hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

[bananaboat]

I have a late 60's 16' startcraft with a 76 85hp evinrude. It has been passed down to me from my grandpa who has had it for 20+ years. Hes has put a lot of money into it but it still seems to have some issues. The motor runs like a top in the warmer spring summer fall months. But is nearly impossible to start in the winter. I have tried and if it has been cranked for a while it seems to flood. I can then pull the plugs crank it with the plugs out then put them in with out the choke on and it will fire. The only easy way to get it to start is to pull all four plugs and heat them with a propane torch. It will start up fine then. I am new to the outboard boat motor. I do have a lot of expeirence with high hp forced induction 4 cylinder motors. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[iwombat]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

First, does it idle ok? If so, on to the next comments.

Take the airbox cover off. Make sure your choke plates are closing all the way when the key is pushed AND the motor is cranking.

Next, make sure you've got good connections to the battery. It should be cranking at least 300RPM in order to start well. Corrosion on the cable connections and corroded cables where you can't see it causes most of the hard start problems.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

this may help you http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=225510
also you carbs float needles may be sticking, and flooding when you prime the bulb.

 

[DJ]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

this may help you http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=225510
also you carbs float needles may be sticking, and flooding when you prime the bulb.

Agreed on the sticking float needles.

You have a flooding issue.

My old 50 (1975) never requires choking it to start. Even after a carb rebuild, it tends to run a little "fat".

Try starting it without choking it.

 

[bananaboat]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

First, does it idle ok? If so, on to the next comments.

Take the airbox cover off. Make sure your choke plates are closing all the way when the key is pushed AND the motor is cranking.

Next, make sure you've got good connections to the battery. It should be cranking at least 300RPM in order to start well. Corrosion on the cable connections and corroded cables where you can't see it causes most of the hard start problems.

It idles just fine once it gets warmed up. I will have to double check the battery issue to make sure it's getting good connection and good cranking rpm. Thank for the reply's. Is everybody running champion plugs in these motors? The ones that were recommended by the dealership to my grandpa seem very cold. I run a much hotter plug in my 400hp 4 cylinder. I don't know if this is a huge issue or not but it seems like it wouldn't hurt to try a little hotter plug aswell.

 

[bananaboat]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

Agreed on the sticking float needles.

You have a flooding issue.

My old 50 (1975) never requires choking it to start. Even after a carb rebuild, it tends to run a little "fat".

Try starting it without choking it.

Ya after reading some more info does seem like it could be a flooding issue. The motor will not run when full choke is on it usually will fire on full choke then we can push the choke in and it will start right up. It may be the choke butterflies aren't closing all the way or a sticky float needles. I check both issues.

 

[iwombat]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

Just as a reference, my '77 85hp always requires choking when cold-starting. If it were flooding, you wouldn't be idling properly cold or warm. Intermittently sticking float needles are still a possibility though.

Choke plates and battery connections solve _almost_ every cold start problem on these.

 

[bananaboat]

Re: hard cold starting 76 85hp evinrude

Just as a reference, my '77 85hp always requires choking when cold-starting. If it were flooding, you wouldn't be idling properly cold or warm. Intermittently sticking float needles are still a possibility though.

Choke plates and battery connections solve _almost_ every cold start problem on these.

I am just saying that if the choke plates are closed the motor will not run. It may fire once but it won't idle or accelerate.

I'm pretty sure it's not the choke plates I will double check though. I have a manual choke back on the motor because the solinoid went out years ago. I thought we had fixed the starting problem last year when we figured out that the choke mechanism wasn't activating the plates at all. Now I am pretty sure that it is flooding before it can crank at enough rpm. The first couple cranks I know it isn't cranking at 300 rpm but once it gets a little warmth it cranks just as fast as it does in the summer. I also wonder sometimes if we don't have some issues with getting water in the gas. The motor often sits months without even cranking. In weather that sometime reaches single digits. I just wish it would start like it does in the summer. It runs excellent once it gets started up. Thanks for all the suggestions.