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Conference vicki::boats

Title:	Powerboats
Notice:	Introductions 2 /Classifieds 3 / '97 Ski Season 1267
Moderator:	KWLITY::SUTER

Created:	Thu May 12 1988
Last Modified:	Wed Jun 04 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1275
Total number of notes:	18109

1191.0. "Johnson O/B "No Power"" by POBOX::GOODMAN () Tue Sep 06 1994 12:13

    Recently, after my 1960 40 hp. Johnson had been running OK for about 45
    minutes,  and after idling for awhile, I accelerated and the engine 
    reached a top speed of about 5 mph. 
    I ran at this speed for about 10-15 minutes, and the engine
    "kicked in" , running at the power it usually has for about 2-3 min.
    then went back to the previous state. Later that day, the same thing
    happened. Even though the engine ran slow, it was smooth; I am assuming
    it was hitting on all cylinders, and getting gas. I checked the fuel 
    filter, and the points; both were OK. 
    Any suggestions would be appriciated.
    
    Thanks

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1191.1	try the plugs.	NCMAIL::GEIBELL	lost in Pennsylvania	`Tue Sep 06 1994 13:23`	12
	Try a new set of plugs, they may be fouled, you really dont want to know what happened shortly after this same thing happened to my 66 johnson outboard. but anyways check the plugs, and if you havent been useing carbon guard try useing a bottle of it. those old outboards will load up if they idled for any amount of time. Lee
1191.2	I would check for H2O in the fuel tank	SALEM::JUNG	half-day?>>>	`Wed Sep 07 1994 12:13`	1

1191.3	check for air leak in gas line?	SMURF::AMATO	Joe Amato	`Wed Sep 07 1994 12:34`	4
	my 1959 elgin's been running the same way. someone (thanks jim mc!) suggested to check for an air leak in the gas line. does you gas bulb go soft? if so its probably got a small leak and just not drawing enough fuel.
1191.4	another idea	MSDOA::SCHMIDT		`Wed Sep 14 1994 11:11`	15
	Folks, I had a '59 OMC outboard, this may or may not apply here... The engine would idle fine, but would only go to about 50% of power ( maybe a bit less ). It turned out to be one of the 2 coils that provide spark for the plugs. Check for good spark on both plugs. Another check is to see if it will run on one cylinder better than the other by disconnecting one plug wire then the other. I pulled the flywheel and could see an obvious breakdown of the coil. Replaced it and all was fine. Yours may be in intermitent failure mode now, but it could also be some of the other suggestions listed above. Check the easy stuff first. Chuck
1191.5	Carbon Guard?	PCBUOA::MWEBER	The wind is free. Use it.	`Mon Sep 19 1994 11:01`	5
	RE: .1 I have an Evenrude 15 which idles sometimes for long periods of time. This Carbon Guard will help keep the plugs from fouling?
1191.6	Might be your control cables	RAGMOP::EROSS		`Thu Sep 29 1994 11:23`	14
	This is probably a less likely source of the problem, but I have a '65 40 horse Johnson that's occasionally exhibited similiar behavior. In my case it's due to decrepit control box and cables. The engine has a mechanical lever, engaged by the shift control, which when the gear shifter is in (or in my case even "near") neutral, prevents the distributor from swinging around to advance the ignition timing. (This is presumably to prevent over reving in neutral.) The net effect though is just the symptoms you describe - fundamentally it feels like you can't get the engine to rev much above a high idle. In my case there is one additional symptom, that being that I can't advance the throttle control much beyond about 1/2 to 3/4 it's range. The problem goes away when I insure that the shifter is completely engaged and fully seated. George