outboard cold start issue

coyotezh · #1 08-19-2019, 10:09 PM

My Tohatsu MF 6C is only one year old but hard for cold start. I have to pull many times(5 to 6 times) to get it starting to run with choke on. will it get better if I change the spark plug? Any other things I should pay attention? Really desperate when you are on the lake....

fishtank · #2 08-19-2019, 10:16 PM

What you mixing for the gas , usually do a tune up before the season and premium gas.. with dab of sea foam .

coyotezh · #3 08-19-2019, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishtank

What you mixing for the gas , usually do a tune up before the season and premium gas.. with dab of sea foam .

I always use the very fresh gas, and store the engine empty of gas during the winter.

Cariboo · #4 08-19-2019, 11:14 PM

Plug, carb clean (check/clean your float), ensure if it has a fuel filter, its clean. Also, if it has an air filter. That could gum up
Cheers

BEL · #5 08-20-2019, 07:24 AM

Mine can be difficult to start also and it usually boils down to how much I use the choke. Mine floods very very easily. BEL

coyotezh · #6 08-20-2019, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEL

Mine can be difficult to start also and it usually boils down to how much I use the choke. Mine floods very very easily. BEL

I tried put on different choke when pulling. only flood once, most of time I still have to put a full choke in order to start it running. Just very annoying to pull 5 to 6 times to start it up on the lake.... My lawnmower only need one pull even though it has been with me for almost 15 years.

Buckhead · #7 08-20-2019, 04:57 PM

Changing the plug at the start of every season will help. Even those are a 4 stroke - if you are putting around and idling a lot the plug will have a lot of carbon buildup. It's also a single cylinder so it is never going to run as smoothly as a twin. The starting issue can be helped some by adjusting the idle mixture screw. However on the newer outboards there is an aluminum cap there so it can't be adjusted. The cap needs to be drilled and tapped and then pulled out to be able to adjust that mixture screw.
If you want to go that way I would highly recommend Edmonton Marine Services.
And I don't recommend running premium in any out board. The burn rate is a bit too slow for those motors. Mid-grade and a splash of Marine Stabil is all you need.

graybeard · #8 08-20-2019, 08:09 PM

I had a similar problem with a couple pieces of yard equipment and an outboard kicker.

Turned out my primer bulb was cracked. It is the first thing I look at now. One time I forgot to fully open the breather vent/valve on the fuel tank filler cap.

Failing that, I follow a list of things already mentioned in the thread.