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1976 35hp Johnson ignition

drmyrick

New member
"My mechanic has replaced 3 se

"My mechanic has replaced 3 sets of points in this engine in less than a year. I am tired of being stranded on the river. Is there an electronic ignition conversion kit for this motor? If not, any idea what is going on?"
 
"something is not right,those

"something is not right,those points should last years...if he is using aftermarket,try original equipment,and vise versa...there is a module for a magneto,if all coils r under flywheel,i dont think,they will wk on your system tho...if your upper crank seal is bad,it will get oil on points and ruin them,....what has he said the reason is for repl all those.?"
 
"He keeps telling me that year

"He keeps telling me that year engine was a lemon and they all go thru points like that. I am so frustrated. I have done mechanic work most of my life, just never worked on outboards, so I know something isn't right. Spark plugs foul alot also. I am running 50:1. He says the compression is excellent."
 
"welcome to marineengine david

"welcome to marineengine david!


do you by chance have a radio in your boat?


i still new to troubleshooting the ignition components----im used to cars with computers----but remember the old cars and trucks, when you leave the ignition in the run position to listen to the radio and your points got fried in the process?.....maybe this is happening to you.

i doubt that a '77 would still have issues with the points that havent been ironed out.

and your fouled spark plugs are probably the result of weak spark due to point failure.

are the points welding together? or just burning the contact points?

ive seen brand new points burn after a short period of time due to improper adjustments by newbies.....when i learned how to set points it was explained as an art---you have to have the proper drag (not too tight no to loose) when using feeler gauges.

good luck and happy hollidays!!"
 
"u can use a steering wheel,or

"u can use a steering wheel,or hormonic balancer puller....and some auto parts pl will loan u one..remember,first thing,when u pull it,..look for alot of oil on parts,indicating a bad upper crank seal."
 
"u might go to--pertronics ign

"u might go to--pertronics ignitions,and see if they make a module for yours.--on-line--"
 
[i]"when you leave the ign

"when you leave the ignition in the run position to listen to the radio and your points got fried in the process?.....maybe this is happening to you."

With old type car ignitions you get a current flowing through the coil and points from the battery when the switch is on but with a magneto type ignition there's no current flow like that!

I'd go for dirty points ... they must be absolutely clean not even finger prints on them... or incorrectly adjusted.

A bad condenser can cause burning but I think it will be come difficult to start long before a condenser gets that bad.
 
Ya'll have been great! The

Ya'll have been great! The mechanic who has been woking on my boat has been working on Johnson and evinrude motors for over 30 years. Has a great reputation around here. Never occured to me that he might actually be incompetent. I'm ordering a service manual and a couple of tune up kits and I will do this myself. Thanks to everyone!
 
"David--

i think you're


"David--

i think you're on right path there...not that i'm saying your mech is incompetent, but this is mas o menos the same points/cond ignition syystem OMC has used since the mid-late 50s. i find it hard to believe that one year would suddenly develop a magical mystery ailment without some design change. compare this with the results when OMC intro'd CDI ignition....run a search in this subforum on "power pack" and you'll see an example of design issues....."
 
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