Vintage Johnson Outboard A4215 South Bend Indiana

[T….in Wisconsin]

Very good info and pictures.

I’ll post my finding when found.

[Blake Monroe]

Tubs, your wealth of knowledge is amazing!!!  Thanks from us newbies!

Blake

[Blake Monroe]

Tim, I have the same motor that is seized and missing some parts, so I will be parting out the motor.  PM me should you need some parts.

Blake Monroe

[Tubs]

Blake Monroe wrote:

Tubs, your wealth of knowledge is amazing!!!  Thanks from us newbies!

Blake

Kind words but hard to live up to. There were way more knowledgeable
people than me that would respond to the era of motors that I have some
experience in but they have moved on for one reason or another. As you
spend more time here you’ll see the people that have an amazing amount of
information to share. I feel privileged to be able to contribute where I can.
Tubs

A "Boathouse Repair" is one that done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

[T….in Wisconsin]

Blake, I appreciate your offer for spare parts, I’m sure there are parts that need replacing.

Agreed, Tubs has been most helpful.

Coils: I’m more familiar with the 40″s + era small hp motors that have 1 set of coils, condenser & point for each spark plug/cylinder. The model A South Bend has a single coil, condenser & points for the 2 plugs & cylinders. That given, I don’t know if I can use a multimeter to check primary & secondary  resistance.  Initially I’m going to do as Tubs suggested and just check for spark, good place to start. I was hoping to verify coil resistance and continuity before putting the hub back on. Keep it simple where possible.

As Tubs noted earlier the plug wires are not original. There is a good soldered coil to plug wire connection on both.

 

[Tom]

You can use a multimeter to test these coils.  Test across the two spark plug terminals at the boots.  If you don’t see any reading, test at the two brass tabs on the coil.  If you get a reading there, but not across the wires, figure out which wire is the problem by testing from a tab to it’s corresponding spark plug end.

Tom

[T….in Wisconsin]

Hello Tom,

Checking across the primary leads (pic 1) I get a reading of .50 – 1 ohm. Checking across what I believe to be the secondary windings (pic 2) I get no reading at all.  I found it interesting that the leads shown in pic 2 were actually just pressed up to the coil tabs and not soldered, apparently that had worked for some time.  I’ve heard these coils are quite durable so I’m not sure what to think of my findings?

Blake, appears I may need the armature plate assembly and a few other components, I’ll message you regarding.

Thanks for the support.

[lyks2tinkr]

Good morning.

As Tom said, check the secondary of the coil at the tabs on the coil. The spark plug wires are just pressed up against the tabs and can get corroded over time. These Johnson coils are almost always good. The only bad one I’ve seen was physically damaged. These early Johnsons are great running reliable motors. After not working on early Johnsons for a few years I just picked up a 1923 B and a 1924 A at the Rocky Hill CT swap meet last Saturday.

[T….in Wisconsin]

Hello Tinkr

I’ve checked the secondary coil at the tabs many times and still can’t get a reading. I also disconnected the condenser thinking it might possibly have an influence on the reading. Scratching my noggin at these findings.

I appreciate the feedback.

[Tubs]

As lyks2tinkr stated these coils are rarely bad however looks
like you have a bad one. Attached is a video link to a repair
using coils still available. Its a PITA. It was many years
ago. An easier solution may have been discovered since then.
Tubs.

https://youtu.be/gfRG_Zz_0gk

A "Boathouse Repair" is one that done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

[Author]

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