Problem starting warm motor

[starkyb]

I am having trouble restarting my 75 horse Mariner once I have run it for a while. The first start of the day is always the easiest. After that I have to crank it several times and wait between tries. When it finally starts there is alot of smoke but it goes away and the motor runs great. This is only my second time out with the boat. What is the best method for restarting the motor without flooding it. Please help!!

 

[shoestring]

Re: Problem starting warm motor

I am having trouble restarting my 75 horse Mariner once I have run it for a while. The first start of the day is always the easiest. After that I have to crank it several times and wait between tries. When it finally starts there is alot of smoke but it goes away and the motor runs great. This is only my second time out with the boat. What is the best method for restarting the motor without flooding it. Please help!!

ok, i'll give it a shot. i'm a plumber so get your grain of salt handy. first, try to solve the problem. carry a spare spark plug. when the motor is warm and not wanting to start, pull off a plug wire, insert the spare plug into the wire hold it to ground and have somebody crank it over. if you have a good spark try other cyl(s) to make sure your ignition system is working. if you crank the engine alot without spark it can flood it even if you dont have a fuel problem. if spark checks out ok the the fuel system is probably to blame. could be a few different things. float level may be too high, fuel pump diaphram may be leaking. warm/cold starting problems can be a pain to solve. try to eliminate one possibility at a time. good luck

 

[starkyb]

Re: Problem starting warm motor

When starting should I start out with the fast idle in the up position? I'm thinking I flooded it because I kept cranking it in the down position.

 

[shoestring]

Re: Problem starting warm motor

When starting should I start out with the fast idle in the up position? I'm thinking I flooded it because I kept cranking it in the down position.

yes, i would use the fast idle lever but no choke. i don't know if you have an electric or automatic choke. the fast idle lever should just advance the ignition timing and not open the throttle. this would be a good place to begin. i had a '73 johnson 135 that was hard to start after it ran for a while. it had an automatic choke. on the front of the motor it had a manual choke lever that iff you pulled it out it was on full choke, if you pushed it all the way in the choke was off and if you set it in the middle it was on automatic. problem was my cooling thermostat was stuck wide open and the motor wouldn't warm up. the automatic choke kept choking it when it didn't need it. after i got it started in the morning i would turn the choke off for the rest of the day and just use my warm up lever to start it.