My Johnson will not Idle in Nuetral but runs good WOT

"I had the motor checked out b

"I had the motor checked out by the dealer and took it out on sunday for a run, and it will not idle in water, It will however idle setting hooked up to a hose. I am sure this is how they checked it also. I was able to get it to run and it is strong at WOT and inbetween until I idle. It eventually cut off and would not crank, and luckily I had enough forward momentum to get me to the dock and rope it to the trailer, After getting it home I hooked up the hose and attempted to crank it, It took over 15 tries and it finally started and idled semi ok in the yard. WHat could be causing the motor to not idle in water but idle in the yard? Wonder why it would not refire either? I had over 400 dollars of check out and carb cleaning, compression check, lower unit serviced, they said all was well. I will be calling them back but it it disapointing on my first trip out with this boat. By the way it is a 2000 115 Johnson Ocean Pro. JVLSS115."

Hopefully you had it worked on

Hopefully you had it worked on by a knowledgeable mechanic at a authorized dealership who honors the meaning of warranty. Let us know what they have to say.

Marshall.....if the problem is

Marshall.....if the problem is intermittent it may check out ok at the shop again...especially with a so-so mechanic...i would get (if you dont already have) an inductive timing light and put in the boat...when it wont start at all you can decide if it is a firing problem or a possible fuel problem..you mention a semi-ok idle on the trailer...i would open the throttle a few hundred rpms and get it where it will barely stay running...probably will be 12-1500 rpm with a failure present...then look at each plug with the timing light and see who is failing..the timing light will not tell you the voltage but it will give you some idea if its fuel or ignition...especially in a dead in the water situation such as you had getting in to the dock.if the engine is firing then make sure the gas bulb is firm..do not over choke at this point...also make sure the gas is new and the tank vent is open...visually check all your gas lines for leaks..Carl...one thing i forgot...check the plug coming from the stator to the power pack for a pushed back pin...

"I took it back to the dealer

"I took it back to the dealer and I have not heard back yet. They say the low idle in the water could have been from back pressure as they checked it on the trailer hooked to the hose, They said that it can idle high on the hose and once in the water it may have been set too low.? what do you think?
The other issue is that there may have been some debri in the jets. Can anyone tell me if when you choke the motor, does it bypass the lower jets???
I did have fresh high octane gas in the tank. I have a water fuel seperator but I have not put it in yet. I will post more when I find out what they tell me. I thought that the motor had a inline filter to catch small particles?"

"On a flushette, a 20" sha

"On a flushette, a 20" shaft engine should idle at approximately 1000 rpm, a 25" shaft at 1200 rpm.

There is no choke, but rather a fuel primer solenoid that is actuated when you push that ignition key in. That causes the fuel mixture to be injected into a area just in back of the carburetor throttle butterflies..... yes, that bypasses the carburetor jets.

There is a inline fuel filter between the VRO/Fuel where the fuel hose exits the hood pan.

It's possible but very unlikely that any debris would be found in those jets after being cleaned."

"Well this is the update, The

"Well this is the update, The mechanic that worked on my engine is young and admited that he had not worked on many of the carbded Johnson motors. I asked them to water test it. Of course the do not have a tank so they had to pull it to the lake 20 min, away. I was nice about the whole issue but the findings were as follows. He had the idle set too low due it being on the hose. He also said that there was was some sort of tube that had a hairline crack somewhere back at the carbs, not sure what it was because they did not show me. I have not ran it yet, just got it back but hope to run it this weekend just to see. They stated that the carbs did not have any blockage, question that I have it I think I would have smelled gas if there was a cracked line in the cowel. I am not disputing that but I am not an outboard mechanic. Only time will tell. They did make mention that if it gives more trouble that I may need to replace carbs????? Not sure why this is, they said the carbs are plastic?? True or not? My total for this was $125.oo I did have them put new nylon strap on my winch because the other broke on the same day I was stuck on the lake, They charged me for an hour and half labor, and said they cut me a deal because they had it on the water several hours. I was not overjoyed at this but If the motor does not give any trouble from here on out, it will be ok. If I still have problems I will look to find a Johnson expert, much like most of you. Thank you for taking time to answer my piddly questions!!!!!!!! What do you think about the carberator issue, how long before you need to replace them? They said that the compression was 125 and 130 on all cylinders. Next and last Question can I run ring free to keep carbs good and clean? I have some from my Yamaha that I had on the last boat. THANKS!! I will update on how it runs after the week end. what is the best Johson manual to buy so I can read up and learn more about my engine and how to work on it. "

I didn't see any mention o

I didn't see any mention of ignition. A good spark fixes many a carb problem. The plugs may need to be checked.