No Power at Battery....

[HighTrim]

Hey all,

I have a 1976 Johnson v6 2 stroke. The battery came out of the boat when i received it, but when hooking it up noticed no spark or zap when connecting the positive terminal like you usually get. Then when you turn the key over there is nothing, any ideas??? Thank you.

 

[ezeke]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Did you check the fuse at the starter solenoid?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: No Power at Battery....

If one gets a spark from connecting a cable to a battery, that indicates a short, a battery drain of some kind. That shouldn't happen.

You really don't say..... Is the battery dead?

 

[Kevin W]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Are you sure its not hitched backwards?

mine does not spark when hitching up terminals.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

No Im sorry, the battery is brand spanking new and there was a missing 2 amp fuse at the starter solenoid which i replaced, which i assume is the little black screw down box near the battery

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Im sorry kevin, what do u mean hitched backwards, u mean connecting the posts backwards? Im pretty sure they are correct, red to positive black to neg. Is there any type of safety that wont allow it to start if the motor is blocked up? I have a piece of wood holding it right now.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

I also noticed that there are 2 wires coming from the motor, a black ground which is just lying there and a red which is hooked up to an orange dial that i assume is for multiple batteries or kill switch, then 2 orange wires coming out of that, should those be hooked to the battery as well. Ty u all for ur guidance

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: No Power at Battery....

picture of what you got. use blue post reply, type then scroll down to manage attachments, clik, then you can down load from your computer.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

thank you tashasdaddy, that wiring diagram was very useful, and thats exactly how i have mine wired. Are there any other kill switches or fuses that i should know of, either in the motor or throttle control. thank you

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

I just took out the 20 amp fuse at the starter and noticed it was cracked and had tin foil wrapped around it, why would the previous owner do that?

 

[ezeke]

Re: No Power at Battery....

The prior owner may not have found a fuse that fit at the hardware store, or he may have blown it while on the water. Whatever, get some extras and keep them on the boat to protect your wiring and ignition: If you don't have a dealer nearby, you can get them here:

http://www.iboats.com/Aga_Fuse/dm/*...d.216616--list_time.1182704329--view_id.38557

Can you describe the switch that the battery cables connect to? Here's a link for examples:
http://www.iboats.com/Battery_Switc....216621--view_id.216621--search_type.category

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Hi ezeke, its exactly like the Guest Electric Battery Switch 4 position. It has a both, 1 , 2, and off, and at the off the old owner drew a white line in paint to line it up with. I have a red line running from my motor to that switch and a black line (ground) running from the motor as well. Then theres 2 lines wrapped together coming from the wiring harness with a pos and neg that i have connected to the battery. The switch has 2 orange lines coming off of it. What im wondering is will i have 2 lines connected to each pos and neg terminal, 1 from the motor and 1 from the wiring harness? I just ran to the store and picked up a 20 amp fuse for the starter but still wont turn over. ty

 

[ezeke]

Re: No Power at Battery....

It is probably set up like the second diagram at this site:

http://www.boatfix.com/how/Ele1.html

If so, the black wire connects to the negative battery terminal and one of the red wires off the switch would run to your starting battery. If neither red cable is marked, hook one to the battery plus terminal and then turn the switch from off to number one [1] Then try turning the ignition key to start. If that does nothing, disconnect and try the other red wire.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

OK ty ezeke, youve been tremendous help to a new boater, I did order a owners manual for that motor on ebay last night and im sure that will help as well once i get it. The main thing i was unsure of was the set of 2 wires( both red and black) wrapped together coming from a little grey plastic box (which i think is some type of relay switch) was whether they get hooked up to the battery as well as one of the orange ones from the switch to the positive and the black one from the relay to the negative along with the black one from the motor to the negative terminal on the battery. Ty, ill be out in the driveway experimenting. Happy boating all

 

[ezeke]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Most 1976 large outboard wiring setups are not that different than more recent ones. The starting battery's cables run to the engine where the largest connections are to the starter solenoid [red or red and white, positive] and ground [black].

Smaller positive wires lead off from there, one to the rectifier and one to a fused wire on the way to the ignition switch. A black ground wire also attaches to the engine and runs to the ignition switch. A small amount of power is thus available for gauges and gauge lights in addition to the power needed to activate the choke and starter solenoids.

Because the engine harness running to the control and ignition switch has small wires, any additional accessories are normally wired separately through additional connections directly at the battery or batteries.

Often there are additional wiring connections at the battery for sump pumps and power tilt and trim units. For example, my pumps are wired direct so that they are always hot, even though the battery switch is off.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: No Power at Battery....

Id just like to say ty to all you guys that gave me a hand the last couple days, i finally got that 200 hp monster to life tonight!!!! What a great sound that was. It sounds like its running really nice too considering the gas is a year old. Ive changed all the plugs, putting a dab of oil in every one first , changed all the inline fuses, and was going to order a complete new water pump kit with impeller tomorrow just in case, the pee hole looks strong, but since i dont know when it was last done better safe than sorry right? Anything else you guys think should be done b4 hitting the water? Again, I thank you all, if not for u guys at iboats i woulda had a hell of a time. Happy boating