Logo
FULL SITE MENU

J200TLCTS with ignition problems

B

brando

New member
hello everyone. new guy here from Arkansas. i pulled this old champ out that had been sitting for a couple of years. i know it ran just fine when it was parked (previous owner got too busy to fish). right now i am trying to get it started, but i am only getting fire to 1 cylinder (no. 5). judging by the number on the engine (J200TLCTS), it is an '83 200 hp. i put all the coils to the number 5 location and they all fire, so it is not coils. i am fairly new to outboards, but not mechanics (all of my experience is from cars/trucks and atvs). any thoughts on where i should begin to look?
 
Get the battery load tested.----Pull the starter apart for inspection and cleaning.------Perhaps new brushes for the starter ( $5.00 is what I pay ) to get maximum cranking speed.
 
racerone said:
Get the battery load tested.----Pull the starter apart for inspection and cleaning.------Perhaps new brushes for the starter ( $5.00 is what I pay ) to get maximum cranking speed.
Click to expand...

battery is brand new, and i felt the motor was turning over plenty fast.
 
On that ignition system (Magneto Capacitance Discharge), the spark test is to be performed with "all" the spark plugs removed. The reasoning is to obtain the highest cranking speed available. The cranking rpm must be at least 300 rpm in order for the stator under the flywheel to provide the AC voltage required by the powerpack capacitor to energize the powerpack.

The spark must jump a air gap of 7/16" with a strong blue lightning like flame... a real SNAP! Does it? I know you stated above that it does not BUT did you have all the spark plugs removed?

If still no spark and the rpms are where they belong... inspect closely, visually the stator under the flywheel to see if possibly a sticky looking substance is dripping down on the powerhead area... if so, that would result in a AC voltage drop to the powerpack's capacitor that would in turn result in weak, erratic, and eventually no ignition.

Let us know what you find.
 
So why then would he have good spark only on number 5? It was good running when parked a couple years ago? My guess pack. They go bad just from sitting. It died on my neighbors Johnson from a two year storage too. I got him a new one, actually a complete parts motor. I really love electronics, so do the Boeing engineers. Indonesia air just cancelled a 5 billion dollar order. Its better to have 2 sensors than one, but you gotta pay extra. Then your only 50 percent less likely to crash.

How much time you have to read the owner's manual when your heading 500 mph straight towards the ground?.......and it's probably printed in Spanish.
 
Last edited:
yes, all of the spark plugs were removed. i was testing the spark with the spark plug electrode grounded a bolt on the engine (just like you would on a car). i did notice that i was not hearing any "snap" and the spark looked a little yellow to me, but because i am color blind i cannot be sure of the spark color.
 
If you can't afford the price of new, then let me know and I'll give you a number for a used one off a running motor.
 
don't know what happened, but i repeated the spark test and had fire on every cylinder. reinstalled all the spark plugs and it fired right up and purred like a kitten.
 
Back
Top