Seems flooded at 1st start.

[Roszell72]

Hello,

I have a 1989 Seasprite Mark II. The boat is in fairly nice shape. It has the 3.0 mercruiser Alpha One. My local marina rebuilt the carb, sanded down the pulleys, replace the plugs, installed some seals in the outdrive and replace the shift cable.

When I first put the boat in the water, I can start the boat just by turning the key. Idles but seems kinda rough. By tach its about 650 to 700 rpms. If I back it off the trailer with in a couple of minutes it usually stalls and then I have to open the throttle all the way and once it starts back it down. The boat will clear out after I warm it up and get it moving, rpm's start to increase without moving the throttle.

The rest of the day the boat starts fine and does not stall at all, it is only at the first start up of the day. I would like my wife to back the boat off but this stalling keeps her from doing it.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced a problem like this.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Danny

 

[Quid]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Are you setting the choke? A cold start requires one full throttle stroke to activate the choke, then a short warm up time with slight throttle...Gotta love carbs...

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Are you setting the choke? A cold start requires one full throttle stroke to activate the choke, then a short warm up time with slight throttle...Gotta love carbs...

DING!DING!DING, we have a winner!....
Your boat is not EFI, do what the man suggests & you will be fine....

 

[Roszell72]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Thanks for the reply!

I have tried it both ways.
1) just turning the key to which the boat fires up right away.
2) Using the throttle mode, moving the throttle all the way forward and pulling it back about 2/3 to 3/4.

It starts no matter what I do and will idle for a while too. It's just that when I pull it into reverse it usually stalls and that's after letting it warm up for about 3 to five minutes. Even after I idle around for 10 minutes, set up the bimini top and go back to get my wife. When I put it into reverse once I pick up my wife it will stall again. Once I open the throttle all the way it starts up, idles rough and blows out a little smoke.

I throttle it up to get on plane and the carb start to clear out and away it goes. Problem is gone the rest of the day.

 

[cshirley]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Sounds like its flooded. Mine has been doing that after running for a while. Makes it very hard to get it back on the trailer.

 

[Roszell72]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

your right the boat is not EFI it is carbureted (sp). I thought I mentioned that in the first post. I have tried it both ways as I stated in the previous post. The boat starts great, just seems flooded. I will tell you that we are the lounging type of boaters and we typically sit for about 4-5 hours. I don't have this problem restarting it after sitting either. I know this boat has to have a system to start it, I just have not figured it out.

Do you think the choke could be out of adjustment. Maybe I should pull the lead off the choke and check and see how it starts then,..... or would the choke be on constantly?

 

[Roszell72]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

But it is only flooded after sitting overnight.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

I have a similar problem with my engine. The problem is that the choke doesn't come off fast enough after the engine has started. You have plenty of choke with the engine cold but the engine starts warming up faster than the choke is gradually getting released. The engine is getting a richer mixture than it really needs. Once the engine warms up and the choke is fully retracted you are fine for the rest of the day.

Might want to adjust the choke's initial position to not be quite as closed as it is now. That way it will be open a bit more as the engine warms up.

 

[Roszell72]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

That is kinda what I'm thinking too Bruce, just don't want to mess it up since it is running so well during the day. Also not sure which way to adjust it.

 

[Quid]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

What Bruce said^^^^

 

[Bondo Again]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Do you think the choke could be out of adjustment. Maybe I should pull the lead off the choke and check and see how it starts then,..... or would the choke be on constantly?

Ayuh,......

Your Choke definitely needs Adjusting,....
Pulling the Wire from it will only make it Worse... That heats it,+ helps release it...

Make Sure that wire has 12Vs to it,...
Then, looking at the choke housing, you'll see 3 screws,...
Loosen them,+ rotate the plastic housing just abit to the Lean side,....
Tighten the screws,+ Try it.....

 

[Coors]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

You might have to give it a little rev, to get the choke off the step, after it warms.

 

[Roszell72]

Re: Seems flooded at 1st start.

Thank you for all the replies. I will adjust the choke as suggested and see what improvements it makes. Hopefully, it's the choke adjustment and not the float adjustment.

Has anyone had a problem with the spark arrestor nut hitting the bottom side of the engine cowl (wooden)? The service department re-adjusted the alignment of the engine after the stern drive work and it seems as though the motor was raised. The spark arrestor nut has worn a hole in the bottom side of the engine cowl. Not necessarily through the wood, padding and vinyl, just into the wood.