Johnson 125 HP

[gregory bartlett]

I have a Johnson 125 HP, circa 71-73 and have owned it for about 10 years. Since I have owned it, I have never had any problems with it; it has always been very reliable. However last season it began to develop a problem and this season it has progressively gotten worse. The symptoms: the engine will run fine full throttle, half throttle or idle and then for no apparent reason just dies, no coughs or sputters, it just dies out. After a while it will start back up and run fine. I have had it to the local marina on three different occasions and they could not find anything wrong with it (although they are not Johnson/Evinrude dealers). Recently I took it to our closest Johnson/Evinrude dealer (100 miles away) and he kept it for a few days. It was his opinion that it needed new power packs, however he could not be sure. The price of the new power packs was going to be 350 dollars plus fitting, and he was not even sure that this was going to cure it. So as you can imagine, I am more than a bit reluctant to pay 350 dollars for something that might or might not work. Between us we have pretty much gone over the whole engine, plugs, fuel delivery, carb etc. and we still have the problem. Do any of you folks have any idea/suggestions? Or do you know where I can obtain a cheaper power pack? I certainly would appreciate your help.<br /><br />Thank You<br />Greg Bartlett

 

[Walter]

Re: Johnson 125 HP

Gregory....<br /><br />When your engine dies...does this occur at a specific RPM? What about engine temp? Does this seem to happen after you've run the engine for a spell, but not when the engine is cold? You said it runs fine at different speeds and simply dies...I'm assuming this happens regardless of throttle position...and it's as though you've simply turned the ignition key off, is that correct? If so, then perhaps the problem could be within the ignition "run" ciruit. Possible culprits might be the key switch itself, or perhaps the emergency "kill switch" (if so equipped), or even a loose connection in the run circuit. Another question...when it dies you say it will restart "after a while." Does this mean it cranks and won't fire immediately after it dies...or it won't even crank? <br /><br />From what you describe, it sounds more like an electrical rather than fuel problem, but I may be wrong. I can sympathize with your outboard mechanic though...getting the thing to fail gives you the ability to troubleshoot the problem. If it doesn't fail, it's difficult to pinpoint. Sometimes the only way to troubleshoot is to try a new component and see what happens. I know this can get expensive. Good luck!