1983 Johnson 115

Hi guys. I've got an older Johnson 115 that's driving me crazy. I had a spark on 2/4 cylinders, so replaced the power pack. Now, I have no spark at all. I opened up the control box and bypassed the safety button (just until I can get a new one) and did the troubleshooting, that came with the CDI module. Only thing wrong is 0 ohms between the blue and white trigger wires on the 1 side that's giving me trouble. New starter, plugs and plug wires, But I've been all over the internet, and there is just not a lot on motors this old. I've got 120 psi on all 4 cylinders, so if I can solve my spark issue, I'll be back in business. Any help is appreciated.

check where the stator feeds the power pack for volts.

Put the old power pak back on and see if spark returns. Is this a oem cdi box or an aftermarket.

And how did you " bypass " the safety button / kill switch.-----Did you connect the 2 wires ?----Or are you talking about the " neutral start switch here.-----The neutral start switch has nothing to do with spark.

I cut out the switch behind the safety button (where the lanyard attaches) just to eliminate it as a possible problem, and tied the wires together. I'll put the old pack one back in tomorrow and see what happens, but when I tested the old pack (diodes) brown & brown yellow check ok, but I get nothing on the white trigger wire. What gets me is the 0 ohms on the blue trigger wire from the motor only on one side. What does that indicate? Its an after market pack, and I don't think this '83 has a shift bypass, at least not one I can see. I've had several boats, but all I/O, this is my first outboard. Its quite a learning curve.

Untie the kill switch wires and separate them and tape them off. By tieing them together you have grounded the ignition. Seperate them and try again.The neutral safety switch is in the controller.

flyingscott said:

Untie the kill switch wires and separate them and tape them off. By tieing them together you have grounded the ignition. Seperate them and try again.The neutral safety switch is in the controller.

Click to expand...

Well... At least he didn't connect 12v to that pack. No harm done......... this time! :rolleyes:

It must be caused by ethanol.......only kidding, Mr. Scott. Whenever you check output or ohms on ANYTHING THAT THE WIRES MOVE DURING THROTTLE OPERATION......you should test in all throttle positions.........wires do go bad. When a power pack is to blame, a good tech makes sure the other components weren't the cause.......hey, years ago I made plenty mistakes......once bit, twice shy........and "don't let your schooling interfere with your education"......right, they never taught me but a "fraction" in school, compared to what I have gained through hands on mistakes and experience.

So I put the old pack back in today, and behold, a spark! Thinking I was crazy I started looking at the other side. Apparently, whoever was messing with this motor before me didn't understand how important a good ground is. In changing the old pack back in, I moved the ground to direct contact with the block, did the same on the starbord side, and suddenly I had a spark on both sides. Its always the simple things we overlook?! Bad news is, when I was putting the control box back together, (after seperating the switch wires) I came to find that the idle lever screw was stripped out, so .... as its an OMC box and by the time I buy a new lever and safety switch, I'll need to get a new control box before I can hit the water. Thanks for all the help.