1977 Evinrude / Johnson 175 HP choke help needed

[cooter272]

Hey guys -

Im looking at an old boat for sale and have a question about the choke on the 1977 Evinrude/Johnson 175 HP outboard engine.

The seller had to spray some starter fluid into the intakes to get it fired up. It had not been started for a couple months. After several cranks, it finally fired up and ran great. Once warm, we were able to stop it and restart it with ease. My concern was with the difficult cold start though and I feel it may be related to the choke. The seller wasnt sure how the choke worked and neither was I, so here I am.

When removing the engine cowl, there was a decal on a part of the motor that said 'choke on/off' with arrows pointing either to on or off. But there didnt seem to be a lever or anything attached to choke it from the control box while in the seat, shouldnt there be? Does pushing the key in turn the choke on? I cant find an owners manual for this motor online to read through. Anyone here know?

Thanks!

 

[interalian]

Choke is activated by pressing the ignition key inward when the key is in the "ON" or "CRANK" positions. The manual control on the motor is just for manual use - leave it set to "OFF" so the solenoid can pull the flaps. If you don't hear a click when you press the key in, check the wiring and make sure you're getting 12V to the solenoid.

 

[emdsapmgr]

The choke only works as long as you push in on the key. You may have to hold the key inward till the engine fires. Once running, you may have to choke it briefly again, till engine warms up. I ran a 79 200 for years. Was always cold blooded when starting. Once I had it for a while, I noticed that there was no choke butterfly on the upper carb. Bottom two carbs only. That's the factory way. I am sure that the upper carb ran lean for the first minute and made the whole engine appear cold-blooded.