69 20hp Johnson won't start, HELP!

[capt. sandpaper]

Just had the motor running in my 30 gallon test tank, evrything ran perfect, and started on first pull. I took it over to my skiff last night and let it sit cylinder side up till this morning, put it on and let it sit upright all day. I went to go to take a ride and can't get her to start. I checked plug wires and kill switch, WHAT AM I MISSING?!

 

[boobie]

Re: 69 20hp Johnson won't start, HELP!

First thing I would do is check my spark on an open air gap spark tester. Should jump a 1/4 " gap.

 

[capt. sandpaper]

Re: 69 20hp Johnson won't start, HELP!

brought it back home and got it running again but had more smoke than the norm. upon close inspection I found the core plug on the side of the power head was very loose and had fuel mix around it. Tapped it back in snug, started motor again, put it under load and started to pull the plug wires. When bottom lead was pulled the motor cut out. When the top was pulled the engine would rev up higher, happened half the times I tried this. I am guessing it is a bad tension lead as they are the only things I did not replace recently, just did points,condenser and coils. When I pulled that upper plug it was wet with mix and had no signs of water intrusion. Am I right in my thinking?

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: 69 20hp Johnson won't start, HELP!

You're probably correct, but try switching the spark plugs around to make sure it's not a bad plug