Help me with my Johnson please.

I have a 2000 90HP Johnson. For 5 years I had it stored as I couldn’t afford to fix it. Last summer I pulled it out, installed carb kits, and a water pump and tried using it again. With limited use and a noise I couldn’t stand hearing, I finally took it in for a rebuild. Ended up getting a new lower unit installed on it, instead of a whole power head rebuild, lucky me….

The shop installed the new lower unit with the water pump kit I had just installed 3 months prior. I got my boat back for Labor Day weekend and started the break in period.

I have had the Hot Alarm come on a few times now while under power. the motor tell tail has a nice stream. I shut it down wait 3-5 seconds start it back up and the Alarm stays off. I cant figure it out.

To add insult to injury in February it started missing really bad while under load. I stopped in and talked to the shop and they suggested it was the power pack that was going out. $400 later, new power pack, and optical sensor are installed.

Today I get the boat out again. Hot alarm came on 4 times, and on the way back to the ramp, if I broke 2800 RPM it was missing really bad. I am at a loss, the shop said they wont work on it yet being they have to do it outside. can anyone help me?

Dumb question for you is it a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke?

Yikes, thought I had trouble with my Johnson.

Your frustrations with motors is felt though. Been attempting to deal with crap on mine as well and seems to lead to more headaches.

You bringing it to Robbinsdale Marine? I’m on the list to call when they get the shop going for OBs.

I’ll add, in the meantime since can’t do much anyways other than google the heck out of the problem and maybe find an answer that won’t further blow things up. Is to grab the volt meter and start checking wiring. Unhook the battery and just go at all connections and clean them up where ya can. Even if they look good, take em off, hit em with a wire brush and reassemble. Make sure no gouges or cuts have happened anywhere on any lines. Easy tasks, but does take some time and eliminates some grounding issues if possible.

You should probably just get a new motor. Tell the wife you’ll stop trolling the Internet looking for help with your Johnson, but only if you get a new motor.

it is a 2 stroker

I’m suprised Debbie Dallas, or whatever JD’s alias is, hasn’t chimed in.

at least today I was able to get it to predictable act up, 2800 rpm it was missing under that it was fine. Hopefully that’s a good start.

Crazy thing was today the Hot alarm went off on the way up river and no other problems after that. on the run back I took it to WOT and thats when it started missing again as the Hot alarm went off at the exact time it started missing.

Does anyone know if it could be going into limp mode and how to stop it from doing that?

You’re mixing your gas to the right ratio right? or if its direct injected it is still feeding oil?\
Also if the thermostat has not been looked at in awhile it could be that as well. theyll get sand in them when run through shallow water.

I gotta think your shop screwd you over, just my opinion

My 2002 125 would drop a cylinder anytime I got over that 2800. It turned out to be warped float bowls from over tightening the screws. It only takes a few in-lbs to get those tight otherwise they will warp.

Do you smell any leaking gas ever?

Don’t bypass the limp mode unless you want to stick it in storage for another 5 years.

It goes into limp mode for a reason. Could be something serious, could be something simple like a sensor. Find a mechanic that can solve the problem before you do serious damage. You might want to price out a new motor before you blow this advise off.

No, I haven’t ever smelled any gas or noticed any leaking anywhere.

It sounds to me like it’s getting hot or sensor says it’s hot. Thats why its going into limp mode. Like the person said check or replace thermostat. If that’s not it then temp sensor is likely culprit?

blackbay wrote:

I’m suprised Debbie Dallas, or whatever JD’s alias is, hasn’t chimed in.

Don’t poke the bear.

“HELP ME WITH MY JOHNSON PLEASE.”

I’m not touching this one.

I’ve removed a couple thermostats in a couple older motors and I didn’t put any back in. In my opinion they just help the blocks warm up too running temperature quicker and their a blockage for sand if you go through shallows enough. Both engines ran fine after I removed and didn’t replace them. Newer motors I don’t know If its a good Idea or not, but I don’t think it would hurt, keep an eye on your gauges to see how its running. If it gets hot and the hot light comes on it won’t be the thermostat. In quite a few motors sand builds up in passages and lays in some spot of the engine block and that causes cooling water to not flow like its suppose too. In some engines you can back flush and that washes sand out of the block but do it right. Get on utube and watch a video if it still gets hot after removing the thermostat, to see how a back flush is done, its not hard.

http://www.cdielectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/7th-Edition-Troubleshooting-Guide_RS.pdf

Iboats.com has a buttload of info. This link is one.

Nick, thanks a ton for that link, I think I may have my temp sensor wire to close to the plug wire! I never would have thought of something like that.

I pulled both of my thermostats and oddly enough one has something lose rattling inside and the other does not. I’m guessing the one is bad.

I guess all in all I find it really hard to believe that a motor can over heat when it is pumping 30-40 degree water. I guess you can learn something every day.

it will be later this week before I get a chance to get parts and work on it more so I want to thank everyone for the advice

Whoa, wrong forum to ask that question? Kidding. I would look into what Biggill said about the float. I have also seen that happen on ATV’s.

Giggity.

Been reading iboats forum for few days now, so I’m pretty much an expert at this point

The limp mode mentioned here is technically the S.L.O.W. system on omcs.

From what I’ve read a few people have had success after rebuilding carbs on some forums. Probably inline with what biggill mentioned. They are easy to clean and inspect.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Giggity.

Still amazes me on how many shops will just throw parts at a motor,and call it good to go:???:

A failed sensor should default to alarm,and be on constantly.A good mechanic would run motor in a test tank with a test wheel at all RPMs.Then scan the block with an infrared heat gun,checking for hot spots.Thermostats should be replaced just like water pumps and spark plugs.Still a lot of guys run stuff to failure.

Hope you kept the old parts?

milemark_714 wrote:

Still amazes me on how many shops will just throw parts at a motor,and call it good to go:???:

A failed sensor should default to alarm,and be on constantly.A good mechanic would run motor in a test tank with a test wheel at all RPMs.Then scan the block with an infrared heat gun,checking for hot spots.Thermostats should be replaced just like water pumps and spark plugs.Still a lot of guys run stuff to failure.

Hope you kept the old parts?

Agree. A good mechanic is tough to find. I once had a shop rebuild the carbs on a motor so that I could go fishing a week earlier than if I had done it myself. Got on the water and had problems. Shop couldn’t figure it out. The iboats forum solved it for me and I repaired it myself. The shop simply forgot to replace the high speed jets when they replaced the float bowls. When I removed the carbs to do this work I found that they didn’t seat the gasket on one side. It was broken and piece was just waiting to get sucked into the cylinder. The shop ignored me after and are now out of business.

Sounds like you’re well on your way to figuring out the issue. There’s a crazy amount of info online and some crazy good mechanics who are willing to guess at a diagnosis for you on iboats. It’s well worth the effort if you want to save some $.

Not helpful but couldn’t resist.

love it all, I just ordered 2 new thermostats from Florida hope to give it another test this weekend

Just read thru your posts. I owned a 2000 90 HP Johnson till 2005, and had the same thing occur to mine. Talked to my boat mechanic about it, to see if he recalled the exact fix to give you some direction, but neither of us remember. But I can say it was a fairly simple fix, and I think you are on the right track.

viagra

hnd wrote:

viagra

single pack or do I need more?

and is this going to be a life long problem or would getting a different Johnson help the issue?

mnfishhunt wrote:

and is this going to be a life long problem or would getting a different Johnson help the issue?

From personal experience, my smaller Johnsons were so much easier to deal with. Now that I got a much bigger one, it’s startin to be a hassle. Takes up alot of room. But, the look the FW made when she first saw it