4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

[Big Pete]

Hi Guys

Ok i give up !!

My new to me searay has a 4.3 mercruiser with alpha 1 stern drive ..

Runs lovely , starts lovely when Warm ..But cold starting is a joke ..

Guy told me push on to throttle only , place lever a quarter position forward and turn key and she will fire up .. Yea right takes full throttle and loads and loads of cranking ..

So asked someone else they said Nahh what you do is Pump it once or twice then give it throttle and she will Fire up !!! Yea right same again its flooded and so its crank and crank with full throttle to clear and then she fires .

So what method should i use ? or do you use ? . as its a pain in the bum and its killing the batteries every cold start ..

 

[Brewman61]

Re: 4.4 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Re: 4.4 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

have the issue diagnosed by a qualified boat mechanic. No way should you have to fully open the throttle and crank like crazy to start the boat cold.
I have the MPI version of that engine, so I just have to turn the key and go.
I don't know if this motor has any kind of choke or not.
Could be several possible causes, so get thee to a mechanic. You are going to save enough in eventual battery replacements to offset the cost of the repairs.

 

[Blk-n-Blu]

Re: 4.4 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Re: 4.4 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Most of the time you only need to give one push of the throttle to give it a shot of gas and close the Choke (if carbed) If you have a carb take the Spark arrestor off (cold engine) and give it one push of the throttle and see if the choke closes almost all the way. If it does start it up and see if it opens all the way while warming up.

 

[Big Pete]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

It is carbed yes ..

The boat just had a service , they tell me its me doing it wrong ?? They reckoned i flood it ..

Have tried it just leaving it alone and cranking.. pushing it forward and back once then cranking.. leaving it first position etc.. apparently i have to learn a special nack ??

 

[jtmarten]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Make sure the choke plate is closing when cold. It certainly doesn't sound like you're doing it wrong. Both of mine fire right up at idle after 1 pump for a squirt of fuel and setting the choke.

 

[Big Pete]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Make sure the choke plate is closing when cold. It certainly doesn't sound like you're doing it wrong. Both of mine fire right up at idle after 1 pump for a squirt of fuel and setting the choke.

When you say 1 pump ,is that 1 movement to full throttle then back to idle ?

 

[searay3]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

As mentioned, remove the spark arrestor. Have a buddy push the throttle forward with the engine off. you should see two distinct sprays of fuel in the front two barrels of the carb and the choke should close. If that is not happening you have some carb issues. no fuel squirt? rebuild carb. Choke should close completely and slowly open as the engine warms. One or two good swings of the throttle, then 1/4 throttle, hit the key. Be ready to pull the throttle back when it fires.

 

[Big Pete]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

I will try that thanks ..
anyone else have a method or special way?

 

[achris]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

Hi Pete,

You didn't give us a serial number for the engine, or a year (I prefer serial numbers), so I can only guess...

It sounds like you have a 4 bbl Weber carb engine. They are notorious for dribbling. When you shut the engine down, the carb dribbles until it's empty. The next cold start you're not flooded, your having to crank until the fuel pump can refill the carb.

This is not a recommended fix (there isn't one, Merc don't even acknowledge there's problem!), but what a lot of people do is fit an outboard fuel primer in the fuel line, and in the morning during routine checks (you know, all the stuff we don't do, like oil check, looking for loose parts, ect) just give the primer a squeeze to refill the carb....

Chris.........

 

[180shabah]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

First thing we need to know, is when it won't start is there fuel in the carb? If there is fuel you should at least get a sputter or two.

Is this electric or mechanical fuel pump? - could have been answered if we knew what year we are dealing with.

 

[jcblizz]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

have the same problem with mine right now. mine is a 4bbl. with and electric pump. havent got to do the check for the fuel spray.

 

[180shabah]

Re: 4.3 mercruiser starting,,i give up whats the secret ??

jcblizz - you need to start a new thread - your symptoms are the same but the problem might not be.

Pete - if you have the weber carb, as chris said it is probably goin dry - simple easy fix is to add a momentary switch to feed the fuel pump - much less invasive than the OB primer bulb and accomplishes the same thing.