Hello all! I'm more experienced with jetboats actually but my mom has me
working on her '93 Seaswirl bowrider with a 115 hp V-6 Johnson outboard
engine.

The engine is impossible to start cold... I'm pretty sure the electric choke
isn't working. Taking the cover off the engine I see a round solenoid like
object on the upper right side of the engine (above the carbs) to which
there are 3 fuel lines going and it has a small dial on top of it with a red
indicater thingy... if turned full counter-clockwise the engine will start
(but will load up on fuel after about 30 seconds and sputter out). After
starting if the red indicater thingy is manually moved full clockwise the
engine will run very well. Further the engine will restart with no problems
once it's warmed up. This solenoid has a purple wire with white stripe
running to it... but this wire seems to have no power. There is a push
button in the center of the shifter that I'm guessing should send power to
that solenoid to choke the engine, but I've checked with a testlight and it
doesn't seem to send any power to that purple/white wire. Grrrrr! :-(

Also, after the engine has been running 120 seconds or so a beeping sound
begins. I have the engine hooked up to a waterhose (with that clamp thingy
on the lower unit to supply cooling water to the engine)... the water coming
out of the engine does not feel more than lukewarm to the touch. But if I
turn off the engine and then start it again the beeping resumes after
another 120 seconds or so. Water is coming out several small holes on the
lower unit, and 1 small hole at the base of the powerhead (I think I saw it
referred to as a "****er" by somebody in another thread... LOL!).

Are there any good reference materials available online for this motor? Just
some kind of exploded view with labels would be terribly helpful! I know
little about these powerhead engines, as I've always had my jetboat with the
454 big block (God but it's sooo much simpler to figure out I swear!!!).

Thanks!

ps. The gas in the tank is pre-mixed 50:1 with Johnson oil. There is no oil
injector unit/tank anywhere I can find on this boat so I premixed the oil
into the gas myself. My mom long since lost all the manuals that came with
the boat. Grrrrrrr! :-\

- Michael

Ok I just realized what the button on the shifter is for... it unlocks the
shift cables allowing me to crank the engine with the throttles opened up
from the shifter. Duhhh!

I'd still like to know what that little red indicator above the engine carbs
is for... and why I'm getting that annoying beeping sound.... :-(

Thanks.

- Michael


"Michael" wrote in message
...
Hello all! I'm more experienced with jetboats actually but my mom has me
working on her '93 Seaswirl bowrider with a 115 hp V-6 Johnson outboard
engine.

The engine is impossible to start cold... I'm pretty sure the electric
choke
isn't working. Taking the cover off the engine I see a round solenoid like
object on the upper right side of the engine (above the carbs) to which
there are 3 fuel lines going and it has a small dial on top of it with a
red
indicater thingy... if turned full counter-clockwise the engine will start
(but will load up on fuel after about 30 seconds and sputter out). After
starting if the red indicater thingy is manually moved full clockwise the
engine will run very well. Further the engine will restart with no
problems
once it's warmed up. This solenoid has a purple wire with white stripe
running to it... but this wire seems to have no power. There is a push
button in the center of the shifter that I'm guessing should send power to
that solenoid to choke the engine, but I've checked with a testlight and
it
doesn't seem to send any power to that purple/white wire. Grrrrr! :-(

Also, after the engine has been running 120 seconds or so a beeping sound
begins. I have the engine hooked up to a waterhose (with that clamp thingy
on the lower unit to supply cooling water to the engine)... the water
coming
out of the engine does not feel more than lukewarm to the touch. But if I
turn off the engine and then start it again the beeping resumes after
another 120 seconds or so. Water is coming out several small holes on the
lower unit, and 1 small hole at the base of the powerhead (I think I saw
it
referred to as a "****er" by somebody in another thread... LOL!).

Are there any good reference materials available online for this motor?
Just
some kind of exploded view with labels would be terribly helpful! I know
little about these powerhead engines, as I've always had my jetboat with
the
454 big block (God but it's sooo much simpler to figure out I swear!!!).

Thanks!

ps. The gas in the tank is pre-mixed 50:1 with Johnson oil. There is no
oil
injector unit/tank anywhere I can find on this boat so I premixed the oil
into the gas myself. My mom long since lost all the manuals that came with
the boat. Grrrrrrr! :-\

- Michael

On Sun, 23 May 2004 10:31:57 -0500, "Michael"
wrote:

Ok I just realized what the button on the shifter is for... it unlocks the
shift cables allowing me to crank the engine with the throttles opened up
from the shifter. Duhhh!

I'd still like to know what that little red indicator above the engine carbs
is for... and why I'm getting that annoying beeping sound.... :-(

Thanks.

- Michael


Have you tried "pushing in" the ignition key while starting? On my old
boat, this is how the choke is activated.

Michael wrote:

Hello all! I'm more experienced with jetboats actually but my mom has me
working on her '93 Seaswirl bowrider with a 115 hp V-6 Johnson outboard
engine.

The engine is impossible to start cold... I'm pretty sure the electric choke
isn't working. Taking the cover off the engine I see a round solenoid like
object on the upper right side of the engine (above the carbs) to which
there are 3 fuel lines going and it has a small dial on top of it with a red
indicater thingy... if turned full counter-clockwise the engine will start
(but will load up on fuel after about 30 seconds and sputter out). After
starting if the red indicater thingy is manually moved full clockwise the
engine will run very well. Further the engine will restart with no problems
once it's warmed up. This solenoid has a purple wire with white stripe
running to it... but this wire seems to have no power. There is a push
button in the center of the shifter that I'm guessing should send power to
that solenoid to choke the engine, but I've checked with a testlight and it
doesn't seem to send any power to that purple/white wire. Grrrrr! :-(

Also, after the engine has been running 120 seconds or so a beeping sound
begins. I have the engine hooked up to a waterhose (with that clamp thingy
on the lower unit to supply cooling water to the engine)... the water coming
out of the engine does not feel more than lukewarm to the touch. But if I
turn off the engine and then start it again the beeping resumes after
another 120 seconds or so. Water is coming out several small holes on the
lower unit, and 1 small hole at the base of the powerhead (I think I saw it
referred to as a "****er" by somebody in another thread... LOL!).

Are there any good reference materials available online for this motor? Just
some kind of exploded view with labels would be terribly helpful! I know
little about these powerhead engines, as I've always had my jetboat with the
454 big block (God but it's sooo much simpler to figure out I swear!!!).

Thanks!

ps. The gas in the tank is pre-mixed 50:1 with Johnson oil. There is no oil
injector unit/tank anywhere I can find on this boat so I premixed the oil
into the gas myself. My mom long since lost all the manuals that came with
the boat. Grrrrrrr! :-\

- Michael




The button on the shifter is to disengage the shift cable from the
throttle to allow a fast idle / warm-up range.

There is no choke on that engine. There is a fuel enrichment circuit
for cold starting, the little red handle you found on the engine is the
manual override, the electric feature is used by pushing in on the
ignition switch while running or cranking.

In 1993, the 115 hp was a V-4, unless it is a 115 Jet V-6.

Rob

That was the trick for the choke thingy... pushing in on the ignition key
activated it! Many thanks Derek!!!!

Would have been nice if there'd been a label above/below the ignition key
stating "Push to Choke" or something. Grrrrr!

- Michael

"Derek" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 May 2004 10:31:57 -0500, "Michael"
wrote:

Ok I just realized what the button on the shifter is for... it unlocks
the
shift cables allowing me to crank the engine with the throttles opened up
from the shifter. Duhhh!

I'd still like to know what that little red indicator above the engine
carbs
is for... and why I'm getting that annoying beeping sound.... :-(

Thanks.

- Michael


Have you tried "pushing in" the ignition key while starting? On my old
boat, this is how the choke is activated.

You are right, it's a V-4 not a V-6 (I had a brain-fart... sorry). :-\

So that's what it's called, a "fuel enrichment circuit" huh? Never heard of
such a thing before.... but it turns out that pushing in on the ignition
switch does do the trick. Many thanks!

On the beeping alarm issue I unhooked the temp sensor wired to both sides of
the engine while running and it made no difference.... it isn't heat
related. However, I now realize that the fuel guage is reading empty (even
though the gas tank IS FULL).... so is there such a thing as a low fuel
alarm? The guage is functioning as the needle goes from totally dead (below
E) to just a hair above E when the ignition is turned on.... most likely
there's a problem with the sending unit.

Ideas about it being the low fuel alarm and why would the guage not be
reading a fuel level? I'm going to disconnect the battery and carefully pull
out the sending unit from the tank later today and see if the float and all
looks ok.

Many thanks for the help ya'll!

- Michael

"trainfan1" wrote in message
...
Michael wrote:

Hello all! I'm more experienced with jetboats actually but my mom has me
working on her '93 Seaswirl bowrider with a 115 hp V-6 Johnson outboard
engine.

The engine is impossible to start cold... I'm pretty sure the electric
choke
isn't working. Taking the cover off the engine I see a round solenoid
like
object on the upper right side of the engine (above the carbs) to which
there are 3 fuel lines going and it has a small dial on top of it with a
red
indicater thingy... if turned full counter-clockwise the engine will
start
(but will load up on fuel after about 30 seconds and sputter out). After
starting if the red indicater thingy is manually moved full clockwise
the
engine will run very well. Further the engine will restart with no
problems
once it's warmed up. This solenoid has a purple wire with white stripe
running to it... but this wire seems to have no power. There is a push
button in the center of the shifter that I'm guessing should send power
to
that solenoid to choke the engine, but I've checked with a testlight and
it
doesn't seem to send any power to that purple/white wire. Grrrrr! :-(

Also, after the engine has been running 120 seconds or so a beeping
sound
begins. I have the engine hooked up to a waterhose (with that clamp
thingy
on the lower unit to supply cooling water to the engine)... the water
coming
out of the engine does not feel more than lukewarm to the touch. But if
I
turn off the engine and then start it again the beeping resumes after
another 120 seconds or so. Water is coming out several small holes on
the
lower unit, and 1 small hole at the base of the powerhead (I think I saw
it
referred to as a "****er" by somebody in another thread... LOL!).

Are there any good reference materials available online for this motor?
Just
some kind of exploded view with labels would be terribly helpful! I know
little about these powerhead engines, as I've always had my jetboat with
the
454 big block (God but it's sooo much simpler to figure out I swear!!!).

Thanks!

ps. The gas in the tank is pre-mixed 50:1 with Johnson oil. There is no
oil
injector unit/tank anywhere I can find on this boat so I premixed the
oil
into the gas myself. My mom long since lost all the manuals that came
with
the boat. Grrrrrrr! :-\

- Michael




The button on the shifter is to disengage the shift cable from the
throttle to allow a fast idle / warm-up range.

There is no choke on that engine. There is a fuel enrichment circuit
for cold starting, the little red handle you found on the engine is the
manual override, the electric feature is used by pushing in on the
ignition switch while running or cranking.

In 1993, the 115 hp was a V-4, unless it is a 115 Jet V-6.

Rob

On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:20:49 -0500, "Michael"
wrote:

You are right, it's a V-4 not a V-6 (I had a brain-fart... sorry). :-\

So that's what it's called, a "fuel enrichment circuit" huh? Never heard of
such a thing before.... but it turns out that pushing in on the ignition
switch does do the trick. Many thanks!

On the beeping alarm issue I unhooked the temp sensor wired to both sides of
the engine while running and it made no difference.... it isn't heat
related. However, I now realize that the fuel guage is reading empty (even
though the gas tank IS FULL).... so is there such a thing as a low fuel
alarm? The guage is functioning as the needle goes from totally dead (below
E) to just a hair above E when the ignition is turned on.... most likely
there's a problem with the sending unit.

Ideas about it being the low fuel alarm and why would the guage not be
reading a fuel level? I'm going to disconnect the battery and carefully pull
out the sending unit from the tank later today and see if the float and all
looks ok.

Many thanks for the help ya'll!

- Michael

On my sending unit the ground wire was held on with a pop rivet that worked
loose. Once that was repaird my gauge worked again.

The sterndrive gear oil tank on mine has a built in alarm. Check that out.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

On my sending unit the ground wire was held on with a pop rivet that
worked loose

Hi John! I checked out the sending unit on top of the tank and the wires are
all hooked up tight. Also I pulled the unit out of the gas tank (made me a
bit nervous that) and checked the float and everything... mechanically the
sending unit seems to be in good shape. However, even though the tank is
plum full the guage continues to read just under 1/8 a tank when I turn on
the ignition. :-(

Does anybody have any tips on how to determine whether the problem lies in
the sending unit or in the guage? Will it damage anything (or tell me
anything) if I disconnect the red and black wires from the tank and then
touch them together with the ignition on? Like.... would the guage jump to
Full if the red and black wires were directly connected for a few seconds?
Obviously I'm NOT wanting to make any kind of spark in this are though!!!!

Thanks!!!

- Michael

On Sun, 30 May 2004 13:23:44 -0500, "Michael"
wrote:

On my sending unit the ground wire was held on with a pop rivet that
worked loose

Hi John! I checked out the sending unit on top of the tank and the wires are
all hooked up tight. Also I pulled the unit out of the gas tank (made me a
bit nervous that) and checked the float and everything... mechanically the
sending unit seems to be in good shape. However, even though the tank is
plum full the guage continues to read just under 1/8 a tank when I turn on
the ignition. :-(

Does anybody have any tips on how to determine whether the problem lies in
the sending unit or in the guage? Will it damage anything (or tell me
anything) if I disconnect the red and black wires from the tank and then
touch them together with the ignition on? Like.... would the guage jump to
Full if the red and black wires were directly connected for a few seconds?
Obviously I'm NOT wanting to make any kind of spark in this are though!!!!

Thanks!!!

- Michael


If the sending unit is out of the tank, with the key on raise the float up and
down. the gauge should move.

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

John H wrote in message
If the sending unit is out of the tank, with the key on raise the float up and
down. the gauge should move.

John H

wow, really?? What an epiphany!!!!!!