Re: 81 70hp Johnson Seahorse No Spark
Check with your local library. I was able to get the Clymer's manual that covers my motor (and yours) from mine.
I've got the '84 70 hp which I believe is the same motor. First things first, test your spark with a spark tester. (Actually, first you make sure your battery is good.) If you are wanting to work on your motor yourself then the spark tester is a must have tool (~$10 at advance auto parts). Get the kind where you can adjust the gap. You want to see a good spark on all cylinders at 3/8" gap. (If no spark then you can test at smaller gap to see if you're getting weak spark)
If you get no spark whatsoever, then you'll need to rig up 3 jumpers (described in the manual - not expensive) so you can bypass the kill circuit I believe (this is what Joe Reeves is describing I believe). If you have spark and you've ruled out the safety lanyard then I think your problem is likely in the ignition switch, or the manual will spell out your next steps.
Can you give us any more hints like what where the circumstances when you realized you had no spark. Was the motor running fine up to that point? Did you recently do any other work on the engine?
