1990 150 johnson hard starting

I have read numerous fixes for cold starts on these engines and will try some of them. I went thru the motor and check all the gas connections , put a new bulb on and new gas line to the motor but still hard to start. I have not tried the 8 to 10 count on the choke before starting.
However, there is a small electrical unit with a red lever that assists in fogging the carbs for winterizing near the carbs. . Can this cause hard starts if it is set wrong. Not sure what position the lever should be in to fog the carbs and where it should be to run the motor. How can I tell if it is bad?

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

There are lots of posts on that confusing little red lever. It is normally turned back so it rests over the black solenoid. Turn it so it points away from the black solenoid when you fog the motor. It can also be used to manually start the motor when the battery is dead. The position for that is like when you fog the motor. Don't leave it in that position though after motor starts.

There are lots of test for the primer solenoid. The simplest is to listen for a click when you push the key in. Another simple test to see it is working, is to pull off one of the black hoses that comes from the solenoid and goes to a carburetor. Pull it off at the carburetor. Pump up the bulb until it is hard and then push in the key. It should give a good squirt of fuel. If not, then you might have an obstruction in the solenoid.

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

That is the primer solenoid, it replaces the old type choke system. There is no actual choke on your engine, the solenoid shoots fuel down the intake while starting when you push the key in.

You have to push the key in to get it started, that's the only way it will start.

The red lever shouldn't be turned for fogging, it should remian in the run position, the solenoid has nothing to do with fogging, it's just that the shraeder valve used for fogging is on top of it so that you can shoot fogging oil into the same place as the solenoid shoots fuel when you push the key on cold starts.

The only reason to ever turn the lever is if the solenoid won't engage with the key, you can turn the lever to "Start" and it will prime the engine, then once it starts yoyu turn it back to the "Run" position.

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

Thanks, I have another question pretaining to that primer solenoid.
The normal on position is pointing back to the engine and the off position would be pointing toward the front of the boat or is it a three position switch?
If it is leaking gas would you say it is plugged or just not working?
I will try turning the key and listening for it to click .

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

The rebuild kit for that solenoid primer is cheap, I think its less than $20, sounds like you need to fix it.

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

lilwart said:

Thanks, I have another question pretaining to that primer solenoid.
The normal on position is pointing back to the engine and the off position would be pointing toward the front of the boat or is it a three position switch?
If it is leaking gas would you say it is plugged or just not working?
I will try turning the key and listening for it to click .

Click to expand...

I can't remember off hand which position is "Run" and which is "Start". But it is only a 2 position switch.

If it's leaking it needs to be fixed, as mentioned.

Re: 1990 150 johnson hard starting

The red lever should be parallel to the length (long side) of the solenoid during normal operation. As mentioned, it should be easy to pull the primer hose off the top carb brass hose barb and check to see if fuel comes out when the key is in the on position and the key is depressed. Don't try to pull any of the hoses off the primer system plastic hose tees/ends instead, as they break easily.