cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

[hotshot123]

Ok, ive been posting here and with the help of this forum, ive got this old 73 up and running again but here is my latest really strange problem. last weekend i rebuilt the carbs, got it running good on the muffs, took it to the river and fine tuned it in the water and everything worked great sat. and sunday (last weekend). At this time i still had the air silencer off. during the week this week, i put the silencer back on and hooked up all the likage for the lean/rich mixture knob. At this point everything is still great but on the muffs. Well friday morning i went to the river and did my normal staring procedure. Lift the lever, choke and spin. normally it would fire right up but friday it wouldnt fire. i spun it until the battery was about dead. then i pulled the cowl off just so i could see the choke and thrattle working but with the cover off it fired right up and was perfect for the rest of the day. sunday morning i went back to the river and spun it over a few times with the lever up and choked but it wouldnt fire. I pulled the cowl off and it fired right up and again no problems the rest of the day. Why would the cowling need to come off to start only when cold? It runs so good otherwise, i am scared to turn that lean/rich knob at all because when its at now, i get good idle, good holeshot and good top end.

 

[boobie]

Re: cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

Have you checked to see if the chokes are working with the cowl on ??

 

[hotshot123]

Re: cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

well, with the cowl on, you cant visually see it working but i can hear the soleniod snapping. also i have a manual choke that pulls out but that didnt help either. i see what your driving at tho. like maybe something under the cowl is interfering with the choke closing. i dont think it is but for sure something i need to try to check. I took it to the river yesterday and before i even tried starting it, i pulled the cowl off, fired it up, then put my cowl back on and it was all good from then on. On a better note, being the tightwad i am, i found a way to squeeze a little more life out of my tired old cables. since i dont have the money to buy cables right now, i found out that a plain old bic ink pen was just the right size to slide over my cable and cover the bad spot i had just outside my motor. it wont last forever but it shifted good yesterday and hopefully it will get me by till i get my spending money built back up.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

From what I've read, it sounds like you have had the carburetor face plate removed and checked to see that the electric choke solenoid is actually closing the choke butterflies. Have you? If not, do so.

As it stands, when you have the hood off, I"m not sure if you're using the manual or electric choke setup.

 

[CoffeeHound]

Re: cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

Just went out and checked choke on my 73 Rude 50 ..
Pushed all the way in locks the chock open ( no operation at all )
Pulled out to the first click ( flush with Case ) full function of selnoid
Pulled aprox. 1.5 inches out from case gives me full chock (manual )

I have always had a bad habit of shovin it in too far and wondering why it wont start cold !!
I hear the selnoid click just fine ---LOL

 

[hotshot123]

Re: cold starting, really strange issue. 1973 50hp

Joe, I did have everything off at one point and even took it to the water and it started and ran fine (with faceplate off). Now i have the faceplate and cover back on. Both the manual choke and the electric choke close the butterflies as the should. the problem is that once i put the faceplate and all back on, now it wont start with the engine cover on when cold. I can spin it from now on and it just wont start. Once i pop the 2 latches and remove the cover, it starts right up. After that, i can put the cover (cowl) back on and it is fine for the remainder of the day. It is almost like i only have to do it (pop the cowl off) after trailering it to the river. The other day, i had the problem, popped the cover and cranked it, then i went fishing at the dam here and i sat tied to the wall for about 5 hours and when i got ready to leave, it started fine without having to pop the cowl off. My only idea would be that somehow it is flooding itself when i pull it down the road and maybe that little extra clean air helps it start that first time. I might try running the carbs dry next time i come off the water and not connect the fuel line again till im in the water and see if that helps. It is not a big deal to pop the latches and get it started but it is more annoying than anything.