Reading a Johnson identification number can be difficult if you don’t have proper guidance, since there are four different ways the motors have been noted. The Johnson Outboard Motor Company has been bought and sold multiple times, and as a result the identification numbers have changed quite a bit during certain periods of time.
To find out the year a Johnson Motor has been manufactured you have to look at the last three letters of the serial number. The last letter represents the model run, and the other two represent the year the motor has been manufactured.
So let’s take a look at all possible types of Johnson serial numbers, what they mean, and how to decode them and find out the year it was manufactured, how many horsepower it has, and many more details.
Quick Note: Evinrude and Johnson are made by the same manufacturer so they use the same serial numbers, to differentiate between them the Evinrude Motors will have an E in the serial, and the Johnson Motors will have a J.
Table of Contents
Johnson Boat Motors Identification from 1980 to 1998
We’ll start with the models made after 1980 since they are easier to identify and they are the most common.
A serial number from this period will look something like this: VJ90TEXCUA. Which should be read like this : V-J-90-T-X-CU-A
Now let’s look at what each letter and number means, and use the table above to decode it.
V – Model Variation
J – Style
90 – Horsepower
TE – Design Feature
X – Length
ED – Model Year
A – Model Run
Using the table we will find that:
V – Model Variation – Boat Builder
J – Style – Johnson
90 – Horsepower – 90 HP
TE – Design Feature – Trim Electric
X – Length – 25”
ED – Model Year – Year 1987
A – Model Run
So we have a Johnson motor made in 1987 with 90 HP, an electric trim, which is 25”
Johnson Boat Motors Identification from 1999 to 2001
For the motors made between 1999 and 2001 we will be using this table to decode the serial number.
As you can see there are not too many changes. The main changes are that you won’t find a Model Variation letter at the start, and the design feature list is considerably shorter. So let’s use an example and use the table and to find out its meaning.
Our example will be: J35WL3SSA, which will be read this way: J-35-W-L-3-SS-A.
The meaning of the code is the following:
J – Style – Johnson
35 – Horsepower – 35 HP
W – Design Feature – Commercial Model
L – Length – 20”
3 – Cylinders – 3 Cylinders
SS – Model Year – Year 2000
A – Model Run
Johnson Boat Motors Identification from 2002 to 2020
In June 2020 the Johnson and Evinrude Motor series vere both discontinued, but their manufacturer will still provide support for existing models, so it’s still worth knowing what your serial number says.
This serial type is quite similar to the rest but as usual there are a few small differences, so let’s go over an example and put the table above to use. Our example will be: BJ90WX4SCA which should be read like this:B-J-90-W-X-4-SC-A.
The decoded serial number will look like this:
B – Prefix
J – Style – Johnson
90 – Horsepower – 90 HP
W – Design Feature – Comercial
X – Length – 25”
4 – Strokes – 4 Stroke
SC – Model Year – Year 2008
A – Model Run
Johnson Boat Motors Identification for models older than 1989
For models older than 89, you will usually find the last two digits of the year at the end of the serial number, so you will find something like this: xxxx76x.
But unfortunately there are some cases where you won’t find this, if this is your case you should use this link and look for it manually.
Final Thoughts
So it’s not very hard to find out the year your Johnson Motor was manufactured, or how many horsepower it has, if you use the tables above for reference. Just make sure that you go over the entire serial number step by step and you should find everything that you need in just a few seconds.
If you have a model that is older than 1989 the serial number will have two numbers at the end, those numbers usually represent the year.
If you want to know more details about Johnson Outboard Motors, and want to see every model that was ever made you can take a look at this file that contains every motor made by Johnson, including not only commercial motors but racine, and military motors as well. Here is the link.