mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

[deanosride]

we just bought a partybarge with a 95 hp mercury thunderbolt when we pulled up he came out alrerady had the water hose running to it jumped on the boat hit the switch and it fired right up so we bought it.. a week later we decided to take to the lake and couldnt get it to crank i thought i flooded it went through all 3 batteries trying to crank it..... brought it back home and charged up the batteries and hooked up the water... held the choke in and the starter turns took for ever to get it to crank couldnt get to stay running.... had to hold the key switch in crank position while it was trying to crank and die hit the choke again and it would try to crank i know i am not suppose to do it but you know how you get when you are mad.. i have talked to a few people and they say the engines are cold natured and a bear to crank.... any suggestions i am new to a merc engine..... never had this problem????

 

[mniver]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

My merc 150 carb engine has always been hard to start. Local merc mechanic gave me this advice: 1) pump fuel bulb up until it is tight, 2) turn key to on position and push the key in. This opens up the choke and allows fuel to drain into the carbs. 3) Wait 30 seconds with the key pushed in. Do not try to cut this time short; wait the full 30 seconds. 4) Turn the key to start and she should start.

It would often take me several minutes of "grinding" to crank my motor. Now, it cranks on the first, or at worst, second try.

I was to the point of wanting to sell this engine until the local mechanic showed me how to choke it properly and now it cranks effortlessly.

Good luck...

 

[daveswaves]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

we just bought a partybarge with a 95 hp mercury thunderbolt when we pulled up he came out alrerady had the water hose running to it jumped on the boat hit the switch and it fired right up so we bought it.. a week later we decided to take to the lake and couldnt get it to crank i thought i flooded it went through all 3 batteries trying to crank it..... brought it back home and charged up the batteries and hooked up the water... held the choke in and the starter turns took for ever to get it to crank couldnt get to stay running.... had to hold the key switch in crank position while it was trying to crank and die hit the choke again and it would try to crank i know i am not suppose to do it but you know how you get when you are mad.. i have talked to a few people and they say the engines are cold natured and a bear to crank.... any suggestions i am new to a merc engine..... never had this problem????

Don,t worry about flooding it.....they like lots of fuel to start.

 

[turbinedoctor]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

Mine used to turn over a little slower then I thought it should but it would start. I had to open the throttle about 3/4 then push in on the key for the fuel enrichener soleniod while cranking. After it would fire and shut off I just cranked it once or twice and sometimes push in on the key again. Later it would hardly turn over at all. I found a bad spot in the negative cable coming from the engine. I had a 4 volt drop across it. After replacing the cables and going a size larger, it would turn over very fast and started a lot easier. The speed at which it turns over determines the voltage going to the power packs and the spark at the plugs.

It still requires more TLC then a 4 stroke but anybody can start one of them, it takes someone with a little extra love to start one of these.

Durwood

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

Not only do they like a LOT of fuel to start, but they also need to spin pretty fast. Your starter motor could be due for a rebuild.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

When one says "crank" it is assumed that they are referring to the crankshaft turning like an old model t would have a hand crank that would "crank" the crankshaft to start the motor.

So when you are saying "would not crank" we should assume you are actually using the word "crank" to replace the word "start" or "run"?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

Are you pushing the warm-up lever to the stop? Is the choke actually working fully? I've seen a lot of those where the linkage is loose or bent and keeps the choke butterflies from fully closing. As noted, they like lots of fuel at start-up, so an underperforming choke will contribute to poor starting.

Mniver's method won't work with your motor, as yours doesn't have a primer system like the 150. The choke butterflies have no bearing on how much fuel goes in unless the motor is turning over. They rely on crankcase suction to work properly.

As with any motor you recently acquire, a compression and spark check top to bottom is recommended... no use chasing ghosts.

 

[deanosride]

Re: mercury thunderbolt 95 hp cold natured as heck its a bear to crank..

When one says "crank" it is assumed that they are referring to the crankshaft turning like an old model t would have a hand crank that would "crank" the crankshaft to start the motor.

So when you are saying "would not crank" we should assume you are actually using the word "crank" to replace the word "start" or "run"?

we are in the south like pigs and holler if it dont crank it wont run