1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

[Bonus Cup]

Hello all,
New to the forums and have tried to do alot of research online and everything brought me to this site.

I purchased a new to me boat this past november and it has a 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner on her. It seems I have a couple of problems. After doing alot of searches on the "cold start", I can't seem to get it figured out. The process I do is first pump the primer bulb til hard and then turn the key to "on" w/o starting. I then push in the key for 8-10 seconds to prime and then try to start. The engine never fires on the the first many attempts and i sometimes have to wait 5 mins before trying again and after a few mor tries then it finally fires up.

After each try I do check the primer bulb and it is still hard or I have to barely squeeze to get hard again.

Now, once it fires up and gets warmed up everything is fine. I can run it, shut it down and then it will fire right up. The cold start issue is very bothersome especially at a busy ramp

My other issue is alot of times at idle or just barely in gear, the engine will just shut down. It will fire right up but will shut down again if i don't throttle up a bit. Is there anything specific I should be looking at to fix these issues? This is also a problem at a busy ramp when trying to put the boat back on the trailer.

If it helps, according to my maint log, I replaced all the plugs on 12/10/08, gapped to .030 and replaced the starting battery on 1/23/09 and the house battery on 3/14/09. I also replaced the fuel/water seperator on 4/17/09.

For what it's worth, I am new to owning my own boat and know very little if anything about engines. When I brought it to my local Johnson mechanic back in November all he did was charge up the batteries and he said it fired right up for him and the next day when I picked it up it fired right up again. The batteries were completely dead and would not hold a charge and that is why I replaced them and when charging them after every run they are holding their charge.

Oh BTW, the mechanic also said the VRO pump was bad so we bypassed it and I am now adding my own oil to a 50:1 ratio.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any replies.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

Were it mine...
I would baseline it , buy some tools, compression guage, spark gap tester and a small wrench set, small impact screwdriver.
Get a factory service manual
www.outboardbooks.com

test spark, should jump 7/16th gap, all plugs out.
Get compression readings, write them in your log and post here.

get a set of carb kits and rebuild them.


but for now, pop the hood, push the key in, does the choke solenoid click?

Try cranking it, doing your usual start proceedure, now pull the plugs and examine them, they should have evidence of fuel, if not look at the cold start solenoid again.

The spark gap test, compression check and plug examination will point the way to proceed.

If the compression is low or uneven get some seafoam and decarb it, 2 strokes burn oil so they carbon up and need decarbin now and then.

See the faq files above (Top secret file) for seafoam details.

Theres lots of instructional vids on Youtube to help visualize how things are done. And ask here.!
Carb job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5cxBMDezuU&feature=related

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

you did not mention on the cold start raising the fast idle lever.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=225510

also you may need to set your idle speed up just a little, the idle speed needs to be fine tune with the boat in the water, and the motor in gear. you want to get the idle speed down as far as you can, without the motor stalling.

 

[dingbat]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

I have a 1997 200 Ocean Pro that I bought a couple of years ago. Went through the same thing the first season I had it. Rebuilt the primer solenoid etc. with no change.

Then I broke down and read the manual. Unlike a Merc, pushing the key in and holding it for a period of time does nothing. The primer circuit isn't activated until the key is held in and turned to start postion at which time the starter kicks in.

My starting procedure:

I pump the primer bulb till hard. Then push the key in and hold in while turning the key to the start position. The starter will kick in at the same time the primer solenoid hits. Usually starts on the first or second try. If the motor starts to stall from fuel starvation push the key in again to ?choke? it.


Check to make sure your primer soleniod is functioning properly. Pretty easy to do. You can hear the soleniod click when you hit the "choke"

 

[Bonus Cup]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

you did not mention on the cold start raising the fast idle lever.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=225510

also you may need to set your idle speed up just a little, the idle speed needs to be fine tune with the boat in the water, and the motor in gear. you want to get the idle speed down as far as you can, without the motor stalling.

It figures...after I write my novel, I noticed the 'Top Secret' post up top. I will give this a shot on the next outing. I'll also try to adjust idle speed also.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

Dingbat has the correct starting procedure. Although the control does have a throttle only button (no cold start lever), you are not supposed to use it. The motor has the QuickStart feature which automatically advances the timing when the motor is started.

I would not mess with the carbs unless you cannot solve the stalling issue some other way. Adjusting six carbs is a PIA.

 

[daselbee]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

Well...sort of...there is an inaccuracy here....

Incorrect:

The primer circuit isn't activated until the key is held in and turned to start postion at which time the starter kicks in.

Key on, press key in, solenoid clicks. So, the solenoid is energized, but in reality, just a little fuel flows, just the amount forced thru by residual primer bulb pressure. Pull one of the primer fuel lines off the back of the intake and try it. IF you were to then pump the bulb with the key IN, fuel will flow heavily. Sometimes when testing and trying to start, I do just that.

So, back to it...key on, push key in, fuel dribbles a bit...THEN...when you turn it to start, and the engine spins from the starter motor, the fuel pump starts pumping, and fuel sprays into the intake in the same way it would if pumped by hand under direct primer bulb pressure. So, dingbat is correct sorta...the act of turning the key to "start" position is not what electrically energizes the solenoid.

CORRECT:

Check to make sure your primer solenoid is functioning properly. Pretty easy to do. You can hear the solenoid click when you hit the "choke"

Yes...key on, push the key in, solenoid will click.

My starting procedure:
Pump bulb til firm.
Lift fast idle lever maybe half way up.
Turn key to start while pushing it in to prime.
When starts, adjust fast idle lever to high idle without racing.
If it tries to die, press key in again til it picks back up.
As it warms up, ease the fast idle lever down to locked position.

 

[dingbat]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

Well...sort of...there is an inaccuracy here....

Incorrect:

Key on, press key in, solenoid clicks. So, the solenoid is energized, but in reality, just a little fuel flows, just the amount forced thru by residual primer bulb pressure. Pull one of the primer fuel lines off the back of the intake and try it. IF you were to then pump the bulb with the key IN, fuel will flow heavily. Sometimes when testing and trying to start, I do just that.

So, back to it...key on, push key in, fuel dribbles a bit...THEN...when you turn it to start, and the engine spins from the starter motor, the fuel pump starts pumping, and fuel sprays into the intake in the same way it would if pumped by hand under direct primer bulb pressure. So, dingbat is correct sorta...the act of turning the key to "start" position is not what electrically energizes the solenoid.

CORRECT:


Yes...key on, push the key in, solenoid will click.

My starting procedure:
Pump bulb til firm.
Lift fast idle lever maybe half way up.
Turn key to start while pushing it in to prime.
When starts, adjust fast idle lever to high idle without racing.
If it tries to die, press key in again til it picks back up.
As it warms up, ease the fast idle lever down to locked position.

Humm......where might I find this fast idle lever

 

[daselbee]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

What type of control do you have?
My side mount control, the fast idle lever is on top of the control "box" , it hinges about in the middle of the length of the box, lifts up at the rear of the box, and pretty much forms the back half of the top of the control box. It is very prominent on the top of a side mount control box. When down, it clips and locks in run position. Black plastic locking and operating "end" on it.

I hope that made sense

 

[wildman1]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

hi.
have had same problem. easy fix. pump primer bulb until hard. hold bulb tight. have some one push in key, you will feel a pressure release, pump bulb one more time. it will now start. an electric fuel pump will also solve this problem lots of luck....

 

[nymack66]

Re: 1997 200 Johnson Oceanrunner cold start and idle...

Doug is absolutely correct with his starting instructions. On my Boat I do NOT have a fast idle lever, since I have a Teleflex single lever control (not omc) I simply advance my throttle lever to open up the butterflies a little and she fires right up every time ...Lord only knows the frustration I went through until I found help right here in the FAQ ...