2006 4.3 mpi a few questions

[dupagne]

Hi all
I have a few question in regards to my maxum 1800sr3
I have had outboards all my life and now I have an i/o so I am a little lost
1. Went out on the weekend for about 4/5 hours stopping a few times for a swim. After the last swim the motor would not kick over very close but. after a few gos i opened up the power and she started is this normal?
2 after getting her home and cleaning i could see that there was some water left in under the motor i had the bung out the water looks like it lower then the hole also is this normal?
Thanks

[shrew]

Dupagne, Regarding #1, what do you mean by "I opened the power"? Did you advance the throttle in neutral to give it some gas while starting the motor? IF your 4.2 Carb'd or Fuel Injected? What is your normal starting procedure? Do you just turn teh key like yo u do in your car?

It is difficult to get the Garboard Plug to be the absolute lowest point in the transom. In many cases the inner part of the flange might be a few mm higher than the lowest point of the transom in the bilge area. You should make sure that you remove the garboard plug and drain the bilge each time you pull the boat. If you store the boat on land, then leave the plug out (remember to put it back before you launch), and store the boat tilted back slightly so that water drains out.

[dupagne]

Did you advance the throttle in neutral to give it some gas while starting the motor.. Yes
IF your 4.2 Carb'd or Fuel Injected? Fuel Injected
What is your normal starting procedure? Do you just turn teh key like yo u do in your car? yes
Hope it makes sence

[rens914]

have the same set-up
my normal starting procedure is getting it in neutral
cranck the engine and after about 3 seconds push the gas lever the whole way down (keep on cranking)
keep it there and then pull it back gently
if this doesnt work (sometimes) then use a pumping movement (from half to full power)
greets rens

[ss3964spd]

The fuel injected engines should not need any movement of the throttle to get the engine to start, regardless of if the engine is cold, warm, or fully up to operating temp. All you should need to do is turn the key.

That said, I've had the same thing happen a couple of times with the fuel injected engine in my 2400, and I got the engine to start by doing exactly what you did - opened the throttle a little with the transmission in neutral.

But it is a rare occasion that I have to do that, very rare.

[shrew]

I agree with ss3964spd. You shouldn't need to touch the throttle at all with a fuel injected engine. Plugs come to mind. The new ones are very expensive and supposed to have a multi-year duty cycle, but they do need to replaced. One thing my Merc mechanic had suggested is to turn the key to Acc. where you hear the alarm tones. Then let it sit there for a few min. You can hear the electric fuel pump cycle up and come up to pressure. Once it is up to pressure, then start the engine.

It's my understanding that on the old carb'ed engines (SS please correct me if I'm wrong) One of the things you're doing when you pumped the thottle a couple of times is priming the fuel line and carb. As stated, you shouldn't need to do this with fuel injected. Try to turn the key to acc. and sit there for about 1 min., then fire it up and see if it makes a difference.

[rens914]

oops, yes. missed that one.
i have the carb version
rens

[ss3964spd]

That's basically it, Shrew.

FI delivery systems need fuel pressure at the injectors to operate, some of them quite high fuel pressure, whereas carb'd systems need virtually none. In a nutshell, carb's rely on a device called an accelerator pump to squirt gas into the throttle bores of the carb which then, along with air, gets sucked into the manifold and cylinders. Then, once the engine is running, air flow through the carb throttle bores actually draws gas from the idle, transition, and primary circuits to keep the engine running, and the accelerator pump squirt then serves to enrichen the "lean" (too much air) condition created when the throttle is initially opened.

So, when the engine is first started, especially when it is cold, "pumping" the throttle of a carb'd engine serves two purposes; 1) it sets the fast idle and/or choke and 2) it makes the accelerator pump squirt some gas to help a cold engine start. You're not priming the carb - there is probably already fuel in the carb, you're really priming the cylinders. A fully warmed up carb engine shouldn't need to have the throttle pumped. In other words, if the engine is running and fully warmed up you should be able to turn it off, let it sit for 1, 2, 10, or 15 minutes and then restart it without fussing with the throttle at all.

FI doesn't need any of that, the computer takes care of it. So like Shrew mentioned, turn the key to the "On" position before trying to start the engine. You may be able to hear the electric fuel pump run to build up the required pressure for the injectors. Note, however, that it really only takes a matter of seconds for the pump to build pressure. By the time the pre-start alarms stop sounding there will be enough pressure to get the engine to start.

Dan

[Corinna]

Dupagne - I realise this is a very old post but wondering if you continued having any problems with starting? We are having this EXACT same issue with our boat so this was a very interesting read, we'll be trying that next time we have a problem with her not kicking over.

[shrew]

Almost an 8 yr old post, and the poster hasn't been active in the last 8 years.