70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

[grimpy]

I have a 93 Bayliner that has a 70hp Force by Mecury outboard on it... Serial is OEO40813.

When I am at home, it started easily with the muffs... Usually first or second turn of the key...

However, when I am out at a lake... it would take upwards of 10-20 tries before the sucker finally turns on... Once it turns on, the rest of the day is pretty good, first turn starts... every now and then it would take two...

My main problem is basically when I first arrive at the lake... If i'm lucky, it will start on the first or second turn of the key... If not, I will sit there for a good 15-30 minutes trying to get the sucker started...

Any idea what the problem could be?

 

[roscoe]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

Are you using the choke?
Are you advancing the throttle 1/2 way?
Are you pumping up the primer bulb first?

Maybe you should give us a detailed list of your starting procedure.

Have you ever decarbed the motor with Seafoam Deep Creep?

 

[grimpy]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

The choke is with the key, what I basically do is push down the key and turn. Am I doing this wrong?

The controls is a quicksilver, only one control... It won't start unless it is in the neutral position. There is a knob that says throttle though... Am I suppose to push the knob down while trying to start it?

I always pump the primer before starting... Pump it till it is hard and it stays hard... Gets soft after a few turns and no starts...

I have not decarbed yet... The thing starts easily when I am at home with the muffs though...

Here is my procedure when I get home...
I give it a flush with the muffs.
Pull the tank connector and wait for the bulb to flatten out.
Right when the engine begins to sputter, I turn it off before it dies itself.
Is this the correct procedure? The guy I bought the boat from told me to do this everytime...

When I start it...
Turn the battery on.
Connect the fuel line
Open the cap vent
Pump the primer until it is hard.
Double check to make sure the manual tilt is at the turn on position.
Push the key in, choke, and turn...

When it doesn't start, I usually just keep doing the push key in and turn again... After a few tries, I don't choke it anymore and just keep turning... Takes forever.... Once it finally starts though, it will easily start each time I am in the water... Only seem to have a hard start when I am launching the boat.

Would this be a carb problem?

Thanks

 

[roscoe]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

I would not disconnect the fuel and let it run dry every time.
Some guys do it for winter storage, but most do not.

Commander 3000 controls??
There is a button ( known as the fast idle or warm up button) in the center of the handle, at its pivot point.
If you push it, you can advance the throttle in neutral.

To start:

Turn on battery.
Pump primer bulb.
Push "throttle only" button and advance the throttle.
Push in and hold the key/choke.
Turn key, release when it fires or after 3-4 seconds.
Try again if needed.
Be ready to throttle back to 1000-1200 rpm as soon as it fires up.

If it doesn't start after the 2nd try, try starting without the choke, or you may flood it.

Do not run the carb out of fuel after every use.
No reason to disconnect the line either.

I have the same engine, 1995 model, starts on the first or second try.

 

[speeddemon1452]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

my 70 hp force does same thing. so I checked it out and the choke selnoid was not conected to anything wire was just laying lose was nothing neaby to conect it to ether. so what I have been doing is hand chocking the carb and it fires right up that way saves the satrter that way tell I get the choke hooked up right.

 

[grimpy]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

thanks for the info again guys... I won't pull the plug and drain the gas anymore...

One last question... My lever, when I move it forward, it first engages the prop and then after a point, it begins to throttle. When I press the throttle button, do I move it passed the prop engage point and give it a little bit of throttle or does it automatically switch to the throttle when I hit the button?

I don't want to move it too much and have it over-rev at the start.

 

[roscoe]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

You have to move the lever forward pretty far, just as far as when it is in gear.
I can feel the tension on mine, when the throttle cable starts to move, I push it a little past that point.


FYI, the 91-95 70 hp motors did not have the usual choke.
They had what is called a fuel enrichment valve.
When you apply the "choke", the solenoid opens the valve and dumps extra fuel directly into the intake manifold.

It is #1 in the photo below.

 

[grimpy]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

interesting... Does that mean that I just need to push the key in (choke) and it will dump the fuel? If so, do I just push the choke once... Then just turn the key without pushing down? Or do I still need to push in, hold, and turn until it starts or 3 seconds?

I didn't do much research and pulled the trigger on a Seloc, heard it wasn't great for Force outboards... It should be coming by the end of the week hopefully...

Thanks again for the help Roscoe... It's very much appreciated...

 

[roscoe]

Re: 70hp Force by Mercury takes forever to start

The fuel enrichment valve will remain open as long as you push in the key.

It initially uses the fuel pressure from the primer bulb to dump the fuel into the engine. As you crank the engine and the fuel pump starts to do its job, it uses that pressure.

I push and hold mine in, while turning the key, until it makes an effort to fire.