60 hp esld 1970 johnson

[48tony]

well my problem went from bad to real bad. after posting my problem with a idle problem with eritic rpms at idle. i went out to give it one more try. it ran ok . shut her down went to crank it and no spark. this is after pretty much a new ignition system new amp coil stator rectifier battery.one thing i did and i hope i did not fry something out because of it i run two batteryies one for the motor and one for lights radio etc. after all the new parts i noticed a hi battery reading. so i heard on this site too put on some assesoryies to draw from the battery. seeing i have the 2 i ran parrellel leads to each other figuring this would help draw some volts. heavy gauge pos to pos neg to neg. have i done a no no.or is this this some fluke . i changed the coil with one i had and still no spark. what to do. thanks tony

 

[joereeves]

Having two batteries in parallel still equals 12 volts so that wouldn't create a problem. Check the voltage at the starter solenoid.

(Point Setting Of Battery Capacitance Discharge)
( Ignition Models - 1968 thru 1972)
(Some have points - Some do not)
(Joe Reeves)
The points must be set to .010 but no wider than .010..... BUT in some instances due to a possible slight inaccurately machined crankshaft lobe or a slight offset of one set of points, a setting slightly less than .010 would be required as follows.
Whether the crankshaft has two or three lobes, when setting the points, check the setting of the points on each individual lobe by rotating the crankshaft by hand.
You may find that setting one set of points to .010 on one lobe, then turning the crankshaft to the next lobe, the gap measures .011 or .012 (too wide). This is where you would need to close that gap down to the required .010. A gap too wide can result in a ignition miss when throttle is applied.
Bottom line, pertaining to the point setting at the various lobe locations____ .010, .010, .009, is okay____ .010, .010, .011 is not!

********************
(Voltage Drop To Battery Capacitance Discharge)
( Pulsepack When Electric Starter Is Engaged)
(J. Reeves)

On the older Battery Capacitance Discharge ignition systems (1968-1972), the electric starter reaches a point, even with a top notch battery, whereas the starter will draw excess voltage/current/whatever which results in a voltage drop to the pulsepack. The cure is to purchase a diode which is capable of handling 12 volts and installing it between the starter terminal of the starter solenoid (NOT the battery cable terminal) and the wiring terminal that supplies voltage to the pulsepack.

The diode must be installed so that the current flows from the starter terminal of the solenoid to the pulsepack... NOT vice versa. When that diode is installed in this manner, when the key is turned to the start position, the voltage that is applied to the starter is also applied directly to the pulsepack via the diode effectively eliminating the voltage drop and energizing the pulsepack with the required voltage needed for its proper operation.

********************
(Battery Capacitance Dischage Powerpack Test)
Various OMC Engines - 1968 to 1972)
(J. Reeves)
Purchase a small 12v bulb at your local automotive parts store (the 12v bulb is to look like a flashlight bulb, not a headlight bulb). Solder two wires to that bulb, one to the side of the bulb (ground), and the other to the positive point. You might use a bulb of a somewhat lower voltage to obtain a brighter glow... just a suggestion.

Remove the spark plugs. With the key in the on position, make sure that you have 12v going to the pack at the terminal block (purple wire). Now, connect the ground wire from the bulb to any powerhead ground. Connect the wire from the positive point of that bulb to the powerpack wire that is connected to the coil wire on the terminal board (blue wire).

Crank the engine and observe that bulb closely (CLOSELY!). If that bulb glows even the slightest bit, the powerpack is okay. It may be a very dim glow... just so it glows! If it doesn't glow, the pack has failed.

Keep in mind, that type powerpack (Battery Capacitance Discharge) demands a top notch battery of at least 70 amp hours. Any less will, in time, cause powerpack failure.

 

[48tony]

Hi Joe,
First things first, thank you very much for your informative feedback on my question on the 60 HP Johnson ESLD.

Like I said, I sunk some serious jing into this motor over the summer and I was really let down when I went out to start it and had no spark. But come to find out it was a fried coil (new coil). The mariner never actually screwed the rubber coil wire into the coil housing. It was just basically pushed in a little. The spark was jumping and it also caused an arc on the outside of the coil which burnt it out.

As I had said in the other post, I have a top crank shaft bearing that is chattering. I was told that there is also a seal that perhaps may be causing some vacuum leak out of the block. Also, as you said with this said it would cause some unbalanced issues possibly causing the crank lobes to be causing my points to be adjusted wrong. Tomorrow this will be my project. The manual states using a test light and advancing to full throttle and watching the light go on and off as you turn the crank. I am going to do it the "old school" way; turn the crank to high lobe where points are open and gap correctly. Now I was also told because of this issue with the crank possibly being out of true, that I should adjust my points to twelve thousenths verses ten thousenths. Even the manual states if there are new points, to adjust or to gap twelve thousenths. You are saying twelve would be too wide. So should I stick with going with the ten and call it good?

One other thing - you had given me feedback on the power pack amp which is new. I was told the field test is to disconnect the power pack lead going to the timer base, ground that to any block bolt with the key in the on position, using the coil wire, then short it to block. If I get spark amp is good. If no spark, amp is junk. Is this just another way to go about checking the amp?

Today I finally got the motor to run nice with the muffs; I had been adjusting my low speed needle valve 3/4 then fine tuning to highest rpm and it purred like a kitten. Took it to the lake, guess what? It was a dog. So I fiddled and messed with it and again it was very erractic. At times it would run o.k., but not smooth. It would bog out on its' own and rpm's would go up and down on their own. It sounds to be the carbeurator, but after messing with the air fuel I just cannot find a happy medium. I put dual stage Boyson reeds in and rebuilt kit on all three carbs. I was thinking maybe I didn't change the orfice in the carb. Because on the directions it states on some motors you need to increase the orfice size. I called Boyson direct and they said being an old style motor with only one needle valve adjustment that more than likely I would not need them. I've seen them listed on Ebay and it says they are used to recalibrate the carb system. Is this in the event that you bore out oversize cylinders and piston and rings? Again thank you for your feedback and with your knowledge I will be able to get this old girl up and running.

Tony

 

[joereeves]

The Key ON, Touch the Pack sensor to ground thing will cause the spark to jump. What this is doing is acting the role of the points. It's okay to check that way also.

The crankcase bearing play..... if you can actually grab the flywheel/top of crankshaft and move it sideways, replace that bearing. It will be impossible to set the points properly in that situation.

Setting the points to .012 will result in having improper timing, the points will open too soon (Pre-ignition?), don't risk it!. With the bearing problem resolved, set the points as I stated.

The carburetors...... assuming they're in ideal condition............

(Carburetor Adjustment - Single S/S Adjustable Needle Valve)
(J. Reeves)
Initial setting is: Slow speed = seat gently, then open 1-1/2 turns.

Start engine and set the rpms to where it just stays running. In segments of 1/8 turns, start to turn the S/S needle valve in. Wait a few seconds for the engine to respond. As you turn the valve in, the rpms will increase. Lower the rpms again to where the engine will just stay running.

Eventually you'll hit the point where the engine wants to die out or it will spit back (sounds like a mild backfire). At that point, back out the valve 1/4 turn. Within that 1/4 turn, you'll find the smoothest slow speed setting.

Note 1: As a final double check setting of the slow speed valve(s), if the engine has more than one carburetor, do not attempt to gradually adjust all of the valves/carburetors at the same time. Do one at a time until you hit the above response (die out or spit back), then go on to the next valve/carburetor. It may be necessary to back out "all" of the slow speed adjustable needle valves 1/8 turn before doing this final adjustment due to the fact that one of the valves might be initially set ever so slightly lean.

Note 2: If the engine should be a three (3) cylinder engine with three (3) carburetors, start the adjustment sequence with the center carburetor.
When you have finished the above adjustment, you will have no reason to move them again unless the carburetor fouls/gums up from sitting, in which case you would be required to remove, clean, and rebuild the carburetor anyway.