motor. Then check for spark. You can get all the ignition parts, carb rebuild kit, impeller and lower unit seals for less than $200. Motor can be test run by hooking up a single line tank directly to the carb and placing the tank higher than the motor. You may need to spray some pre-mixed fuel into the carb to get it started. But if the coils, points, condensers or plugs are shot, and you don't have spark the motor isn't going to start anyway.

 

[54fleetwin]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

I have the Evinrude Lark version

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

I've got a bead on a tank I can borrow for a little while. In the meantime, I will go after the ignition system. I had spark when I checked but it was rather weak. That may account for the "sometimes it starts and sometimes it doesn't" problem. Got it to run a couple of times but never more than a few seconds. Are there any specific procedures to starting this engine cold? It has electric start and choke if that matters.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[cs350]

Re: '56 johnson 30 - 12 volts or 6, plus other questions

Pulled flywheel last night. Plastic around coils looks like dry lake bed. Now I have a solid direction to go in.

Thanks all.