Boat load of motor issues!

[poundpuppy]

I have a 1996 Johnson 200 that for the past few months that I have owned it has run great, until last week when it crapped the bed.

Original symptoms were as follows-
Charging at idle-13-14v
Charging WOT 16+
Tach doesn't work(brand new and set properly and wired to factory engine harness)
Idled fine, died out after shifting into gear
If choked out I could get it going and WOT wasn't an issue

Talked to a buddy and had him rebuild the carbs thinking that was the issue aside from the charging. When he did so he found that they were pretty dirty and gummed up.

Took the boat to the ramp to test it out. No better luck, actually I think it got worse. Took it back to him and he realized it was only working on the port bank. Disabled the shift interrupter switch and that brought both sides to life.

I brought it back to the ramp thinking it was good to go so we went out. Made it away from the ramp and started having issues. Couldn't get above idle in gear without the choke but that quickly went away once it was warmed up. I stayed near the dock incase it didn't work but not too close since it was slammed packed.

Took off and went for a ride, didn't get far maybe a mile or so and while at 3/4 throttle the rpms dropped down, thinking maybe I bumped the controls I bumped them up and it picked up. Thinking that maybe there was an issue I headed back to the ramp for caution, good thing I did. I got to open water and decided to try neutral and shifting since I would have to do so at the dock and didn't want to find an issue there and would rather it in the open. As I backed out and almost to idle it shut off. I pulled the cover off and realized the motor was warmer than it had previously been. Talked to my buddy (2nd gen outboard shop owner btw) he suggested I tried a few things to get back and bring it in. As I was trying the things he suggested a guy pulled up and asked if I needed a tow, I didn't want to waste the chance so I stopped and had him take me in.

I brought it home and decided to mess with it myself. I found that I had water in the oil reserve tank. I removed all the water and primed the ball enough to clear it out of the VRO pump, same with the fuel side just to make sure there wasn't any water on either side. I replaced my plugs (which were brown) with new ones, and checked the entire motor over for anything else. I cranked the motor without the plugs in for several cycles just to make sure that I got oil back in and any water out.

Upon checking the motor over I noticed that two of the magnets weren't where they should be. I proceeded to remove the flywheel and found that all but two of the outside magnets had become unsecured. The inside ones were fine.


Now my questions-
Would the magnets cause the charging to be too high or will I have to replace the regulator/rectifier to remedy this?
Do the outside magnets have any affect of the timing or is that only the inside magnets?
Will fixing/replacing the flywheel remedy above mentioned symptoms?

I know I could wait and find out once I replace/repair the flywheel but I thought I would get some insight while the moon is out and the shops are closed. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

BTW I have read several threads on here and other sites and have learned a lot about similar issues but I always get yelled at for commenting on an old thread and not starting a new one with my questions. So if this is poor form for this site I apologize.

[Solarman]

Doing fine on forum. Get another flywheel. Loose magnets can damage stator, and/ or sensors if hit. Not sure what could be changed, but everything depends on those magnets.

Once flywheel is replaced, then see if issues are corrected. I'd wait on everything else for now.

Good luck, post back when replaced... Repaired? is there a way to repair? Is that wise?

[poundpuppy]

Ok so I have gotten the oil tank cleared out, fuel separator is clear as well and the magnets back in their proper place in the flywheel and all of that back on. I had gotten it running again on the hose at the house. As soon as I put it in water at the ramp and put it in gear it starts to fall on its face and die out. If I use the choke it seems to pick up but that shouldn't be.

I haven't a clue where to go from this point. I know think I need to change the rectifier due to my voltage issue at WOT but I don't think that has any bearing on my running issue or does it?

Could it be the power pack?

[Solarman]

Stop worrying about rectifier. It appears to be fine. It charges at different rates because of regulator. If it's charging at higher voltages, your battery might be getting older, and not holding a charge.
Do you have a service manual for your motor?
If tach isn't working, why? Could tach affect timing (some newer motors it does)? Is there a switch on back of tach, change positions, see if in wrong one? Or stuck between two positions?
Since magnet(s) were repaired, did you check timing?
Have you tried pumping bulb? Maybe fuel pump is weak? Is there a test in manual for pump?

Post back when able.

[poundpuppy]

The rectifier is bad without a doubt. My batteries are both less than 16months old, one in fact is less than 3. The voltage should not go above 14.7v at any point.
The tach has no bearing on how the motor operates, it is just a read out on what your motor is actually doing. I have messed with the selector on the back of the tach and I have made sure several times that it is on the correct setting.

On this particular motor the rectifier has two jobs- It charges the electrical system and it also tells the tach what the engine RPMs are at based upon the outter magnets on the flywheel.

The timing is not affected by the magnets that I repaired, the outer magnets are for charging and telling the tach what the RPMs are. The inner magnets are for timing and those were not touched at all since they were just fine.

I have tested the VRO pump by priming the bulb when the motor starts to die off and it doesn't seem to make any changes. I am going to test the VRO pump a little more tonight with a vacuum gauge on the fuel line before the pump. I am also going to do a compression test.

I am wondering if it has something to do with the carb/timing adjustments with the back pressure of the exhaust when in the water.

I do not have a service manual for this motor, I need to get one since it seems like I might keep this one for the long haul.

[poundpuppy]

Well that was a fun experience to have this motor for a few months, looks like its time for a new one. all cylinders come in around 100 psi except for two on the port bank the middle one comes in around 60 and the bottom around 75. Time to throw it in the scrap pile and find another one....