Tower of Power Cold Start Questions

[nokiddin]

Hey all.

I got an '84 Merc 90 inline 6 2 stroke. I know they are notoriously tough to cold start mine is no exception.

I know the procedure to pump till the bulb is tight, put throttle up and either hold the key in to activate the fuel enrichener for 8 seconds, then start cranking, or start cranking with key pushed in until it fires. I'm wondering, what do I do after it first fires and the solenoid kicks out. Do I keep holding the key in? Or do I stop holding the key in and keep cranking.

I'm always concerned that I over do it and flood it.
Thanks guys. This forum always helps so much.

 

[racerone]

Hold key in WHILE cranking.----If it falters after starting then push key in again till motor warms up.------Some will argue.----Here is what I would do.-----Load test the battery ( even if new ) ------Pull starter apart for inspection , ohm test on armature and possibly new brushes.----Or if I depended on one of these motor I would install an OMC / BRP electric primer as it can be installed to squirt fuel directly at intake ports for near instant starts !!

 

[roscoe]

My 90 and 115 start differently.
Both require substantial throttle advance.

90 - need to hold key in until it starts.

115 - if I hold the key in for more than 5 seconds while cranking, there is a good chance it will flood. So I give it 5 seconds with key pushed in, then without. On occasion, I might have to push it in for a few seconds.

 

[Chris1956]

I had a Merc 1500 IL6 for 25+ years. I never flooded my motor.

My recommendation: Primer bulb pumped hard, cold start all the way up, hold choke button (or push key) and crank her until she fires. Repeat until she starts. If she stalls, crank her without choke for a second or two. if no fire, apply choke again until she fires. Repeat as necessary. Sometimes you my need to hit choke button when she is running to prevent a stall.

 

[roscoe]

I had a Merc 1500 IL6 for 25+ years. I never flooded my motor.

My 115 seems to have been modified by previous owner, a retired Mercury engineer. Not sure what he did specifically, but carbs are not original.
He may have cobbled a pile of parts together to make the motor for all I know. And I don't have a cold start lever to raise, only throttle advance.

So this may account for my flooding issues if I use the enricher a little too long.

 

[Texasmark]

I got tired of all that crap and installed an electric fuel pump powered by the ignition key being ON or START positions. Activate the fast idle function...lift the lever on the control or push in the black button and advance the throttle arm to 45*. Turn the key to On for a few seconds....till you hear the pump shut off. Turn the key to On, depress for a time....depends on weather...colder longer....roll on over to Start and be done with it. Once it lights, if it falters, push the key in till it catches and release...repeat if necessary.

 

[444]

Squeeze bulb until hard. Throttle in neutral full forward. Push and hold key in 5 seconds or so before and while cranking. When she fires let off the key and back the throttle down a bit. I like to warm-up at around 1500-2000rpm.

The key push opens up the enrichment circuit on the carb. It gravity drains some fuel from the top carb bowl into the other two carbs.

On my old merc v6 outboard it doesn't use an enrichment circuit, instead holding the key in keeps the choke flapper doors closed. This causes engine vacuum during cranking to be stronger at the carbs thereby drawing more fuel through the main jets.

 

[roscoe]

I got tired of all that crap and installed an electric fuel pump powered by the ignition key being ON or START positions. Activate the fast idle function...lift the lever on the control or push in the black button and advance the throttle arm to 45*. Turn the key to On for a few seconds....till you hear the pump shut off. Turn the key to On, depress for a time....depends on weather...colder longer....roll on over to Start and be done with it. Once it lights, if it falters, push the key in till it catches and release...repeat if necessary.

So ? all you did was eliminate the squeezy bulb.

 

[nokiddin]

Thanks for all of these tips! A couple more questions.

- when I'm cranking, and the solenoid kicks out (I think this is when all 6 cylinders don't fire together) should I keep pushing the key in? Or does this mean that fuel is close enough? I gather I found prob crank for a couple seconds and then push the key in again if nothing happens
- is it normal for the solenoid to kick out like that at every cold start? It probably does it close to 10 times every cold start
- I often can't get the fuel bulb hard, I think it's because the connector between the fuel line and the engine is worn out and fuel will leak there. Sometimes it gets hard, depending on how its lining up I guess. Could this prevent me getting fuel to the top cylinder faster, for a tougher start?
- do you guys put the fast idle lever all the way up?

Thanks

 

[Chris1956]

Yes, fast idle lever all the way up. Be prepared to push it down if engine overspeeds.

The starter will kick out whenever 1 cylinder fires. if your motor does this as often as you state, the engine is out of tune. it should only kick out the starter occasionally. Your starting procedure seems like it should work.

You might check spark plugs for wear and spark plug wires for cracking. Replace the fuel connector, or connect the engine directly to fuel line. Check electrical connections for corrosion.

 

[demarko210]

Hey all.

I got an '84 Merc 90 inline 6 2 stroke. I know they are notoriously tough to cold start mine is no exception.

I know the procedure to pump till the bulb is tight, put throttle up and either hold the key in to activate the fuel enrichener for 8 seconds, then start cranking, or start cranking with key pushed in until it fires. I'm wondering, what do I do after it first fires and the solenoid kicks out. Do I keep holding the key in? Or do I stop holding the key in and keep cranking.

I'm always concerned that I over do it and flood it.
Thanks guys. This forum always helps so much.

I had a problem with my 79 it had the coil packs. i would squeeze the bulb until I see some fluid drip from the carb. Then it would fire right up. If I did not, I would have to advance the throttle and try a few times to crank over.