bizzyb

Thanks. Fuel filter was new and nothing seems bad in the tank. Might change the hose at some point. However right now the boat is out of action again....busted steering cable. Oh the joys of owning an old boat.

No issues? I was worried that running it dry on fuel can do damage?

Hey everyone. Sorry for being slack and not getting back to you with an update. I took the pin and carby to the lbs. Nothing wrong with the pin. However the carby was very dirty apparently. He cleaned it up and once everything went back together, we finally have good starting! I haven't tried it at 4am in 5deg weather yet but I suspect it will be ok now. Based on this I imagine a combination of poor maintenance from previous owner and lack of use causing fuel to sit in the bowl for long periods has gunked everything up. For anyone having the same problems, next time id probably spray it down with carby cleaner first and see if that clears up the problem. These days we run the motor every 2 weeks to endure no old fuel building up. Thanks to everyone for all your advice!

This guy is indeed awesome! So detailed yet so natural. We'll, I've tested the pin, resistance was a bit higher than suggested in this particular video, however the pin did move. The only thing I could see amiss was some yellowish gunk caking the pin hixh I cleaned off. I've also taken the #2 carby off and it looks very clean except for some black stuff around the rim of the membrane (sorry I forgot to take a photo. This could be a carbon build up or just the gasket deteriorated. Given I couldn't see anything glaringly obvious, I'm going to take these two parts to the Yamaha service shop today and see if they can find something I couldn't (or at least to get a new gasket). Failing that, I'm not sure what else could be the matter. The only additional clue is that the boys said that after realising the fuel tank air valve was closed during the last attempted startup they took the whole cap off and then she started. This could just be coincidence tho as they had already been trying for a while before taking this action.

Thanks so much for the offer Corey, however I am in Penrith and the boat is currently in Ingleburn, both a long way from the shire!

Wow, thanks Zoran. Yes, you are right, it's a prime start (as can be seen in the pic I posted, I have the red switch thingie) and there are no butterfly's or choke options on the remote. Looks like testing the pin is step one. Unfortunately I'm flat out now and won't get a chance to test before the boys take it away for 10 days over Xmas. Once I join up with them in the new year I'll be able to have a fiddle with it and see what I can find out. It will be a good test too since they will be out in it most days and that will give us an idea whether it's purely cold starting that's the problem, or because of sitting around for weeks without being used. Thanks again! I'll post back once I've had a chance to test. Keen to see the results of your test Rick. P.s. I've given the battery a full recharge and recondition (took 24hrs on a 12ah charger) but I haven't put it back on the boat yet. That may have an impact if low voltage impacts the pin.

I'm pretty sure no, but I'll double check in the morning. From memory it looks like your pic. Izzy

Hmm...we've only been getting out in it every 6 weeks or so and not starting it in between times. Come to think of it, when we replaced the stat and impellor she fired up without much trouble. But that was the middle of the afternoon in full sun.... Still, it hadn't been running for a few weeks before that. I heard that the emergency valve is meant to slowly open as you crank over the ignition. Maybe it's sticky, or whatever is controlling it (solenoid or something) is not working?

Actually , now that I think about it, it's actually easy enough to reach, I was just trying to take the photo while it was trimmed up and I was standing outside the boat haha. Still, who wants to sit at the boat ramp at 4am with the cowling off looking like a duffer starting his engine??

Thanks everyone. The fuel filter and plugs are practically brand new. The plugs do seem a bit 'richer' looking than normal, I'm not sure why, but they are not gummed up at all. The motor has an emergency starter valve and the manual suggests to open this before starting and then turn it off after its running. Given this is an emergency valve, and its in an almost impossible 'on water' position, there must be another solution. The ignition doesn't seem to have a press choke when turning the key.

Hey all. Thanks for all your help so far, it's much appreciated. We are having issues getting the outboard started from cold. Once warmed up it's one click to start, but when it's cold it takes a good 5 minutes to finally ignite. Outboard has a 703 forward control, with a throttle advance but no choke. Fuel primer bulb is hard. After 10 to 20 tries we get a sputter but dies straight away. After another 5-10 attempts with a splutter each time we can finally can get it to catch by jaming on the throttle advance and giving it a good rev. I've checked the choke switch on the outboard and its in the upright position. I haven't watched it during start up tho to see if it advanced to on or not. Any thoughts on what the issue might be? Or how I could go about diagnosing it? At this time of the year the lbs are too flat out to bother with something like this plus I'd like to learn myself. Thanks!

Just an update for all who have been so helpful. Boat went on the water yesterday and there was no sign of overheating problems during the trip! Thanks again.

:(((( We spent the morning around flint and steel (along with about 20 other boats)and found nothing. Should have ventured further around obviously

Hi guys. I know it's last minute but I'm hoping to find a couple of spots in and around Pittwater to have a fish tomorrow. Coming from Penrith I don't have much of an idea and the last trip was a bust. Any suggestions of where we can drop some livies for a king or Jew? Or failing that, a reef that might hold a couple snapper for dinner? Any suggestions are much appreciated. Just looking for a couple for a feed and the rest are catch and release.

Replacing the impellor housing made a massive difference in the strength of the tell-tale so hopefully this has rectified the oheat issue for now. I do agree that the water channels are probably a mess. But perhaps its one of those cases of if it ain't broke.... We will be taking it for a run on Pittwater this Sunday, hopefully we have done enough for now to stop the alarm. Now if only I knew where to find fish in Pittwater!