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Johnson Electrical Issues

T

Tourtney

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The engine won't even click when key is turned I measured 12.6 volts at plug. It's a 1970 60 hp. My guess is the fuse. What do talk think? Starter is good I tested it. Measured continuity from battery cables is good to slave solenoid. No voltage at starter however. Thanks again.continuity through the slave too
 
there is a neutral switch to make sure you dont start in gear...the fuse may be a inline fuse in the wiring...
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! The fuse is good I located it. It was a 20amp online glass one. Next I will check that switch board. My getting fairly strong voltage at the battery inputs at the solenoid. But it's only like .6 or so on top from the switch board which is weird. Wires bad connections maybe too I'm not sure. Will check on that soon. I believe the input from battery to the solenoid is like 9 or so too.
 
So is the problem the ignition? I mean I'm getting voltage at the socket. On the solenoid there are two wires on top that are acting weird. One of them I checked continuity for and its good it goes to the board. The other one is the fused one and it looks like it just loops around and goes somewhere else? I have continuity theough the fuse to the solenoid. But I'm not sure where the other one goesnaybe to lower unit? Is there a way to check if it's the ignition not getting to these other wires or something if the sorts?
 
Yes it is, it seems like that fused wire comes into the solenoid from the ignition. Maybe I will check there next for connection. In fact I'll check all the wires at the ignition to see if they make a connection back to the plug. That way I'll see if the ignition is working right.
 
No, it goes to like.6 from zero on the top connector. But the two that are always hot are good they are the two ones that go sdirectly to the solenoid on the side on seperate connectors.
 
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the large wires are the actual feed to the starter...the small wires are your pick to the solenoid...this picking of the solenoid is what you hear to feed the 12 volts to your starter...do you have a small wire on the solenoid that is yellow or has some yellow in it...this wire should go to 12volts when you turn the key to start...you should then hear the solenoid click and have 12x on the starter hot to turn it...
 
Fused RED wire at starter solenoid leads to the "B" terminal of the ignition switch.
The other RED wire is leading to the terminal strip on the powerhead.

Is the battery in tip top condition and fully charged... at least 12.5 volts? If so, it's possible that you have either a loose cable/wire terminal end somewhere, a tight but dirty (corroded) terminal end somewhere, or a cable/wire that is failing internally. Any of the three would cause a voltage drop.

If you haven't already disconnected all cables and wires (one at a time) so that you could clean the cable/wire terminal ends and the components they attach to... do so to make sure that a voltage drop does not exist due to such problems. Then tighten all connections with either a wrench or pliers, not with ones fingers if wing nuts are encountered.

To test the solenoid and starter, and ground safety switch if said switch exists on the engine... using a known good fully charged battery, simply use jumper wires to apply 12v to the white wire on the 3/8" nut terminal of the solenoid. The solenoid should engage if the other black wire on the remaining 3/8" nut terminal is grounded.

Let us know what you find.
 
Alright thanks I'll try that. The wires that read voltage are yellowish. And those wires on the other side do make sense based on you alls descriptions.
 
Have you found the safety switch at the throttle arm and have you tested it ????---------Disconnect the white wire there and touch it to the engine block while an assistant tries to crank the motor.-------One little " positive " step at a time for folks who are confused by anything to do with voltage and amperes.
 
That would be the shift switch in the control box.------It was mentioned to look on your motor.--------Now the safety switch may be near the throttle control arm of the motor or up under the flywheel at the back of the motor.
 
Your safety switch looks normal. The one wire is the one coming from the solenoid. The unused tab is-----well, it's unused. That's because they used an off-the-shelf switch instead of creating something special. Good for them on that.

Now, as for the ground, the switch body itself is the ground where it is screwed to the motor. It grounds at slow throttle settings and opens at high throttle, disabling the solenoid at high throttle so you don't pitch yourself out of the boat when you start it.

The safety switch will be instantly destroyed if you apply a full 12V to it. Under normal conditions, the resistance of the solenoid winding reduces the voltage to a safe level.
 
I'm not getting any continuity to the solenoid but I am getting it to some wires in the plug. Some of these eventually go to the solenoid.
 
Didn't I answer this question on another forum? Anyhoo, help is on the way, next post. Do what it says. Your .6V reading is the clue
 
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