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1982 Johnson 2 hp won’t start or fire

C

Clark Griffith

New member
Hi all.

I have the above noted motor, (J2RCNE).

My mother bought the motor new in 1982. It might have 50 hours on it and all the ignition parts look new. The motor hadn’t been run for at least 15 years but ran fine. 2 years ago I decided to get it running so I cleaned the carb and a rebuild kit. I made sure the points were set correctly and they were. Put fresh fuel at 50:1 and it fired up right away and ran great. I put it on a boat and went fishing. The motor slowly lost power and eventually wouldn’t start after 2 hours.

I was unable to work on it until now.

The trouble shooting started with spark. Good solid spark on old and new plug. Air ….to easy. Fuel. I unhooked fuel line and sprayed fuel in carb. Nothing. I was thinking fuel all along. Checked points and good at .020 on Tod mark. All the electronics on top end look new.

next was compression. I use a drill with a modified bit as an electric start. On slow, about the same as rope pull it was 90 psi and on fast, about 300 rpm it was 100 psi.

I have worked on many small engines in the bush where you gotta do what you gotta do with great success. I am working in my garage where I have all the amenities and this thing has me beat.

Any suggestions welcome.

Clark
 
Hi Boobie.

I bought an Air gap tester today. At 3/16” nice blue spark. At 1/4” nothing and of course nothing at 5/16”.

New coil and capacitor and points coming on Tuesday.

What I find strange is that after sitting idle for at least 15 years it fired up and ran perfectly at all throttle settings and slowly declined to the point of not starting during a continuous 2 hour run.

Even if this isn’t the complete fix I thank you very much because you taught me something.

Clark
 
Hi racerone.

Thanks for the message. I did replace the impeller when I went through the motor. I should have said so. There were no issues with cooling and with the fuel tank removed and a dry carb the spark plug and cylinder are dry and when I use a boroscope camera to check for rust or corrosion. It’s only ever been run in Fresh water and was stored inside a dry basement.. I am positive that water isn’t getting into the cylinder and thereby increasing compression.

You got me thinking. Thanks, Clark
 
Hi Boobie.

I got the new points, condenser, coil and installed them to spec. There was nice blue spark at 5/16 and even 3/8. I then checked the old and new spark plug. Nice blue spark. I then put everything back together….sprayed a little fuel into the carb and used the drill as an electric start at about 300 rpm. No fire. For about twenty seconds it would turn over easier after a squirt of fuel.

I am no mechanic and have never played one on tv but this is the first time I have been beaten by a small engine. My trouble shooting is always fuel, spark air. Spray fuel in carb and try to start. No start check spark. Air is to easy when looking down the throat of a carb.

Clark
 
I decided to install the fuel tank and fuel line. Using the drill as a starter it really wanted to run but wouldn’t. Low speed jet set to 1.5 turns out and high speed jet set to 1 turn out. The spark plug was warm to the touch. While spinning it over I adjusted both jets separately with no luck as the original setting seemed to give it the best results. This seems strange as squirting fuel in the carb mouth didn’t work. Playing with the choke seemed to help as well. The spark plug was warm but dry.

I decided to start over and checked everything was still to spec and it is.

my next move is to clean the carb.

Clark
 
Clark Griffith said:
I decided to install the fuel tank and fuel line. Using the drill as a starter it really wanted to run but wouldn’t. Low speed jet set to 1.5 turns out and high speed jet set to 1 turn out. The spark plug was warm to the touch. While spinning it over I adjusted both jets separately with no luck as the original setting seemed to give it the best results. This seems strange as squirting fuel in the carb mouth didn’t work. Playing with the choke seemed to help as well. The spark plug was warm but dry.

I decided to start over and checked everything was still to spec and it is.

my next move is to clean the carb.

Clark
Click to expand...

I’m confused. You got spark, right? Try taking plugs off and putting a squirt of carb cleaner right in each cylinder. Then try starting with fuel hooked up. You obviously don’t want to do this repeatedly due to no lube but I’ve found that for a few of my project engines this kickstarts ether ignition cycle very nicely and helps carb kick in.
 
A motor in good condition starts right up.----Resorting to an electric starter on a 2 hp is not good practice.----Motor needs 4 thing to run.----Correct amount of fuel at 40:1 mix.----Strong spark ( 1/4" gap ) at the correct time.------Compression in the cylinder.----Compression in the crankcase.-----When did you check compression in the cylinder ?-------Last year or today ?------Sorry to be blunt but this should be easy to figure out and repair.----Perhaps it just needs a new sparkplug.
 
I agree that this should be real easy. Everything I have done has been done twice in the last week.
compression 100 psi. New coil, condenser and points gapped at .020. New fuel and oil mixed at 50:1. Old and new spark plugs gapped .030 with good blue spark. Tested spark at 5/16” and even 3/8”.

I just bought a can of quick start and I do think I will need to clean the carb but it isn’t a carb problem thus far as the carb was not connected to a fuel supply until last evening while I was just spraying a small shot of fuel in.

I will report back on quick start and reed valves.

Thanks, Clark
 
Clark Griffith said:
Thanks guys. I was thinking of using ether. Also I have never inspected reed valves. How do I do that?

Clark
Click to expand...

Reed valves are located behind the carb. Depending on the engine, sometimes it's possible to visually inspect in situ. they are just plates that spring back into place when pressure on them is released. When you pull them out you shine a flashlight in from behind and you should not be able to see light come through i.e. it should be a tight fit. Be gentle with them if you are going to try to very gently press them inwards without removing. I would use a tiny screwdriver or fingernail to nudge inwards no more than a 1/4" and see if it flips back closed when you release. Obviously, there shouldn't be a part of any of them missing. The parts diagram should show you how many flaps to look for.
 
Ok. It wouldn’t fire with the carb off and a shot of quick start. Took reed valves out and sure enough one wasn’t seating. I removed a small piece of gunk, reinstalled and they both seat well. Without the carb and a shot of quick start it ran for about 10 seconds. Before I reinstall carb I will clean it but already found a problem. The low speed jet has a fibrous washer that is gunky and pretty much destroyed.

does anyone know where I can find a parts diagram for the carb?

Thanks for all the help and education, Clark
 
Last edited:
racerone said:
A motor in good condition starts right up.----Resorting to an electric starter on a 2 hp is not good practice.----Motor needs 4 thing to run.----Correct amount of fuel at 40:1 mix.----Strong spark ( 1/4" gap ) at the correct time.------Compression in the cylinder.----Compression in the crankcase.-----When did you check compression in the cylinder ?-------Last year or today ?------Sorry to be blunt but this should be easy to figure out and repair.----Perhaps it just needs a new sparkplug.
Click to expand...

I have no doubt you are right but in my (more limited for sure) experience I have sometimes found that if motor has sat for a VERY long time, it's easier to wake it up with a modest spray of carb cleaner or other right into each cylinder. Not sure why, but the carb then takes over and all is well. I would NOT try this repeatedly though. That's defintely a bad idea.

If you have confirmed spark and fuel is being pumping out of fuel pump when you pull the cord AND you have replaced all ignition parts AND set points correctly then a carb disassembly is definitely required.
 
Clark Griffith said:
Ok. It wouldn’t fire with the carb off and a shot of quick start. Took reed valves out and sure enough one wasn’t seating. I removed a small piece of gunk, reinstalled and they both seat well. Without the carb and a shot of quick start it ran for about 10 seconds. Before I reinstall carb I will clean it but already found a problem. The low speed jet has a fibrous washer that is gunky and pretty much destroyed.
does anyone know where I can find a parts diagram for the carb?
Thanks for all the help and education, Clark
Click to expand...

@ marineengine.com, of course (you are here!). The forum is just a cover for us to buy a bunch of parts off them!!! Just enter your serial # and select "carburator" and all the secrets of the universe will be revealed. Pretty sure you'll be just fine without hte fibrous washer as long as the needle is not damaged. Not sure if you can buy se3parately. You may be stuck buying a carb maintenance kit.

You are in the home stretch!!!
 
bigtime. The washer acts as a friction lock on the jet so that the the jet can’t vibrate out or in but for test purposes it should be fine.

Thanks, Clark
 
The motor is back together and running pretty well. Low idle needs a little fine tuning.

Thank you bigtime, racerone and Boobie in no particular order. My mother passed away a year ago so it has sentimental value as well I have a use for it. You guys got my motor running and provided an education in doing so.

Clark
 
Clark Griffith said:
The motor is back together and running pretty well. Low idle needs a little fine tuning.

Thank you bigtime, racerone and Boobie in no particular order. My mother passed away a year ago so it has sentimental value as well I have a use for it. You guys got my motor running and provided an education in doing so.

Clark
Click to expand...
Well no doubt she’s up there smiling and clapping at your success. Nicely done. Enjoy.
 
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