She hard starts every time!!!

[Maxn n Relaxn]

My Max has the Merc 3.0 alpha one. I religiously have to crank till I'm about to give up (3-5 mins) every time I start her. Starting fluid changes nothing. All new plugs, distributor, fuel pump/filter, premium treated fuel, etc... once she fires, she runs great at idle, full send, or anything in between. The choke seems to set properly, but she seems fuel starved, after I shut her down, warm or not. I'm purty handy, but no one for 300 miles does carb work. I've tried seafoam, carb cleaner in the carb, but I'm worried if I mess with the carb I'll make things worse, and she runs so good. I don't think there are vacuum lines, could this be some kind of sending unit, or something with the carb? Any ideas are appreciated!!!

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard!

You didn’t say what year the boat is nor if it’s an old school carburetor with a choke or the TKS carburetor which uses an enrichment circuit in place of a choke. Do you pump the throttle a few times before trying to start the engine? Have you looked in the carburetor and have someone pump it to see if the idle jets squirt fuel?

[Derby Time]

I'm thinking it has the accelerator pump and requires the 3 pumps of the throttle lever.

[shrew]

Originally Posted by Derby Time

I'm thinking it has the accelerator pump and requires the 3 pumps of the throttle lever.

I agree. Unless this is fuel injected, the starting sequence for Mercruiser carb'd engines is.

1) Put the shifter in 'throttle only' mode (usually a button on the shifter axis)

2) Pump the shifter forward 3-4 times (three really, however YMMV)

3) while still in throttle only, hit the starter and slowly start advancing the throttle until it starts, then move the shifter back to neutral again.

Some will report that they can do it without advancing the throttle. My 454 always started better by advancing the throttle slightly when starting. Maybe I just need to give it a few more pumps, who knows.

Paly around with the starting sequence until it works consistently for you.

[Maxn n Relaxn]

It's a 2007, old school choke. I've tried everything I can think of with the throttle before starting. After one full pump, the choke sets, and fuel squirts in when I turn it over. As long as I have to crank it, I would think it would be flooded. I'm wondering if I'm sucking air through the gasket where the carb mounts to the block... Thanks for the help friends!!!

[mmwjr]

If it’s equipped with an electric fuel pump try cranking 2-3 times then pump throttle twice then crank to start.