Cold Starting Procedure

[rmart]

What is the proper procedure to start a cold engine?

I have a Morse Control and a Yamaha ignition swith. My normal starting procedure on a cold engine has been the following:

1. Squeeze the primer bulb;

2. Pull out my Morse control and pump the lever once to full throttle position and then back to approx. 1/4 neutral throttle position for starting;

3. Hold the choke toggle swith;

4. Turn key to start.


Am I doing this correctly?

Also if my engine is slow...sometimes very slow to fire (despite starter motor cranking away, good clean fuel, new & clean plugs) what is the likely culprit.

[Ken]

rmart,
Sounds like you are doing everything correctly. Check the choke butterfly valve to make sure it is closing ALL THE WAY when the choke is engaged. Remove the intake silencer and look directly down the throat of the carbs when choke is engaged - if that butterfly valve is not fully closed, then adjust choke linkage to make it so.
My brand new 2000 C115 was very hard starting until I checked out the choke - and you had to look closely to see that it was not closing that last fraction of an inch - adjusted the linkage, and that fixed my hard starting problem .
Good luck,
Ken K

[rmart]

Ken,
I just received a Yamaha shop manual but don't have it handy with me at work..so I apologize if these are dumb questions.

The butterfly valve should first be tested with the manual pull out lever on the engine correct? And I should simply confirm to my eye that when I pull the manual choke lever the valve has fully closed (so valve will be vertical right?)

Next I should engage the electric choke switch and confirm the same..right?

When I do both of these tests should I have my morse control in neutral with no throttle?

Also, do these two chokes operate on a different choke linkages?

Will any of these modifications adjust how the engine idles or runs? Other than the hard starting, the engine runs great so I don't want to make a good engine run worse.

Thanks again.

[Ken]

rmart,
I can only tell you my experience with my 2000 C115 - because different outboards may have different choke linkages - but should be basically the same on carbed motors.
The linkage is adjustabe on both the manual and the electric choke - I found this out because with the manual choke pulled, the motor would start easily, but with the electric choke, the butterfly valve was not closing all the way and the motor was hard to start.
You need to check that the butterfly valve is closing all the way first with the manual choke - adjust if needed. Then check closure using the electric choke - adjust if needed.
As long as the choke butterfly valve is returning to normal horizontal position when not engaged, it will have no effect on the performance of your motor.
And, yes, you need to have the remote control in neutral and throttle at idle.
Good luck - let us know how you come out [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[rmart]

Ken,
I checked the butterfly valves and they were closing perfectly with both the electric and the manual choke.

Any idea what else could be causing the hard sarting? Again, when the engine is running it runs like a top at all speeds and after the engine has been running it seems to start no problem. Thanks.

[Ken]

rmart,
Try starting the motor with the manual choke instead of the electric choke. May be a difference, and maybe that will give us a clue.
Sure sounds like fuel is not getting to the carbs when you prime the bulb - are you priming the bulb until it gets hard?
You might want to disconnect the fuel line that comes from the fuel pump to the carbs - disconnect it at the carb end. Do this after the motor has set up and is cold - you want to do this under the conditions when you have hard starting. Use a pan to catch fuel and pump the bulb to see if fuel is getting to the carbs - I may be wrong about this, but I believe when you pump the bulb, fuel should go thru the fuel pump and fill the carb bowls - maybe there is a restriction somewhere in the fuel line, and fuel is not getting to the carbs until the fuel pump has run for a while during the cold start.
I can't remember what model motor you have - or have you told us?
Ken K

[rmart]

Engine is a 1987 115 hp.

The frustrating part for us is the fact that the engine runs so well. I would have assumed that if I had a fuel restriction problem or a weak fuel pump that I would experience some symptoms when running. But I don't have any other symptoms?

In fact, other than being a real hard starter if cold or if the engine has sat for a few days, the engine is a gem.

This is the first year the engine has acted like this and it just doesn't seem to try to fire as quickly as it always has in the past. The starter motor itself sounds slower to engage and spin (despite the fact that it is a brand new starter, I have a new fully charged battery and full power is confirmed at the starter) and the engine itself seems slower than ever to actually fire.

This is beginning to make a repower more attractice to get EFI.

[Ken]

rmart,
Don't give up yet - like you say, the motor runs fine after that initial cold start. Try the things I mentioned in my last post.
My 2000 C115 takes about 4 sec for a "cold" start - this is after it has set up a few days.
About how long is your 115 taking for a cold start?
Ken K

[rmart]

A slow cold start might take me 7-10 attempts at starting with the starter motor engaged for approx. 5 seconds per try.

[rmart]

Again, I remain frustrated with the difficulty I have starting my cold engine (a 1987 Yamaha 115hp) that has sat for 1 week. Today (Saturday), it took me approximately 5 minutes to get the engine started (it had sat since last Saturday - 1 week).
The symptoms remain the same:

1- The starter motor engages and just continues to spin and spin and spin but the engine just doesn't fire at all for a long time. Today it took probably 12 times of running the starter motor for approximately 5 seconds per attempt with several seconds resting in between attempts.

2- As a result our routine has been for me to spend approximately 5 minutes at the house trying to start it on the flush ears before we take it to the ramp to launch. Once I get it started at home I let it run for 1-3 minutes before we leave for the ramp.

3- We usually get to the ramp within 1 hour of me running the engine for approximately 1-3 minutes on the ears at home and the engine always starts right away at the ramp if I have run it first at home.

4- Off we go with the kids and have a wonderful day on the sea. Today, we hung out and swam at a sand bar with the engine turned off for approximately 5-6 hours. When we go to leave the engine starts right up no problems. This is always the case as the engine will start no problem after sitting at anchor for 5-8 hours.

5- When the engine starts it runs great without hesitation, bogging, delays or any other problems. I don't want to just go out and buy parts for this engine without some confidence.

I am wondering....what is the consensus here for what my problem is.

Thanks in advance.

[Ken]

rmart,
Did you try my suggestions in the previous post? Did you try using the manual choke only to start the motor? Are you getting fuel to the carbs when you prime the bulb? Is the bulb getting hard? Did you disconnect the fuel line to the carbs and squeeze the bulb to see if fuel is getting to the carbs?
You might try squirting a little fuel into the throat of the carbs for a cold start - if the motor fires at all, then that will tell you fuel is not getting to the carbs.
Ken K

[rmart]

Ken,
I did try starting with the manual choke and that was no better. Also, I checked the butterfly on both the manual and electtric choke..and they both fully close.

As far as fuel to the carb, I have not tried spraying fuel directly into the carb and I have not tried removing the fuel lime from the carb.

However, yes the primer bulb gets hard and when looking under the cowl, the fuel filter canister is clearly full of fuel when I prime the bulb.

If I were to try to squirt fuel in the carb after the engine has sat for a week or so, how much fuel would you recommend be squirter?

If I were having a fuel pump issue, wouldn't there be an issue when I ran the engine as well? Remember, I don't have ant problems when the engine is running and I can easily start the engine even after spending the majority of the day at anchor with the engine turned off.

[hooken203]

Try to start it without opening the throttle. When you open the throttle it kinda defeats the choke. Dont open the throttle until the engine fires. Thats the way I have always started a carb motor.

[rmart]

Hooken,
Do you mean that I should try to start the engine without the throttle in the 1/4 neutral throttle position?

Or

Do you mean that I should not pump the throttle lever prior to starting the engine AND not start the engine with the throttle in the open 1/4 position?

Thanks.

[Ken]

rmart,
Squirt the equivalent of an eyedropper into each carb and then try to start - you're just looking for the motor to fire a little to tell us if you have ignition or fuel problem. Do this for your cold start condition - do not pump the bulb.
If the motor does fire, then I would remove the fuel line to the carbs and squeeze the bulb to see if fuel is getting to that point. If it is, then I would suspect some kind of carb problem, maybe sticking float valves.
If the motor does not fire, then I would suspect some kind of ignition problem - but what the heck that would be, I don't know since the motor is running fine after the initial start.
Try the above and let us know what you find.
Ken K [img]smile.gif[/img]