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I recently bought a boat with an 85hp johnson outboard (85esl70B) that I can only get to start when the throttle is at about the half way position and it will only run for a seconds. The guy I bought it from said it ran one summer and the next he had no spark. He replaced the spark plugs, coil and amplifier without any sucess. I replaced the rectifier and some bad wiring and I'm getting spark now but cannot get it to run correctly. Anyone have any advice on where to start looking?
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85HP, 1970, running issues
If you have spark, and the compression on all cylinders is good, then think carbs cleaning the next step. Once those are cleaned, make sure any old fuel in tanks, fuel lines, filters, are fresh/ clean/in good shape. Could use a portable tank, don't need anything from onboard tanks messing up the cleaned carbs.
Good luck, let us know how it's going, when able. -
The carbs, fuel pump, filter and lines have been pulled and cleaned. Everything there looks good, and to further eliminate fuel I tried a shot of ether in the carbs and it still would not fire in a normal throttle position.Comment
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Using ether is not a good idea. It doesn't lubricate, but tends to wash away oils. If you want to spray something into the carbs, mix some oil and gas (75 to 1 mix) in a spray bottle, at least then you'll still have lubrication. Plus in the newer motors carb cleaners and ether will damage critical sensors the computers rely on for the engine operation.
So, now you have spark, and have fuel. This being an older motor, are there any sensors for timing, or throttle position? have you checked timing? kill switch? Neutral switch? On some motors the neutral switche may disable spark on one half of the motor. Any oil sensors?
You should check the manual for anything on timing and any sensors.
Ill look up parts page to see if anything else can affect running?
Post back if find anything.Comment
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1970, 85HP, running issues
***, this is old school, this motor has the old distributor setup. It comes with points and rotor? Never thought I'd see those things again.
Ok. Point gap is very important. The timing is controlled by the turning of the distributor, with direct relationship to the flywheel, and the timing advances with throttle movement. If your motor is only starting at half throttle, then I believe your timing is not right at idle. If you have a manual, (hope you do) look where it tells you how to setup the timing. It should start with all the alignment marks and positions for flywheel and distributor. You must have the manual for this. it is very involved.
It should guide you better than I can. I too would have to read the manual to remember all the alignments, for this motor. I seem to also remember, it is possible to have everything line up just right, but the distributor could still be 180° out of place. Could be why it only starts at half throttle? sorry, I need the manual here too.
Good luck, post back if you find out anything.Comment
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