Yamaha F70 Hard Start
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:19 am
I took out my 1988 15 Boston Whaler powered by a 2015 Yamaha F70 for the first time in a couple months. I had my friend drive the boat, as I launched him into the water. The motor would not start, and he was helped over to the dock by a fellow boater.
After parking the truck and trailer, I walked down the dock to find out the motor was turning over but would not fire.
I checked the fuel primer bulb and gave it a few pumps, and it felt full.
I checked the kill switch, and shifted the gear lever in and out of gear. Still nothing.
I shut off the power to the motor and turned it back on, and still no fire. The battery is newer, of good quality and fully charged.
I loosened the drain at the bottom of the Racor filter and dumped the fuel in the bowl. There was no contaminants that I could see. I re-filled the bowl with the primer bulb, and the motor would still not fire.
We pulled the boat out of the water and put it on the wash rack. I attached the ear-muff style flushing attachment to the outboard and connected the hose to the hose bib. With the water turned on, I turned the key and the motor fired right up. We let the motor run for 10 minutes, and then we shut it off. I turned the key and the motor fired right up again. So we let it run for an additional 5 minutes, before we launched again and went out fishing for the day. The motor ran flawlessly all day, the battery seemed to come right back up to full charge, and we never had a problem.
I'm just curious as to what may have caused the hard star and would appreciate people’s thoughts.
Just for more information about the engine. There are only 204 total hours on the engine. I have always kept up on the service schedule using only Yamaha parts only. The boat is stored on a trailer, never in the water. I use what I believe is quality gassoline fuel all the time, and add a proper amount of fuel stabilizer if the boat is to be stored. I live in California and non-ethanol gasoline is not available here.
Someone had mentioned the way I had stored the boat this time, may have contributed to the hard start. We have had a lot of rain here this season. I had the bow of the boat tilted up, so the rain water would roll off the boat cover. With the tongue of the trailer raised up, I have to tilt the motor up as well to keep the lower unit from hitting the ground. The boat was probably in this position for two months. Could this storage position have created a problem in the fuel system that resulted in the hard start?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
After parking the truck and trailer, I walked down the dock to find out the motor was turning over but would not fire.
I checked the fuel primer bulb and gave it a few pumps, and it felt full.
I checked the kill switch, and shifted the gear lever in and out of gear. Still nothing.
I shut off the power to the motor and turned it back on, and still no fire. The battery is newer, of good quality and fully charged.
I loosened the drain at the bottom of the Racor filter and dumped the fuel in the bowl. There was no contaminants that I could see. I re-filled the bowl with the primer bulb, and the motor would still not fire.
We pulled the boat out of the water and put it on the wash rack. I attached the ear-muff style flushing attachment to the outboard and connected the hose to the hose bib. With the water turned on, I turned the key and the motor fired right up. We let the motor run for 10 minutes, and then we shut it off. I turned the key and the motor fired right up again. So we let it run for an additional 5 minutes, before we launched again and went out fishing for the day. The motor ran flawlessly all day, the battery seemed to come right back up to full charge, and we never had a problem.
I'm just curious as to what may have caused the hard star and would appreciate people’s thoughts.
Just for more information about the engine. There are only 204 total hours on the engine. I have always kept up on the service schedule using only Yamaha parts only. The boat is stored on a trailer, never in the water. I use what I believe is quality gassoline fuel all the time, and add a proper amount of fuel stabilizer if the boat is to be stored. I live in California and non-ethanol gasoline is not available here.
Someone had mentioned the way I had stored the boat this time, may have contributed to the hard start. We have had a lot of rain here this season. I had the bow of the boat tilted up, so the rain water would roll off the boat cover. With the tongue of the trailer raised up, I have to tilt the motor up as well to keep the lower unit from hitting the ground. The boat was probably in this position for two months. Could this storage position have created a problem in the fuel system that resulted in the hard start?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.