Older Johnson 15 2-stroke

[Compass790]

yes it does seem counter intuitive but i've had a lot of experience with old 2stroke outboards & it has been my most successful strategy. I'm not shittn you & it costs nothing to try,
good luck

[skipgundlach]

That will be tomorrow. I'll report back

[skipgundlach]

Well, not quite. I forgot that we had the 6 on the dink.

But, now I'm in the Bahamas and have had a couple of opportunities to put it to the test.

Full hard bulb, choke out, throttle closed - typically 3-4 pulls rather than the previous nearly-always-6.

It still takes a bit of time to warm up enough to stay running, and some fiddling to make it not stall when I first put it into gear.

But, it does start more quickly with the throttle closed.

Since I have my lift straps on it, I'll not pop the lid, but the next few cold starts, I'll move the throttle a bit from closed. When I take it off the boat, perhaps I'll recall to look inside at the roller.

[Compass790]

Glad you got some improvement. You could try running it on 1/2 choke if possible till it warms up, lotsa different 2 strokes like that. Make sure the primer bulb is pumped hard. It sounds like a fuel starvation issue but I see you know about the carb clean & tank filter clean if it has one.
Good luck

[ohdrinkboy]

My 1993 or 1994 Evinrude 8hp for cold start - two pulls as full choke, idle throttle. Last pull no choke and idle throttle. Starts on that third pull 90 percent of the time.

[Compass790]

Yea it's funny how some need a particular routine. Forgot to say the diaphragm on the fuel pump is critical too. Dont know if you can buy them alone, they'll probably want to sell you a whole pump. Another problem I had was exhaust leak that came up inside the motor cover on a 9.9hp longshaft Johnson. Put a good used exhaust on but it still leaked. Ended up cutting a hole thru the cover and putting a PVC pipe thru to the carb air intake to get fresh air. Had an elbow on the end pointing down to keep splash out .The only way it would start cold is with full choke & my hand over the pvc pipe to block off the air & then as soon as it fired take my hand away. Ran it for 10 years like that driving a well used 30ft keeler. Absolutely would not start unless you followed the procedure but started 1st pull if you did.Have known others who ran theirs with the cover off to get fresh air. Anyway check to see if any exhaust gas is coming up inside the cover.Just another couple of ideas. Amazing how many ways old outboards can give you grief I've found but if you are persistent you can find a way.

[Strait Shooter]

I have an older Johnson 15 that will start on the first pull if it's warm out, second pull if it's cold out almost every time.

That is, IF the choke is out, throttle at one third, two bulb squeezes, and choke in immediately upon start. It takes about two minutes to warm up, and if I try to hurry that up, she just baulks when I try to throttle up. After that though, with just me and my day bag, I can really haul ass out to the anchorage, or off to the dock.

Do any one of those steps slightly off, and it takes four pulls then.