Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

[PJ-Hunter]

I have a Fiberform boat with a Johnson motor. The motor is a 4 cylinder v-block. It starts and runs/idles awesome. My problem is that it won't go into neutral or reverse. It's a hydro-electric shift.

How can I troubleshoot? Does anyone have a wiring schematic with the color coding?
I already checked the library. They have nothing for this. (I live in a rinky dink little town with few resources. So I googled and found this Forum.

My father left me the boat and my little boys want to go out but I couldn't get off the dock this morning. Any help would be awesome.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Well first off, we need to know what we are working on.
You need to post a model number.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

And where would I find that? All of the tags have fallen off.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

85esl-71a

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Look on the block, there should be a quarter size core plug with numbers on it.
Does the control box have a single cable, throttle, or are there two cables, throttle and shift?

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

The model number may be on a round freeze plug on the engine block. Or post a picture and somebody may recognize it.
If it is a hydro-electric shift (not an electramatic) there are two shifter wires, normally green and blue.
No volts on green or blue is forward.
12 volts on green only is neutral.
12 volts on both green and blue is reverse.

The gearcase uses Type "C" gear oil, not the normal 85-90W gear oil.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

1971 85hp
That is an electric shift lower unit, if all power is lost it defaults to forward gear.
If the lower unit oil has water in it or is really old and cruddy it will not shift.
You are going to have to check out the shift circut and see if you are getting voltage to the lower unit. There are two wires with rubber boots covering them on the starboard side of the block, 1 blue and 1 green. I can't rember for sure but, when you shift the control with the key on, voltage on 1 wire is neutral and voltage on both wires is reverse. No power on either is forward.

 

[F_R]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

More specific, it is Hydro-Electric Shift. There are tons of threads posted on this forum concerning them. In a nutshell, the motor is shifted hydraulically. An oil pump in the lower unit provides oil pressure to shift it. The external part is electrical. A switch in the control sends voltage to the two wires previously mentioned. That voltage energizes two solenoids that operate oil flow valves to direct the oil to move the shift dog to the desired gear.

Check the oil. Use only BRP "Premium Blend" oil

Check the voltage at the blue and green wires.

Good luck. You have a lot to learn.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Look on the block, there should be a quarter size core plug with numbers on it.
Does the control box have a single cable, throttle, or are there two cables, throttle and shift?

One single cable.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Found what I needed with the model number.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

The model number may be on a round freeze plug on the engine block. Or post a picture and somebody may recognize it.
If it is a hydro-electric shift (not an electramatic) there are two shifter wires, normally green and blue.
No volts on green or blue is forward.
12 volts on green only is neutral.
12 volts on both green and blue is reverse.

The gearcase uses Type "C" gear oil, not the normal 85-90W gear oil.

Can I get that oil at a auto parts store?

More specific, it is Hydro-Electric Shift. There are tons of threads posted on this forum concerning them. In a nutshell, the motor is shifted hydraulically. An oil pump in the lower unit provides oil pressure to shift it. The external part is electrical. A switch in the control sends voltage to the two wires previously mentioned. That voltage energizes two solenoids that operate oil flow valves to direct the oil to move the shift dog to the desired gear.

Check the oil. Use only BRP "Premium Blend" oil

Check the voltage at the blue and green wires.

Good luck. You have a lot to learn.

You say BRP oil. I happen to have some BRP oil sitting on the shelf for my sled. Is it BRP gear oil or the BRP Full syn that I am now using for the oil box for the turbo? I also used it for injection oil.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Gear oil, not the two stroke engine oil.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Some auto parts stores carry it, just make sure it is for ELECTRIC shift lower units.
If you go to the dealer, they will sell you PREMIUM BLEND oil, make sure you tell them your lower unit is electric shift model. I don't think it's the same as your BRP oil.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

The model number may be on a round freeze plug on the engine block. Or post a picture and somebody may recognize it.
If it is a hydro-electric shift (not an electramatic) there are two shifter wires, normally green and blue.
No volts on green or blue is forward.
12 volts on green only is neutral.
12 volts on both green and blue is reverse.

The gearcase uses Type "C" gear oil, not the normal 85-90W gear oil.

More specific, it is Hydro-Electric Shift. There are tons of threads posted on this forum concerning them. In a nutshell, the motor is shifted hydraulically. An oil pump in the lower unit provides oil pressure to shift it. The external part is electrical. A switch in the control sends voltage to the two wires previously mentioned. That voltage energizes two solenoids that operate oil flow valves to direct the oil to move the shift dog to the desired gear.

Check the oil. Use only BRP "Premium Blend" oil

Check the voltage at the blue and green wires.

Good luck. You have a lot to learn.

Some auto parts stores carry it, just make sure it is for ELECTRIC shift lower units.
If you go to the dealer, they will sell you PREMIUM BLEND oil, make sure you tell them your lower unit is electric shift model. I don't think it's the same as your BRP oil.

Yeah, no dealer here. I will check the parts store. Certainly not wanting to drive four hours to go to the city.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Do you have a napa store in your area, they can get SIERRA brand outboard parts, at least in my part of the country. If no napa, check with the other auto parts stores and see if they can get it for you.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

So, if the two wires are negative for current, which direction do I head to repair? I was told that the handle was a likely culprit.

My handle has two levers. The big one with the handle and a little red button that is the accel/decel and fwd/rvs. The other is small and is just a warm-up tool. Then just the key and electric choke toggle.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

I would first put voltage to the wires going into the midsection (blue and green), making sure it has the proper lower unit oil in it beforehand and that it is clean. Remember, it won't shift unless it's running. The blue and green wires are connected to the wiring harness with "knife connections" under the cowl, and come up just beside the block from the midsection (the only way I know how to describe it). If it shifts good with voltage on the wires, I'd then proceed to the switch in the controller. If it's bad, then you need to find a new one (very difficult) or you'll have to make your own toggle switch. In either instance, and while testing, DO NOT provide voltage to any wire unless you're sure what does what, and whatever you do, don't switch voltage straight from one to the other or it will probably break lots of stuff.
There's lots of threads on how to test it if you do a search. If you can't find it, I'll look myself later.
Good luck and welcome to iboats,
JBJ

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

If you are real patient and careful, the shift switch can be disassembled and cleaned up. If it is really broken, then it will have to be replaced with a Johnson switch, or you can rig up a much less desirable toggle switch, which bypasses a lot of safety features.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

Crud!! No type "C" oil there. Ack!

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Johnson motor (1963 - ish?) Won't go out of forward

I "heard" automatic transmission fluid is good enough for testing the lower unit, then switching to real type C oil before running it on the lake.
Just a thought,
JBJ