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Author Topic:   Hard starting T-8

onlyawhaler posted 11-16-2005 06:36 PM ET (US)
I purchased a Yamaha 8hp 4 stroke a year and a half ago (T8) and it has always been a hard starter. It has electric start and it is always a long series of cranking choking, no choking to finally get a start.
I have never used the tank it came with it. I replaced the water/fuel filter unit on the boat with one that had two ports out, one for the main engine and one for the T8 so it would draw off the main tank. After hard starting began, I placed an inline cut off valve on the gas line going out of the fuel/water seperator thinking maybe it was drawing air and creating the difficulity. No change.
It has spark. The bulb squeezes and pumps gas. It seems unusual for a 4 stroke to be difficult to start. Once it starts it runs great
Any suggestions?
Thanks

lorin posted 11-16-2005 08:40 PM ET (US)
Try this. Dont use the choke when you try to start. Instead, put some gas into a clean oil squirt can and squirt some gas into the throat of the carb. Then try to start it without choke. If it starts right up, you wont know exactly what's wrong, but at least you will know that you have a fuel or choke problem.
SIM posted 11-17-2005 06:55 PM ET (US)
Onlyawhaler,
Hate to break the news to ya but your Yamaha T8 does not have electric start. Even though you can push the key switch in like you are choking it...the T8 regardless of model has a pull choke on the front of the cowling.
No retro kits either.
Andy
lorin posted 11-17-2005 07:30 PM ET (US)
SIM
I think you're saying it does not have electric choke, but does have electric start, right? This would certainly explain the starting problem if the manual choke is not being pulled out when the key is turned to start the engine.
LHG posted 11-17-2005 08:45 PM ET (US)
You guys need to talk to the Kingfish on this engine.
kingfish posted 11-18-2005 08:45 AM ET (US)
Onlyawhaler (and SIM)-
What model of T8 do you have?
SIM may be correct that all T8s have a manual choke, but he is incorrect in stating or implying that none of them have an electric choke. My 2004 T8PLRC (electric start, remote control) does have an operational manual choke, but it also has an operational electric choke. The linkage is independent enough that when you operate the manual choke, the solenoid plunger for the electric choke moves, but when the electric choke operates (the solenoid operates the plunger and the linkage moves the butterfly), the manual choke knob is unaffected.
It ceretainly looks like a retrofittable set up to me, if you were able to identify the parts. The solenoid hangs under a bracket below and on the right side (looking forward) of the flywheel, a little aft if the crankshaft. You'd need the bracket, the solenoid, the linkage pieces and some wiring and connectors. Of course you'd have to have a wiring harness that accomodated an electric choke, or you'd have to run a separate wire to a keyswitch that was designed for an electric choke.
John
kingfish posted 11-18-2005 08:48 AM ET (US)
Back to the original question-
Is your motor hard to start after you have had it tilted up for quite a while, or all the time? If the former, that's probably the typical syndrome of the float bowl going dry while it's tilted up. If the latter, when did you last replace your spark plugs and/or clean your carbeurator?
John
SIM posted 11-18-2005 09:25 AM ET (US)
I made a mistake. Any Yamaha T8 with electric start, tiller handle or remote has the electic choke solenoid there. The electric choke is not used on a tiller handle model obviously because there is no way to activate it. You need a Yamaha key switch with a push to choke key switch. On those tillers you would use the manual pull choke. Sorry for the bad info.
Would be helpful to know which model T8 you have and if it was a tiller model that was convereted to a remote engine.
I looked in the the T8 parts manual at the carb section think if there was a solenoid choke used it would be there. I was wrong....its in the electrical parts section.
If the engine was tilted up and the float bowl somehow was drained the float bowl would be filled again while pumping the bulb which onlywhaler says that he does.
I would try for kicks the next time you are trying to start it cold, pull the manual choke full and pump the throttle to full a few times. See if that makes it pop off quicker.
Again...apologize for the mis info I posted.
Andy
jimh posted 11-18-2005 09:23 PM ET (US)
I don't want to sound like a broken record, and I don't offer this advice to be obnoxious, but I want to counsel that the proper procedure for starting is usually given in the owner's manual. Many people do not think to read the owner's manual and assume they know how to start their engines. From what I can tell almost every engine has a slightly different recommended starting procedure. I learned a great deal about how to start my engine from reading the manual.
And even then, over the course of two seasons, I more or less forgot what I had read and reverted to some poor procedures for starting. All of a sudden it seemed like the engine was becoming hard to start. All that was wrong was my procedure. A refresher course in the owner's manual got me back on track. It starts promptly, again, and runs fine during warm-up, now that I am following the proper procedure again.
The number on problem for most engine starts is poor fuel priming. Make sure you have the engine primed; if you don't you will be doing a lot of cranking before fuel finally gets to the cylinders.
onlyawhaler posted 11-19-2005 10:44 PM ET (US)
My T-8 Yamaha has both electric start (push button near the cowling) and electric tilt. It is a tiller handle model that has the shift handle high on the tiller handle near the throttle. I chose that model vs the remote version because I don't have dual binnacle on the console and I wanted to be able to remove the T-8 at times without undoing rigging.
I have the rear bench seat option on my 18 outrage and the length of the handle and the shifter high on that handle helps without reaching much over the rear bench.

I have tried storing it both in the tilted travel position and the vertical position to see it makes a difference in starting. Still very hard.
The manual calls for priming the bulb, pulling out the manual choke, keep the throttle handle mostly closed on a red mark on the grip and start.
My t-8 has no rope pull and if it did it would make it all the harder. It takes a lot of cranking to finally get it going. I have pulled the plugs, they appear saturated with gas and because of that I have tried starting with no choke at all. Same result
I guess it is time to take it back to the dealer.
Sterling

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Author	Topic: Hard starting T-8
onlyawhaler	posted 11-16-2005 06:36 PM ET (US) I purchased a Yamaha 8hp 4 stroke a year and a half ago (T8) and it has always been a hard starter. It has electric start and it is always a long series of cranking choking, no choking to finally get a start. I have never used the tank it came with it. I replaced the water/fuel filter unit on the boat with one that had two ports out, one for the main engine and one for the T8 so it would draw off the main tank. After hard starting began, I placed an inline cut off valve on the gas line going out of the fuel/water seperator thinking maybe it was drawing air and creating the difficulity. No change. It has spark. The bulb squeezes and pumps gas. It seems unusual for a 4 stroke to be difficult to start. Once it starts it runs great Any suggestions? Thanks
lorin	posted 11-16-2005 08:40 PM ET (US) Try this. Dont use the choke when you try to start. Instead, put some gas into a clean oil squirt can and squirt some gas into the throat of the carb. Then try to start it without choke. If it starts right up, you wont know exactly what's wrong, but at least you will know that you have a fuel or choke problem.
SIM	posted 11-17-2005 06:55 PM ET (US) Onlyawhaler, Hate to break the news to ya but your Yamaha T8 does not have electric start. Even though you can push the key switch in like you are choking it...the T8 regardless of model has a pull choke on the front of the cowling. No retro kits either. Andy
lorin	posted 11-17-2005 07:30 PM ET (US) SIM I think you're saying it does not have electric choke, but does have electric start, right? This would certainly explain the starting problem if the manual choke is not being pulled out when the key is turned to start the engine.
LHG	posted 11-17-2005 08:45 PM ET (US) You guys need to talk to the Kingfish on this engine.
kingfish	posted 11-18-2005 08:45 AM ET (US) Onlyawhaler (and SIM)- What model of T8 do you have? SIM may be correct that all T8s have a manual choke, but he is incorrect in stating or implying that none of them have an electric choke. My 2004 T8PLRC (electric start, remote control) does have an operational manual choke, but it also has an operational electric choke. The linkage is independent enough that when you operate the manual choke, the solenoid plunger for the electric choke moves, but when the electric choke operates (the solenoid operates the plunger and the linkage moves the butterfly), the manual choke knob is unaffected. It ceretainly looks like a retrofittable set up to me, if you were able to identify the parts. The solenoid hangs under a bracket below and on the right side (looking forward) of the flywheel, a little aft if the crankshaft. You'd need the bracket, the solenoid, the linkage pieces and some wiring and connectors. Of course you'd have to have a wiring harness that accomodated an electric choke, or you'd have to run a separate wire to a keyswitch that was designed for an electric choke. John
kingfish	posted 11-18-2005 08:48 AM ET (US) Back to the original question- Is your motor hard to start after you have had it tilted up for quite a while, or all the time? If the former, that's probably the typical syndrome of the float bowl going dry while it's tilted up. If the latter, when did you last replace your spark plugs and/or clean your carbeurator? John
SIM	posted 11-18-2005 09:25 AM ET (US) I made a mistake. Any Yamaha T8 with electric start, tiller handle or remote has the electic choke solenoid there. The electric choke is not used on a tiller handle model obviously because there is no way to activate it. You need a Yamaha key switch with a push to choke key switch. On those tillers you would use the manual pull choke. Sorry for the bad info. Would be helpful to know which model T8 you have and if it was a tiller model that was convereted to a remote engine. I looked in the the T8 parts manual at the carb section think if there was a solenoid choke used it would be there. I was wrong....its in the electrical parts section. If the engine was tilted up and the float bowl somehow was drained the float bowl would be filled again while pumping the bulb which onlywhaler says that he does. I would try for kicks the next time you are trying to start it cold, pull the manual choke full and pump the throttle to full a few times. See if that makes it pop off quicker. Again...apologize for the mis info I posted. Andy
jimh	posted 11-18-2005 09:23 PM ET (US) I don't want to sound like a broken record, and I don't offer this advice to be obnoxious, but I want to counsel that the proper procedure for starting is usually given in the owner's manual. Many people do not think to read the owner's manual and assume they know how to start their engines. From what I can tell almost every engine has a slightly different recommended starting procedure. I learned a great deal about how to start my engine from reading the manual. And even then, over the course of two seasons, I more or less forgot what I had read and reverted to some poor procedures for starting. All of a sudden it seemed like the engine was becoming hard to start. All that was wrong was my procedure. A refresher course in the owner's manual got me back on track. It starts promptly, again, and runs fine during warm-up, now that I am following the proper procedure again. The number on problem for most engine starts is poor fuel priming. Make sure you have the engine primed; if you don't you will be doing a lot of cranking before fuel finally gets to the cylinders.
onlyawhaler	posted 11-19-2005 10:44 PM ET (US) My T-8 Yamaha has both electric start (push button near the cowling) and electric tilt. It is a tiller handle model that has the shift handle high on the tiller handle near the throttle. I chose that model vs the remote version because I don't have dual binnacle on the console and I wanted to be able to remove the T-8 at times without undoing rigging. I have the rear bench seat option on my 18 outrage and the length of the handle and the shifter high on that handle helps without reaching much over the rear bench. I have tried storing it both in the tilted travel position and the vertical position to see it makes a difference in starting. Still very hard. The manual calls for priming the bulb, pulling out the manual choke, keep the throttle handle mostly closed on a red mark on the grip and start. My t-8 has no rope pull and if it did it would make it all the harder. It takes a lot of cranking to finally get it going. I have pulled the plugs, they appear saturated with gas and because of that I have tried starting with no choke at all. Same result I guess it is time to take it back to the dealer. Sterling