Johnson 130hp 2000 BJ130VXSSS - Trim sense, battery charge, stalling from idle, tachometer-any help?

Hi all,

I am new to the boating scene and just got myself a 2000 Johnson oceanpro 130hp (BJ130VXSSS).

First and possibly most important issue - the engine idles fine on land but sounds a little 'slow' under water (guessing slight more load on exhaust?)
When changing into gear it often stalls, particularly into reverse - even when warm. Forward is ok when warm, but you have to be brisk at getting the throttle up.

Would idle adjust be the way to go with this -its currently all the way out - not even contacting pulley i.e lowest as possible. From a quick look the carbs look clean.

The other issues are electrical - The trim sense gauge and tachometer (rev gauge) doesn't seem to work. The battery terminals seem to vary - perhaps not regulated properly - I saw 15V at one point and 13.5 another so may be time for new regulator circuit but im pretty sure the trim sense is separate...

Can anyone suggest where I could get a wiring diagram -would this be part of the service manual or separate as part of Johnson's 'system check'?

Lastly, any tips on how to inspect a VRO oil system - lack of knowledge on this makes me nervous on relying upon it (although supposedly system check is wired up.....)

Thanks in advance!

Got alot of problems....

I think you may haave some misconceptions.

1. Idle. "currently all the way out....not contacting pulley" doesn't compute.
Go to shop.evinrude.com and navigate to your engine parts pages. On the cylinder and crankcase page locate ref # 81 and it's associated parts. That is the idle speed adjustment mechanism. You adjust it with the screw that is coming out the front end. That screw effective rotates the timer base, changing the idle timing, which changes the idle speed.

2. trim sense gauge and tach need to be powered up properly. Purple wire from harness should go under your dash somewhere, and this wire is hot when key on. It attaches to both of those gauges. Be sure to check for good ground at the gauges too.

3. Regulator....hmmm. Tougher problem. I would monitor it for a while to get better fault characteristics first.

4. Systems check. Here's the thing....it does very little to nothing. Basically when you key on, the lights go thru their sequence and the horn chirps. It is testing NOTHING except that the lights work and the horn chirps.
To test proper operation of the systems check dealie...find any tan wire under the hood...tan, tan with blk stripe, tan with orange stripe...etc....and when engine is running, ground the wire. The horn should sound off for 10 seconds, and the appropriate light should light. For example....temp. Find the tan wire from the temp sensor on the heads, and ground it when engine running. Horn should sound, hot light should be on.
Tan wires will be at VRO/OMS pump harness, Oil tank, and I think that's it on a V4.

VRO can be tested by marking the tank's oil level, running say 25 gals thru the motor, and looking to use 1/2 gal of oil.
Or, any fuel usage to oil usage you wish to run. Say 50 gals to one gal of oil. 50:1 mix.
If you are hinkey about running it, just mix your tank gas at 50:1. If the VRO is working properly, you would be getting 25:1 at the engine, which won't hurt anything for the short testing process. VRO doesn't know you already have premix in the tank.

Get a proper OMC original service manual. It will have all you will ever need.

An OMC factory service manual would really help you for most problems you would encounter with this motor.

Thanks for your help guys - I have been trying to find the service manual - I think the 2000 ss service manual should cover it as my serial ends ss for 2000, but my particular model isn't referenced in the manual. Bit of an odd one out perhaps! As for the idle adjust, I was referring to cable adjustment and idle stop screw rather than timing. I shall try the system check tan wire test at some point. Cheers, Adam

The "B" on your model number stands for "Belgium" which is where the motor was manufactured.
You can use the manual for a J130VXSSS.

daselbee said:

The "B" on your model number stands for "Belgium" which is where the motor was manufactured.
You can use the manual for a J130VXSSS.

Click to expand...

Thanks - that now makes sense. The only manual I can give is specific to j130plsss and pxsss but I think the v in my vxsss is for extended gear case ? Anyway I'm 90% sure that is the right manual! Thanks again for everyone's help

Thanks everyone for your help - Im hoping to secure a manual from ebay!
I tried the engine again today after tweaking the idle stop screw - this fixed the stalling although I think the gear shift cable needs some adjustment - the motor vibrates and doesnt sound great in reverse! Fingers crossed there are no big issues there!

Hi guys, so bought a manual today - however does anyone have any suggestions on a couple of issues I have.
The motor is fine forward, real smooth but in reverse it vibrates a lot. My gut feeling is the engaging is the problem as a propeller badly damaged would surely affect forward motion also?
Also with my trim tab fully adjusted right, the boat still pulls hard right under power. I did notice the motor seems to be mounted a little high with the plate around 6 inches above the lowest hull point. It is Reasonably large engine for the hull size so the freeboard isn't huge. Perhaps that's why the previous owner mounted the engine this high. Any thoughts if that would cause the steering issue?
Thanks in advance for any help again.

Could you post a pic of this set up ??

Hi guys,

So as you can see from the photo the trim tab is adjusted fully towards the camera, yet it still pulls to the right reasonably hard.

The previous owner mentioned that there used to be a slightly larger engine and that's why the two black hydraulic 'smart tabs' were added to give lift.

The engine seems to high to me - the anti-ventilation plate is about 5" above the lowest point. The boat does sit low in the water - with the fuel tank towards the rear (110L), battery and oil container, along with the fact its a reasonably large engine for the hull size at rest the freeboard starts at the dive platforms - perhaps that's why he raised the engine?

I notice if I use the full trim range, near the top I hear a definite change in tone which I assume is ventilation due to its height?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Its close ..maybe 1 hole to high

faztbullet said:

Its close ..maybe 1 hole to high

Click to expand...

Interesting. My assumption was that the plate should be at most 1 inch above the lowest point?
I also notice that at the lowest tilt that the motor is past vertical - the propeller is actually pointing down ( if that makes sense?)

Fazt is right. On a motor that is mounted on a bracket like yours is, the engine sits much higher.
What is the part number of the manual you got?

Hi, the part number is 787071 - fingers crossed it cost over $50. Why does the pod dictate the higher engine ? My guess is the centre of gravity is further back and so the stern would be lower and therefore higher engine required? Also less disturbed water flow as larger distance from hull?
Any thoughts if it's wrong that the lowest tilt ( when it reaches stop bar) the propeller is past horizontal? E.g pointing down.
That said at about half tilt up the sound of the motor changes largely - higher revs (slip?) Or ventilation as louder?
Perhaps one bolt down would help this or remove black smart trim tabs?
Thanks again

Try lowering the motor once and see what happens.

Good point, easiest to try. Only thing is that it's a heavy beast and I don't have the gear so will take to a marine service shop. Not sure if I could concoct up a brace with a car jack and some wood or something! Can the motor weight rest on the skeg temporarily or a brace onto the anti ventilation plate- gut feeling is bad news but surely it has near or more pressure on it when boating given the lift force is greater than the engine weight!
Struggling to find YouTube/ Google image of how the pros support it - guessing engine brace strap stand?

For anyone interested , if it's a trailer boat it seems a suggested way to adjust is to wedge wood under the motor, loosen the screws that can slide and remove the fixed ones. Then tilt the trailer as a big lever to adjust motor position. Don't forget sealant ( such as 3m 4000 - less permenant).
Will let you know how this goes.

Also for anyone interested, it seems a good starting point of the height of the plate is level with the bottom of the boat +/- 1 inch depending on the hull shape etc. If it's stern heavy raise it to +1, ultimately the plate needs to skim the water when on plane if I have understood.

If it's on a pod it seems roughly 1 inch higher per 12 inches the pod goes back ( 25mm per 300mm) .

So for mine, it's stern heavy as oil, fuel and batteries at the back as well as large motor for hull size. So starting guess of +1", then the pod is about 2 ft so an extra 2", totaling 3. I do also have trim tabs that raise the stern slightly so 3 may well be good. Will let you know how it goes. Slightly low may be good for wake boarding!

Hope this post is useful to someone.

Hi guys,
Next part of the puzzle (yet to adjust height of motor) is the shift cable adjust. When the controller 'clicks' into reverse, its not fully engaged (far from!). I notice as I increase the reverse throttle the gear lever moves some more before the throttle increases, its as if the controller 'clicks' too early.

In forward the opposite seems to happen. It clicks in fine, then as I increase throttle nothing happens until toward the full throttle end.

Is this an adjustment that needs to happen in the controller box? I would have expected the gear lever to have fully shifted by the time it 'clicks'

*Click is made by squeeze handle popping back out, I thought marking the end of the gear shift range?