1998 130 HP Carb Motor starting problems

[Doug Richards]

I purchased a 1998 Skeeter bass boat with a 130 Hp yamaha Carb motor new in 1998. Until June 2009 never had 1 minute of starting problems from this motor. Would crank 15 seconds or less every time I turned the key. Has has regular maintainence every year. Last June I went to the lake and boat would not start right off as normal. Finally after about 15 minutes of cranking both with push choke and then cranking without choke every once in a while it would pop out exhaust and then try to start. Finally after about 15 to 20 minutes of cranking I put it up on high idle and turned the key and it popped again once and fire up. I went fishing that day and all day I would barely touch the key and she would fire right up and run great. Next morning it was another 15 to 20 minutes of working to get it started and again it would run great and start off perfect the rest of the day. I have had it to three different repair centers including one Certified Yamaha/Skeeter Dealer and to this day have not found anyone that can fix the problem. Now if I am going to go fishing I will spend 15 to 20 minutes starting the motor on water muffs in carport before going to the lake. Once it starts I can drive to the lake and launch the boat and it will fire right up and I can fish all day with no starting problems. I was told by the Yamaha Tech that this problem has been a sore spot in the 1995-1998 115 and 130 carb Yamaha motors and most of them have developed it and as of yet no one has been able to diagnosis or fix the problem. My question now is has anyone else experienced this problem and if so has anyone been successful in getting theirs repaired and if so what was the problem that caused the motors to all at once be very hard to start?
Thanks for your time
Doug R.

[99yam40]

what kind of maintenance has been done to this motor over the years?

May need to replace fuel pumps, clean carbs, and make sure the choke and carb linkage is adjusted properly,or all of the above

[Doug Richards]

what kind of maintenance has been done to this motor over the years?

May need to replace fuel pumps, clean carbs, and make sure the choke and carb linkage is adjusted properly,or all of the above

Motor is serviced every Fall . Tune ups, Spark test run, All fuel filters changed inlines and one on motor with water trap which had zero water in it, Use Blue Sta-Bil with every tank of fuel to compensate for Ethanol, Lower unit serviced and new water pump impeller and sleeve installed, Compression test run. All cylinders within tolerance 110 to 120 lbs each, Fuel pump pressure test performed. Carburators have been built twice since this problem has began. Second time by Yamaha factory trained Technician at Skeeter dealer, New factory primer ball installed at same time and tech was still scratching his head when nothing he did improved the starting of the motor when cold. Any type of ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks Doug

[99yam40]

As long as you are pumping the primer bulb up until firm the carbs should have fuel in the bowl, so I would make sure the choke plates are closing off completely when you hit the choke. some times the linkage sticks or binds and they do not close all the way.
Also make sure you raise the idle lever a little before turning it over and choking

[Doug Richards]

130 Hp Yamahammer

As long as you are pumping the primer bulb up until firm the carbs should have fuel in the bowl, so I would make sure the choke plates are closing off completely when you hit the choke. some times the linkage sticks or binds and they do not close all the way.
Also make sure you raise the idle lever a little before turning it over and choking

I am sure the choke is working as I have had all the covers off and watched them when I push key switch down and they slam shut. When it finally does start is will balck smoke for about thre seconds on high idle which almost tells me it is flooding. I was aan ASE certified auto mechanic for 35 years before retiring and it acts just like a car back years ago that would flood and then you wait about two minutes ad try it again holding your foot to the floor to clear it out and it would start and black smoke a few seconds and clear out. Symptons are very similar but I'm just not sure if I want to put my throttle wide open on my boat motor for fear of over reving it. I have also been told by several boat techs that this is a problem that many of the 115 and 130 boat motors developed in these particular years or 1996 -1998. I think in 1999 they went FI on these motors. I am going to call Yamaha if I cannot get this problem resolved. I looked for an email address to write to the but when I click on contact us all there is are phone numbers. I want to see if maybe they have addressed this issue and have a solution and just not passed it on in service bulletins to their service centers yet. I want to thank you for your help with this matter.
Doug R.

[99yam40]

Have you made sure it is sparking on all plugs when it is not starting?
Should be easy to check if this happens every time cold starting.
It does sound like it is flooding if blowing black smoke. Try opening the throttle some and just bump the choke.
May be like the chainsaws and weed eaters where you choke till the 1st pop and then get it off choke and open throttle a little more turning it over, just be ready to bring it back down quickly.

[Doug Richards]

130 Hp Yamahammer

Have you made sure it is sparking on all plugs when it is not starting?
Should be easy to check if this happens every time cold starting.
It does sound like it is flooding if blowing black smoke. Try opening the throttle some and just bump the choke.
May be like the chainsaws and weed eaters where you choke till the 1st pop and then get it off choke and open throttle a little more turning it over, just be ready to bring it back down quickly.

As far as spark I have checked it plus all the techs that have worked on it have all said it has great strong blue spark on all 4 plugs. They all put them on a fire board to watch the fire during the cranking cycle. I'm going to call Yamaha on Monday and see if I can talk with someone at the company about the problem since I have now found out that this is a problem that many motor owners of these particular motors are experiencing. The same or very similar problems.

[Tucker]

Doug, please be sure to post your findings after the problem is resolved. It may help if any of us have the same problem.

[Doug Richards]

Doug, please be sure to post your findings after the problem is resolved. It may help if any of us have the same problem.

You can rest assure that if I find out how to repair the problem I will share it with everyone here for sure. I will want everyone to know how to fix theirs also.

[Doug Richards]

Well boat is in shop # 3 so maybe I will have better luck with this one. This shop was recomended to my by Yamaha in Georgia. Will post their findings when I learn the problem if they figure it out.

[Doug Richards]

Hard starting when cold

Doug, please be sure to post your findings after the problem is resolved. It may help if any of us have the same problem.

Ok heres the low down on my boat. I went and picked it up this morning after getting call it was repaired. The problem was fixed and this is what they found. It was a simple problem and easily overlooked by most mechanics. The electric choke solenoid over the years had lost some of it's power to close the ****erflies on the carbs and properly close them far enough and tight enough to properly choke the motor so it could start. The replaced the choke solenoid and made sure it was adjusted properly. They said they completed the repair the day I took it in but wanted to keep it a day or so to make sure it was repaired. They took me out in the storage area and handed me the key pumped the primer bulb with water muffs on it I turned the key and the motor fired up in about 10 seconds and went to high idle imediately. They said if I have any more problems with it bring it back. Total cost of repair. $97.95 + tax. I hope my findings will help others having same or similar problems.
Doug

[99yam40]

Good to hear it is finally starting properly.
As I had said before making sure the ****erflies close properly is a must, not just hearing/seeing them slam shut.
I have never heard of a solenoid getting weak before, it is usually just binding or maladjusted linkage.
But as long as you are happy with it now, that is all that matters

[Doug Richards]

Starting issue

Well I am happy for sure and being a certified Mechanic for 35 years myself before retiring from fixing cars and trucks before retiring on some of the newer vehicles I saw quite a few electric solenoids go bad and they would work about 1/2 way also. The winding in the electrical part of them would drop voltage causing them to not function properly but I had scanners that would give me information on the problems and solutions to fix them but I never gave thought to it being an issue on my outboard motor. I could heard the Choke close on the motor and made the assumption it was operating at it's normal range. Live and learn I guess. Evidently it is an on going problem with those year models and designs because it only took this mechanic a few minutes to diagnose the problem so I am figuring he has seen it quite a few times. He was a well seasoned Tech about 50 + in years and very knowledgable in his trade. You can bet if I have any more problems with my boat motor that is where it will go first next time.

[Tucker]

Lesson learned is to hit the solenoid plunger with PB Blaster at the beginning of the season. Thanks for posting Doug, huge help!