I really need electric start

Carl

Well-known member
Staff member
Once it got the pull start fixed yesterday, and yanked on it for about 5 minutes, my Merc 25 started first pull every time.
This morning it refused to start again and flooded. Couldnt get it to crank at ramp and brought it home.
Pulled plugs and dried them. Re-installed and yanked on it until I was about to drop.
Getting fuel and spark but just can't get it to turn hit at all.
Somethings gotta give. Too old for this shit.
Any thoughts on why its flooding? Just rebuilt the carb.
Seems My old Nissan and Johnson motors were easier to clear if flooded with separate Choke, throttle and gear shift.
What's it cost to add electric start to a Merc 2003 25hp??
Bucket full of live shrimp and motor wont start sucks.
 
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Carl,
Cost prohibitive buying new parts. Used parts should be readily available. What is the model number of your engine?
Best source I have found is an outboard motor recycler (the outboard equivalent to the auto recycler or "junkyard") I have purchased from these folks several times. Good folks.
https://www.timsoutboard.com/
 
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Not a bad job, I did it last year using a mix of used, new factory, hand made and aftermarket parts.

Were I to do it again, I'd stalk ebay sellers looking for someone who had a 100% complete set of take off parts. The sellers seem to usually break up the parts and list them individually, but I'd search a couple key parts and when I found someone with them, I'd call to see if they had the whole set that they could sell. The search for random wires and parts got a little tiresome.

For mine, I needed a flywheel, mine was not toothed, so that was the big expense (I found one used in great shape for a great price). The second biggest expense was a starter and a bought an aftermarket one because Yamaha starters are so darn expensive.
 
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Dave,

That's what I was thinking,
Model number is 1025201AD
SN starts with 0T
 
After I posted this morning, I pulled the plugs again, got some sand paper and sanded them until the eletrodes were shiny. Check the gap, put them back in, three pulls and it started.
Ran it for a minute, shut down, started in half pull.
Headed to the boat ramp and went fishing, Not as good as yesterday, tide and wind were going in opposite directions and it was kinda round, Still managed enough fish for dinner.

I think I'm running a bit heavy on the oil, fouling the plugs???
 
Might be your carb jetting not quite right. There are printable charts for oil/gas ratios for 2 stroke motors. Very handy for sticking on the wall in garage/toolbox or shop wall so your not guessing at it. Refer to mine all the time. Back to jetting, maybe running a bit leaner would help. And my 2 strokes don,t require any choking during summer months to start. If choked will flood quickly.
 
Carl,

The Mercury online parts catalogue has a page specifically for "electric start components".
https://public-mercurymarine.sysonline.com/...F=eng&langDB=eng

That page should cover everything needed for a full conversion. The only thing needed in addition of that page, that I see right away, is the flywheel ring gear and the "auxiliary stator". (it appears that this engine uses a primary stator for the coils and an auxiliary stator for the charging circuit)

If one really wanted only electric start and not the charging circuit, it could be done that way. (only benefit is fewer components to find and purchase) Just be aware that the battery you use, will only last for a given number of "starts" before it will need charged. (same holds true for stop and go short runs all day, the battery never really gets recharged while on the water)

It does appear that manual start will still be functional, after adding the conversions to electric start. Which is a good thing, some engines are either/or not both.

If you wish, send me a private message with your phone number and I'll reply with mine.
 
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I have added just the ring gear to small engines before rather then buy a whole fly wheel. I would keep extra plugs in the boat until you get the issue solved. What ratio are you oiling at. 50-1 is standard.
 
Its supposed to be 50:1.
But I know that I've added too much oil in the past.
And did it again yesterday morning when I topped off.
 
Could be worse. At least you are finding fish.

My Yamaha is running just fine, but a sunset trip on Sunday night that got me home at 11 followed by a dawn patrol trip where I left the house at 4 am yesterday resulted in a grand total of 2 schoolie stripers landed and one long distance release on a shad.

The trout gods have been good to me this season, but the saltwater fish gods have not.
 
I haven't even fished yet, trying to wrap up the house exterior project before what will hopefully be an epic fall trip.
 
tod osier said:
I haven't even fished yet, trying to wrap up the house exterior project before what will hopefully be an epic fall trip.
Tod,
Glad to see you have your priorities in order. [sly]
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Tod, Glad to see you have your priorities in order. [sly]

I'd feel more smug about having my priorities in order by working on a project rather than fishing, but... I've let the project drag out for 7 years. Should be done today, 'tho. Complete exterior... Fiber cement siding, windows, doors, roof, gutters and downspouts, etc...
 
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Something is wrong, thats for sure. A motor should start easily with no more than 2 pulls.... like it did when it was new. Check the compression. if thats good, I would look at the reed valves.
 
Good morning, Dave~


Thanks for the link. I will be restoring a 1970 Evinrude 33 for next year - summertime use at our camp on Champlain (on the '57 Crestliner I posted about earlier). To get electric start, I bought another motor that has it - but has a long shaft. So, I hope/plan to get one good e-start motor out of the pair. I paid $400 for the second motor - thinking I could not get all of the needed parts for less than that. I'm guessing Tim's may help with the odd missing piece.


All the best,


SJS

 
Pretty sure I had it way over-oiled in the pre-mix. Since I cleaned the plugs and added some gas to the tank, she started and ran fine.
 
Good. I am glad you have a solution. When I was a kid, my dad had a lawn mower that would start after about 50 pulls. I had to stop and rest a couple of times before I got it going. Since then I have an aversion to hard starting motors.
 
Excuse me Dani for this reply

You need what our group of guys talks about on every single duck opener (where we walk in a mile carry a bunch of stuff and then wade in goose poop slop to retrieve ducks). A young stripper sherpa. Let her yank on the pull start until it cranks over. Let her do all the duck hunting tasks that get harder and harder with each passing year.

Naturally I'm kidding but we sure have a good time talking about` everything a stripper sherpa could do for us. And then when ice fishing season comes around, the discussion starts over again. Sort of a running joke
\
Mark
 
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