hard to start engines

[bazzavic]

i have a 115 yammy engine that has been serviced plus a carby clean bit i have trouble starting it, once its started i have no trouble all day starts first time, any help on this matter will be great

[aido]

fuel.
make sure it's primed properly
and try a bit of choke.

[bazzavic]

i do all that i prime the bulb till its hard >:( >:( >:( >:(

[gunna]

I have a simlar problem with the 40H 2 stroke. Difficult the first time then fine for the rest of the day. Here is a sorta related question. How long does it take to get the bulb hard. I squeeze the bulb on mine for ages & the pressure doesn't seem to change ?

[stacer_seagull]

Good Q Gunna, i have come across that situation with my 70 rude on a couple of occasions, i just stopped pumpiing the bulb while it still had no pressure as i was squeezing it for about 5 minutes, engine ended up starting first time? usually i squeeze the bulb for 2 ot 3 times and it comes up fine.
Bazzavic, i had that prob on a old motor of mine, and for me it was from running the fuel dry after use,which i dont do anymore, otherwise i am on the same line of thought as aido,sounds like a fuel problem

[gunna]

When I fish weekly I never touch the bulb. Just use choke only. Its only when the boat hasn't been used for a couple weeks - which is rare :D Its just that its hard to know when to stop if the pressure doesn't change ???

[SeaHunt]

Had the same problem , if it has a manual choke , check that it is working properly.
ie. Take air cleaner off pull on the choke and have a look down the carbys. :)

[littlejim]

in my case there were small holes in the fuel line, I couldn't see them, so the pressure from the pump up bulb gradually bled off, as air leaked in and let the fuel run back into the tank.

replacing the fuel line helped a lot.

[Sportfish_5]

Bazza - My 115 2stk Yammy was the same as yours. Very hard to cold start but would start first go once warm. Electric choke was working OK, replaced all fuel lines and primer bulb and it did not make a difference. Problem seemed to be worse if the engine had not started for a week or so. At the time I was using Castrol 2 stk oil because of the $$$ saving and was advised to change back to Yammalube. I don't know why but my engine will now start within 5 secs of cranking when cold. Oil residue on plugs maybe. Any other ideas ?

Cheers

Greg

[blaze]

I would think if ya got a bulb that wont pump up it is likely to be a faulty one way valve in the bulb, repace bulb
cheers
blaze

[MulletMan]

Couple way out thoughts only!

One, do you always leave the motor trimmed right up when it is stored? If so, most of the fuel in the carby will drain out from some models and you will have to do a lot of pumping to refill it it.

Two, how long is the fuel line from the tank to the engine? If it is longer than normal, this may also take quite a while for the fuel to reach the donk.

Three, check the primer bulb and the fuel line for very small holes or cracks. When the bulb is being compressed, you may be sucking air in but when the motor finally starts and you let the bulb go, the hole/crack may reseal thus = no problems!

Four, disconnect the fuel line from the motor end and push the small ball bearing seal back down the attachment and see that it is nice and loose. If you prime it first there should be a rush of fuel when you push the ball in.

Five, check all the filters. At startup, a partially blocked fuel filter may be enough to reduce the fuel flow whereas once it gets started the fuel pump will pull the fuel through the open section of the filter(s)

Six, buy a Honda and never have any problems! ;)

[ba229]

some good advice there commodore and plenty of options to go on with.

it does sound funny to me that the bulb doesn't get hard.

[Cheech]

The only time I have trouble with the bulb not getting hard is when I forget to point it up. When I have the bulb sideways it does not suck up the fuel properly.

[MulletMan]

Yeh, sounds like we are all aiming at the primer bulb!
Buy a new one and give it a go.
If you pull it apart there is a chance the little one-way shuttle valve(s) may also be partially blocked.
You can pump our 2 x 200 hp Yammy 4-strokes till your hand starts to melt but they will never go hard!

[bazzavic]

ok some good advice there ill try a few things posted and let you know how it goes lucky i have 2 batteries too as the other tends to flatten a little..only sometimes

[NQCairns]

Sportfish one explanation may be that the castrol carboned up the engine some and the yamalube cleaned it out ???. Quite often a decarbon can fix minor starting or running problems. IMHO good stuff that yamalube.

[snapperhead]

Hey baz is there a lot more smoke the first time you start it compared to the rest of the day. Mine has started doing it first start then for the rest of the day it is fine even after sitting for few hours it fires first go. I had started storing boat my boat with the bow up higher then level as it is now outside under a little shed not in the garage. noticed that there was a lot of oil in the troat of the carby I wiped as much as I could out and it started alot quicker. now I store it back in the shed and don't have the problem. If it starts fine the rest of the day it sounds like someting simple.

[bazzavic]

yeah there is a first puff of smoke then it runs fine mines stored im my garage much to my wifes disgust :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

[blaze]

storing in the shed is good idea, mine has outgrown the shed, i thought the solution was easy, increase the size of the shed, minister who must be obeyed said no. cant understand it myself, the shed started life yeats ago as a boat cover, 24' x 8' (roof only) and is now (20 years later) 12meters by 8 meters
cant win some of them
cheers
blaze

[gunna]

The only time I have trouble with the bulb not getting hard is when I forget to point it up. When I have the bulb sideways it does not suck up the fuel properly.

Err what ??? ??? Never knew about that one. I always have it sideways :o.

Sportsfish5 - thats an interesting point about the Yamalube. I haven't used it since day one. Might have to give it a try.

[caloundra]

mine's the same hard to start first go a little puff of smoke when she first kicks over.then goes fist time the rest of the day
my fuel bulb is always hard i think that is because the fuel tank is higher than the bulb?
i think its due for a service anyway i'll see what he says

[bazzavic]

well after spending 3 g today i also bought a 4 litre yammilube so i hope that works oh the 3g was on a plotter and a sounder

[Sportfish_5]

It may take a while to get rid of old oil if you have a 10lt reservior ???

[Mr__Bean]

This may sound a bit simple, but I would look to ensure the choke is functioning correctly.

Is your choke mechanical or electrically operated?

If electrical, remove the cowl and listen at the motor to make sure the solenoid is operating, you should hear a distinct clicking sound when you push in the ignition key or whatever is your choke switch.

If mechanical, have a look to see that you haven't dropper a linkage.

Also, is it hard to start whenever cold? Or only after it has been stored for a while?

If only after long storage, I agree that it is most likely to be oil saturation. If however it happens whenever you have to do a dead cold start, I do not think oil is your trouble.

- Bean

[straddie]

Oils ain't oils guys ;D
Sportfish_5, was the castrol 2 stroke you were using a TC3W oil? I have noticed some people use 2 stroke oil (usually in smaller outboards) but they don't seem to realise that it is not a marine engine oil or at least not TC3W.

My memory sucks but I think the base for tc3w was heating oil, I can't remember what two stroke was but think it was different? kero/diesel?

Check your manual guys if it says to use a TC3W oil then that's what you need. By the way yamalube is nothing special at all, just run of the mill TC3W outboard.

Oils can be funny, same stuff just in different packaging ;)

[Sportfish_5]

Straddie - Yeah Castrol oil was TC-W3 and used to buy for $99 for 20lt drum from Sundown. A lot cheaper than the $130/140 you pay for the Yamalube 20lt.

Did the change to Yammalube correct my problem ? ---- Well I don't really know for sure but I doubt it. It is after all just another oil supplied to Yamaha from a refinery for packaging and distribution under the own banner as is quicksilver oil for Mercury etc, Maybe it just fixed itself and would have been right if I kept using Castrol oil.

One thing to make sure of when you cold start using the electronic choke is to ensure that you keep the key depressed before and all the time while the engine cranks. Maybe someone with a service manual can confirm but I believe that extra fuel is allowed to enter when the electronic choke is activated.

Cheers

Greg