Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
I have a 1969 Johnson V-115 outboard that I am having some issues with. I cannot get the starter to do anything when I turn the key. I have checked the wiring and it all seems to be fine. When I connect a wire from the starter terminal on the solinoid to the small terminal above it I can then get it to roll over with the key but only when I have that wire attached. I cannot get the motor to start though. I was told by my local marina that the solinoid on my 56 35 would work so I switched it out thinking that the solinoid was the issue but that did not work either?

Any ideas for what I could do next?
 

rockyrude

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
1,120
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

You need to check your wiring again, do you have a kill switch? Is it working (lanyard in)? Is there an overlooked fuse? The no turnover and no start sure sound like a kill switch problem.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Thanks for the info I will check the kill wire which I believe is black and yellow on this particular motor. If it is a different colour could you let me know I am still waiting for my manual to come in.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

There is a new twist to the motor I have tested all the wiring as per my Selco Manual that arrived today and it all checks out okay as per the specs in the book but still nothing. There is a safety switch on the motor that I thought may be the problem but according to the troubleshooting steps in my manual it is working fine. My pulse pack make a strange noise once in a while it sounds rather like a jet engine warming up. This is intermintant but I still cannot get the engine to roll at all.
 

bigpoppakdog

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
437
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

let's clear some things up here.

1. With just the wiring in place w/o anything added, you turn the key and there is nothing or does the motor turn over but not start?

2. When you bypassed things did you check if you had spark when the motor was turning over?

3. When you turn the key to "on" do you have volts going back to the terminal? Not sure what terminal #, but there should be voltage going back to one of the terminals.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Sorry for the confusion

1. When I turn the key nothing happens.

2. When I jumped the solenoid I got the starter to roll but there was very little spark.

3. When I turn the key on there is power that is coming back to the terminal board like it should.

According to the fellow that I bought the motor from he said that the pulse pack was brand new 2 years ago. I had to fix 2 wires that run up under the fly wheel as the casing was shreded and the wires were exposed but this still did not work at all
 

rockyrude

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
1,120
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

You have two separate problems. First, put your one lead of your ohm meter on the small terminal of the solenoid and one on a ground, turn the key to "start" position, you should see 12v on your meter, if not you have a wiring problem between the key switch and solenoid. The key switch itself could be bad. The second problem with the spark, I had to replace those two wires from the power pack to the sensor myself (i've got a 69 115 also) did you replace the wires all the way to the sensor or just patch them? Mine had corroded almost through. The sensor is what triggers the power pack.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

I figured out the cranking problem it was the safety switch as soon as I grounded the solenoid it cranks all day long. I did only patch the wires but I am guessing that I could have a bigger issue with the wires as they seemed to be a little green when I stripped them. The 2 wires are the black ones.

The other issue that I have at this point is I think that my pulse pack may be bad as I did the test as per the Selco manual that I have and there is no voltage on terminal 5 could this be because of the two wires?
 

F_R

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
28,226
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

I figured out the cranking problem it was the safety switch as soon as I grounded the solenoid it cranks all day long. I did only patch the wires but I am guessing that I could have a bigger issue with the wires as they seemed to be a little green when I stripped them. The 2 wires are the black ones.

The other issue that I have at this point is I think that my pulse pack may be bad as I did the test as per the Selco manual that I have and there is no voltage on terminal 5 could this be because of the two wires?

Terminal 5 (blue wire) is the pulse pack output to the coil. You can't check it with an ordinary multimeter. It is about 300 volt very fast pulse.

Disconnect the coil and unscrew it out of the distributor cap, then remount and reconnect it except for the spark wire. Rig up a spark gap from the coil spark wire. Crank engine. If you get spark off the coil wire, the pulse pack and everything else is working. Weak spark problem must be in the distributor.

Without fancy test gear, the pulse pack test is one of elimination of all the other possibilities. There should be 12V at terminal 7 (purple/black stripe) when the motor is cranking. That is the pulse pack input. Then do the sensor tests. Then test the coil (takes special test instrument). If everything else is ok, it is time to consider the pulse pack.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Thank you for the input F R There is 12+ volts at terminal 7 so that is a good sign. My multimeter is rated for 500 volts but I assume I still need a special one for that. I will try the coil test that you suggested. Could the slightly green wires (black ones from pack) be an issue as well?

Thanks again.
 

rockyrude

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
1,120
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Those two black wires need to be replaced, the green stuff is corrosion that has most probably gone completely through and stopped the electricity or at least is grounding them to the bracket on the timing arm like mine was. Don't give up on the power pack yet, those two wires like i said trigger it. It's kind of a pain because you need to go deep to replace them.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

I will have to pull the fly wheel off. They do not look like they will be too bad to replace as I can see where they attach.

Thanks for the help again I will give that a try.
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

I managed to change the wires but there does not seem to be any spark at all yet. I am going to do the sensor test as my book says but any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks,

Sisqo
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

So I replaced the 2 wires completly and I did the test on the sensor as per my manual and it is showing 5.8 to 6 Ohms on it which test okay.

I checked the rectifier and it is okay as well. I still have no spark. I found the purple wire with the black stripe on terminal #9 when my manual says it should be on terminal #7 I switched the wire to terminal 7 and I still have no spark.

I tested the safety switch and it test okay but my manual shows 2 wires on the switch but the one on the motor has 4 and the colors of the wires do not match my manual.

I am not sure where to go from here or if it is just a trip to my marina to have the pulse pack tested.

Any further imput would be apreciated.
 

bigpoppakdog

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
437
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

i had periodic spark last year with mine due to the safety switch being bypassed with a 2 in jumper wire, which basically connected the powerpack output terminal to the ignition coil terminal. Problem is, when I took that wire off, I did not move the powerpack wire to the ignition coil wire, so the powerpack wasn't sending output to anything. Once I moved that wire over, problem solved. Could you take a pict. of your terminals so once could see the wire setup?
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

I can definetly take a picture of the wires on my motor I noticed that I made an error in my previous post I said that my manual shows 2 wires on the safety switch but it actually shows 3 wires (typo on my part) the one on my motor has 4.

I will take a pic and post it as soon as I can.

Thanks
 

Sisqo

Cadet
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
16
Re: Help with 1969 Johnson V-115 not starting

Here are the pics that you asked for

Thanks Again
 

Attachments

  • Wiring 1a.JPG
    Wiring 1a.JPG
    49.3 KB · Views: 4
  • Wiring 2a.JPG
    Wiring 2a.JPG
    51.4 KB · Views: 3
  • Wiring 3a.JPG
    Wiring 3a.JPG
    35.8 KB · Views: 1
  • Wiring 4a.JPG
    Wiring 4a.JPG
    34.9 KB · Views: 1
Top