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1978 Johnson 55 hp 2 stroke outboard 55el78s wiring problems.

Laying the wire out on plywood is a great idea.
My wiring harness is in terrible shape.
New wires have been soldered to the ones left.

The wiring harness that goes to the front of the boat is in good shape.
The part going to the motor is not, and is the part that had wires soldered.

I thought that I could figure out which wire matches to which.
Can not.
There is not any color left the most of the wires.

Looking at the wiring diagram, I see that it is not possible to just pick a wire and use it.
There is a path that has to be followed.

I think that the only way that I am going to be able to finish the wiring is to do what you have done.
I am not sure about using automotive wire. I guess the wiring could be checked every now and then.
I think that as this wiring is figured out, I will compare the cost of the two types of wiring.
I don't think that marine wire would cost that much more. We'll see.

Thank you all for the information.

Ed
 
I am trying to figure out if it would be worth spending the money on a wiring harness.
I have heard that a harness for my motor could cost $250.
After reading your reply, I am trying to determine if it would be worth spending the cash.

I plan on keeping the motor, so what is the advantage of a wiring harness?

Ed
 
Try Tim's Outboard in Hackensack MN. They may have a pristine used harness for you at a huge savings. Phone# 218 682 2331. Mike or Dan.
 
I thought that I had the corroded wiring harness fixed.
I had new wires soldered to the corroded ones.
The female part of the harness is in good shape.
The male part is not.

The male part is the one that had wiring so bad that I had to have new wires soldered
The two parts were not color coded.

How can I figure out how to match the wires on the male to the female.

Looking at the wiring diagram, I see that there is a path that has to be followed for things to work.
Most of the wires are 18 ga, but not the red wire.
On the male side, the red wire is larger, so that may be the one that matches to the female side.
But, what about all the other wires.

How in the heck could I determine which wire goes where?

I have thought about using a piece of plywood and making another set of wires.
It may be easier to use the wiring harness, if I can figure out which wire needs to be used to follow the diagram path

The plan is to continue with this motor until that time when a larger motor is purchased. Could be a while.
With this said, is there a reason to have a wiring harness?
Do most Johnson motor use the same harness as the one that my 1978 55hp Johnson uses?
If not, then I would have to cut the wires, and replace the harness anyway, so why not replace the wires by using the plywood technique?
 
I watched a you tube video that gave information on how to check a regulator on a outbiard.
I do not see why this procedure will not work for matching wire A to wire B on my wiring harness.

Ed
 
The video showed how he tested the wires.
He used a multi tester to determine if the regulator was any good.

Why couldn't I use the multi tester (can not think of what the proper name is).
Why couldn't I match wires from A to B with this tester?

The problem is with my wiring harness.
The female side (part that goes to the front of boat), the wires are decent.
The male side (part going to engine), the wires are in terrible shape.

Why couldn't I use the multi tester to see which of the 6 wires on the male side match to any given wire on the female side.
By doing this process I would be able to color code the wiring harness.

I can get a wiring harness through the mail for $250 or get one here in town for $200.
Why spend money for a wiring harness when all I have to do is to find the hot wire

Ed
 
The motor sat for years ?-----How did ir run back then ?----Be a shame to find out that after you do all the wiring that it will not run properly !-----Best to evaluate the mechanical condition first.
 
The motor ran great the last time it was on the water. I see this as a learning opportunity. The questions that I have asked is a indication of my mechanical ability. The cash spent so far has been minimal.

The wiring harness. If I have to purchase another harness, I have found one for $200.

I do not see why a multi meter should not show me the continuity between male and female on the Harness. The plan is to find out Monday if my idea will hold water.
This is step 1.

Ed
 
Have a question about laying the wires out one by one on plywood.
Were these wires, when done. attached to a rubber piece that would allow separation?

Ed
 
I took some of the coating off a few of the wires that go to the female part of the wiring harness.
I have been trying to color code the male and female part of my wiring harness.
I have not been able to find a wire that is hot on either part of the wiring harness.
I cleaned the battery connects.
Key is on.

Ed
 
This motor uses 12 volts in order to crank it over.-----It does NOT use 12 volts to make the spark.----Spark is generated by the fltwheel turning at 250 RPM or so.
 
I do remember seeing a video on how the flywheel generates power.
But, I am trying to figure out how to find a hot wire on the female part of the wiring harness in the motor.
You have to start somewhere.

There may be things going on in the wiring prior to that part where the wiring has reached the motor.
Another member mentioned mechanical parts that either need to be checked now or later.
I get that.

And those parts will be checked, but right now I am focused on the wiring.
I do not know if the wiring going to the control box is in good working order.

Could you bypass the control box by having a push button to get a hot wire to start the motor.
Before I start it I would make sure gear oil is where it should be, and I would want to impeller replaced.

What is the process for installing a push button to be able to start the motor?

Ed
 
racerone said:
This motor uses 12 volts in order to crank it over.-----It does NOT use 12 volts to make the spark.----Spark is generated by the fltwheel turning at 250 RPM

Thanks for the response. I have not tried to start the motor yet.
I have spent time trying to find a hot wire on that part of the wiring harness that comes from the front of the boat.

I thought that I could use the wiring harness that we made. The problem is, after I took some of the coating off one of the wires, I have not been able to find a hot wire. The battery has been cleaned. I thought that it was going to be an easy process. Find the hot wire on the female side, and then do the same on the male side going to the engine. Has not been.

Maybe it is time to ask for help from a mechanic around here. I always am glad to obtain replies from the forum. The tips have been great. The problem is that I have reached a wall that, so far, I have not been able to get over.

Ed
Click to expand...
 
edward.2525 said:
I have spent time trying to find a hot wire on that part of the wiring harness that comes from the front of the boat.
Click to expand...

I don't quite understand what you're speaking of Ed. Do you mean the wire that is attached to the large positive battery terminal of the starter solenoid that leads to the "B" terminal of the ignition switch?... The one that would also incorporate a inline 20amp fuse?

If so... and the voltage doesn't register... perhaps the fuse is blown.
 
The wires that I was hopping would be hot were those that came from the front of the boat. I am looking at the colored diagram that I have, and it only shows a fuse at the battery. The large red wire begins at the rectifier, and if it is bad, then there will not be anything hot.

If I can find a hot wire, then I will be able to use the wiring that we made.
If I can not find a hot wire, then buying another wiring harness will do me no good.

There needs to be a hot wire found.

I will probably ask someone in my sons network to come over.
I do not want to spend too much more time trying to figure something out that my limited mechanical knowledge will not allow. Later, with another motor maybe, but right now this motor needs to be fixed to run.
I want to catch shark, and other fish

Ed
 
You're kidding, you can't see the red "hot" wires starting with the red battery cable at the side of the starter solenoid, going through the fuse, then to the ignition switch? The red wire from the rectifier recharges the battery while running.

Simple Electricity 101.
 
On the other hand, if you are looking for a wire at the engine that is "hot" when the key is turned on, there is none. It would be purple if there was one. Nothing on the engine runs on 12V, so no need for a wire to feed it.
 
Are you guys still working on this? Where do you live, Ed? Maybe one of our Florida boys can help you. Did you call Tim's Outboard to see what they had?
 
Thank You.

I am looking at the wiring diagram. There are numerous wires coming from the rectifier, with a variety of colors. The red wire that I looked at was picked because it went to the battery.

Looking at the rectifier, there are a number of wires coming from it. I picked the red one because the diagram shows it going to the battery.

I thought that one of the many wires that I took a bit of coating off, that come from the front of the boat, should be hot with the key on. None were.

I figured that if I could find a hot wire, I could begin to find out the proper path for these wires. I thought that once I find a hot wire that has come from the front, then I could get the wires that go to the motor next.

Sounds good on paper.

Ed
 
Edward.... No offense intended here but in life many people are quite knowledgeable in various fields, and I feel sure that you fall into one of those classes where your intelligence shines in some field or another... BUT... no one, including Einstein could be versed in all fields.

In your case, it seems to me that electricity, wiring, the routing and laws pertaining to same rest on your shoulders as a foreign language. Working with it as you've been doing, taking into consideration that gasoline and battery voltages are included... fire and explosion are always a possibility. You mentioned having your son look at that wiring problem?... If he is somewhat knowledgeable in that field, let him take over. If he is not knowledgeable, study the manual before touching anything.

Case in point... you keep talking about the front of the boat. Is the battery at the front of the boat? If not, there will be no hot wires originating at that point.
 
I think that we have come to the same conclusion on this motor. No offense taken. When I spoke of the front of the boat, I was referring to that part of the wiring harness that came from the part opposit
 
Honestly it's not worth pulling your hair out making a new harness. A new CDI one with a clear and easy to read instruction leaflet is included. they run about $115. Not to mention the safety issue. How are you absolutely sure you are using the proper resistance wires as came from the factory? To me it's well worth the money and piece of mind to get a new one knowing it's done right. Double - ended red wire with fuse goes to top of start solenoid, black grounded to cyl. head double-ended bolt on block (as should be the solenoid ground), tan is for temp sensor also on port side cyl head. Single red wire goes to power for the reg/rectifier, black/yellow to connector going to power pack. 3 yellow wires go to terminal board were they mate up (color coded blue gray plain yellow) to reg/rectifier wires. Long purple/white is for the choke solenoid. Just my 2 cents!
 
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