trouble starting my outboard

[pixelpusher40]

1981 7.5hp Merc outboard.

Over the last month I've had an increasingly hard time starting this motor. At first, it would only take a few pulls. Just last week, it took about 20 pulls... waited 5 minutes... 10 more pulls (all the while with the choke out) and then it finally turned over. My shoulder can't take it anymore!

I've tried keeping the choke in, leaving it out, all variations. I usually pump the fuel line, pull the choke out, pull the cord slowly 10 times, and then start the marathon... it's just too much work.

I'm a novice when it comes to engines, but I have a Merc manual on the way and would like any advice on where I should start my troubleshooting... easy fixes first.

Thanks for any advice!!!

 

[1976SRV190]

Re: trouble starting my outboard

First, depending on tempreture outside you may be flooding it with the choke by pulling it thru a bunch of times before trying to actually start it. It should be like this.

Warming handle to start, slightly richen the mixture with fuwl mix dial, choke half way out, pump up bulb, pull hard all the way thru...it should fire up first or second try.

 

[pixelpusher40]

Re: trouble starting my outboard

thanks for the help;

I'm not sure what you mean by "richen the mixture with fuel mix dial"?

This is what I tried: I'll pull choke out, pump bulb a few times, pull the cord hard a few times... nothing.

So, something serious is wrong with my engine right? If there are no more replies/suggestions to my post, I'll take that as a sign that I need to call a professional.

Thanks anyways, thought I'd try here first.

 

[hkeiner]

Re: trouble starting my outboard

Sometimes it take a while for responses to come rolling in. Be patient...

Regarding your problem, it could be your starting procedure or it could be the motor. It is good to do some basic troubleshooting steps to confirm/eliminate some possibilities. For ignition troubleshooting, you can use a spark tester to confirm that the spark is strong and consistent. If it is not, you can troubleshoot that further. For fuel system troubleshooting, you can try spraying some fuel/oil mix into the carbs while trying to start the motor to see if that helps. If it does, you can troubleshoot the fuel system further. Other checks include doing a compression test and confirming that the link and sync is correct.

Once you do some tests and report back on the results, there will be more info to go on and you will probably get more usefull responses.

Good luck.