[flavtfan]

seems like when i leave my boat sitting for a week or two it's hard as hell to start...even when i prime the ball. my dads 2000 merc starts right up after 3 or 4 cranks after being winterized for 5 months every year. my 2007 150 likes to spit sputter and pretty much do nothing for 5 minutes while i'm wearing my battery down crankin the sucker

[BruceAML]

Do you have the factory owner's manual for your motor?

[flavtfan]

i do...when i took it in for the 20 hr the "technicians" said everything worked fine. funny everytime i take it out i sit at the dock cranking my engine over and over.

[CATransplant]

Check your starting techniques. Really. If your engine has good spark and doesn't have a clogged-up carb, following the starting instructions in your owner's manual should have you started right away.

[flavtfan]

well i pump the primer up "with the arrow up" till it gets firm...push in on the key for the electronic choke and my throttle is advanced about mid-way. i'm not seeing what i'm doing any different then what the instructions are saying. are the yams and mercs that much different when starting other than not having to hold the primer ball in the direction of the arrow?

[matt2002]

You could end up frying your starter motor by the way you're cranking it like you are.

[flavtfan]

i don't continuously crank and crank....it spits and sputters most of the time i'm doing it. i only crank for about 10 seconds or so

[airframer]

i'd check your compression. i had a dying number two cylinder on my force and it was the same way. it'd start eventually but i was dumb for not suspecting earlier

[Captain Paul]

Have you tried an alternate starting method, like no prime but choke, or prime and no choke, or throttle at idle in neutral?

[gsjeepxr]

yea defintly try other starting methods i learned on my 90hp merc and eventually youl hit that sweet spot. i keep the ball primed well and hold the choke at low throttle and she fires up right away every time even after bieng winterized. took me about 10 times to figure it out but i got it.
how long have you had the boat?

[flavtfan]

i'll have to try other methods of starting i guess...definitely wouldn't expect an engine with less than 80 hrs on it have compression problems...if it does i hope that isn't a sign of things to come.

[triumphrick]

I've not owned a 150 but I've had a pair of 90's. My first one I owned for ten years and it never saw the shop. Put in plugs and an impeller every other year and that was it. I fished year round in Florida and had it out a lot. The only time I had starting problems were choke related. With only eighty hours I would not suspect anything major. These are really good motors. I would always run the carbs dry after fresh water purge. Just pull the gas line near the end and let it stop on it's own. Good luck. There are a lot of good motor tech's on this forum, I'm sure they'll steer ya right...

[MikDee]

Originally Posted by flavtfan

well i pump the primer up "with the arrow up" till it gets firm...push in on the key for the electronic choke and my throttle is advanced about mid-way. i'm not seeing what i'm doing any different then what the instructions are saying. are the yams and mercs that much different when starting other than not having to hold the primer ball in the direction of the arrow?

Maybe you're feeding too much throttle? Do you have a start position on the lever? if not just give enough throttle for a high idle, AND, release the choke the 1st time it kicks, then crank it to start, or it'll flood!

[DadTo2Marines]

Even though my 150hp is running like crap and seems to be having carb issues it's nothing to get started. I pull the fast idle handle up till I feel it start to open the carbs then choke it until it fires (about 3 seconds of cranking). If it stalls after the first time trying I choke it again and it fires right off. I have never had to crank it more then 5 seconds before it will fire and never had to crank it more then twice to get it running. I think the key is to not open the fast idle more then a hair once you feel the carbs moving.

BTW

if you change up your starting methods and it doesn't help tell the tech to check your low speed timing. I've seen many techs get hung up on looking for low speed carb issues when all the motor needed was to be correctly timed.

[rodbolt]

whats the model number? there were several 150 models avalible and some require a different starting procedure.

[flavtfan]

i'll have to check all that...i will say that after it starts initially...it's fine the rest of the day...cranks in a second.

[Honey-Do]

My old carbureted Yamaha 200 has a manual choke rod on the front of the engine. It has 3 positions, "All the way in, midway out, and all the way out". Mid way out allows for the electric choke to work, all the way in defeats the choke, all the way out is full manual choke. As I said, mine is an old motor and yours may not have it. Mine would be difficult to start with it pushed all the way in.

[rodbolt]

in 07 there were at least 4 versions of the 150 2 stroke, some carbed some not.
we still dont have a model number or how the engine is being attempted to start. without that information its like duck hunting with a blindfold on.
a super good place to start would be with a model number and the EXACT procedure your using to attepmt to start this machine.

[flavtfan]

This is a 25" carbed model...it also has that choke on the front. I'll have to check again if i can remember when i get home from work to get the actual part number. I've added some additives and i'm putting a yamaha fuel/water separator on this week....it still seems it likes to crank and crank then when it finally sputters it's really weak. i'll crank a few more times and all of a sudden its like the fuel catches and starts right up. I've tried all different ways of starting and it pretty much does the same thing. This always happens when the boat is left sitting for a week. after starting the first time everything's fine...it's just like it's not keeping enough fuel to start until you crank it forever. is there a check valve or anything to keep the fuel inside the engine after shutdown. i deal with fuel controls on jets and they have a valve that will shutoff so that fuel doesn't get out of the control so that it will be primed and ready to start the next time.

My starting procedure is priming the ball (arrow up) until it starts getting firm, then i advance the throttle slightly, push in on the key and turn. I've also tried not priming the ball and then doing the above, i've also primed the ball and not pushed in on the key and i've also primed, pushed key in, and not advance the throttle to start.

Will adding a water separator affect this in any way? i don't want to make a starting problem worse

Motor info:
Yamaha
Model Year 2007
Model 150 hp 2.6L 2-Stroke High Power
Engine Type V6 (90°)
Horsepower 150 hp
Displacement 158.4 ci (2,596 cc)
RPM Range 4,500-5,500 rpm
Fuel Induction System Loop Charged
Lubrication System Precision Blend Oil Injection
Ignition System CDI Micro Computer
Starting System Electric
Alternator Output 25A @ W.O.T.
Gear Ratio 14:26 (1.86)
Shaft Length 25 in.
Weight 426 lbs. (194 kg

[drewmitch44]

Thats a big carb! A 25" carburetor is huge! It must use a lot of gas.

[flavtfan]

if you don't have a serious comment....why comment?

[Jeffrey Green]

On my 115 THE elec.choke cylinder was out of adjustment,not letting the butterfly flaps on the choke shut all the way when I pushed in the key to choke it.Try pulling out the manual choke on the front of the engine all the way and see what it will do.Mine fired right up when I done it.If you have every had any carb. work done in the past the tech may not have adjusted the elec.choke right when he put everything back together.

[matt2002]

Originally Posted by flavtfan

if you don't have a serious comment....why comment?

I agree.Seems like being back in high school sometimes.

[rodbolt]

witrh the engine hood off check that the choke is staying engaged while cranking.
we see the occasional issue with the starter drawing so much current the solinoid cannot keep the choke closed.
we still dont have a model number just a spec sheet.
however for 07 the 150 carbed model was only made in one version.
set the throttle so when it starts its about 1500 RPM or so, hold the choke switch down while cranking.
but do check that the choke plates are being held shut while cranking.

[flavtfan]

here are the numbers for my engine....

150 TXR
6G4 X 1019247

Where would these choke plates be located?