80's? Johnson 15 pull cord issue

[no bait nate]

The other night on the lake i started my motor (Johnson SeaHorse 15, 80's?) and the pull cord won't retract back in. It's on a separate mechanism that rises up to turn the flywheel. I can't seem to figure out whats wrong with it and why it's doing this, and don't want to take it in to repair if not needed. Any advice or tips would help. thanks

[boatfixer]

If you cant see where the rope might be wedged somewhere, then Id say the spring is broken in the rewind. Those can be a bugger if you have never done one before.

[no bait nate]

rope is not wedged, I can take the cover off and manually turn the rope back in to start the motor, it just doesn't go back in on it's own

[Valv]

Recoil spring is broken. Trust me (and Boatfixer too), take it to a shop and have it replaced, it's a real pain to coil back in if you've never done it.

[marine_man]

And is not at all like re-winding a lawn mower / auger / etc recoil... I'd recommend taking it in as well.

marine_man

[no bait nate]

thanks guys, looks like I'll be taking it in as soon as I can to the shop. appreciate the advice

[Potsie]

Same thing happened to mine last year too. The recoil spring cup is really easy to get to and remove... it's just one bolt. On mine, the spring broke at the end where it bends into the spring retainer. I just took a needle nose pliers and bent the end to fit back in the spring retainer. I used a couple bar clamps loosely to make sure the spring stayed in the cup though, cause if that comes out then you're pretty well up a crick. Worst case scenario, you end up taking it to the repair shop anyways, but at least you'll have learned "hands on" about your rope and recoil assembly. You certainly won't hurt anything, or cause the repair shop any more time, by pulling it apart yourself. Plus, you'll see how easy it is to replace the pull-rope that will inevitably break on you.

[no bait nate]

took it to the shop yesterday, had it fixed within a few hours. coil spring was broken and the inside was very gummed up. got some new plugs and a tune-up while it was in also so was a good choice to bring it in. purrs like a kitten now, even better than before.