Electric Choke Issues

Chris Mayleben

New Member
Aug 19, 2018
2
Boat Info
1999 Sea Ray 190 BR w/ 5.0 V8 (2BBL)
Engines
5.0 L V8 (2BBL)
Hi All,

First post here. Just want to say thanks in advance for the support!

Just bought my first boat earlier this year (however I grew up with boats in my family, so I'm not a complete novice). It is a 1999 SR 190 BR with 5.0 V8 (2 BBL).

I have been having issues with my boat not wanting to start up unless I give it a lot of throttle (cold starts, but also when warm after finishing up a skiing session). One of the items I have been looking at is the electric choke. I started the boat once with the air filter off so I could see if the choke worked. It didn't do anything (stayed wide open). I then took the purple/ yellow wire off the terminal, placed the key in start position, and checked for 12V with a volt meter. With the key in the on position, there is no power to the choke.

Using some wiring diagrams found via google, it seems that the choke should be wired directly to the alternator. However when I follow the purple/ yellow wire from the choke it seems to go into a bundle of wires, then later pops back out where it feeds into a connector which eventually ends up at the fuel pump???

I am very confused as to how this should be wired, and how to trace that purple/ yellow wire back to the 12v source.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Happy boating!

Chris
 
Can you just pick up keyed power for the choke from the coil with a length of wire and a couple of connectors?
 
The electric part of the choke opens it , doesn't close it. Not exactly sure with your model but most chokes are spring loaded to close it, a vacuum line from the motor to open it slightly once the engine starts and the choke heats up with 12 volts to open it fully. That wire your checking probably has 12 volts to it with the motor running not just key on.
 
Thanks to all for the help.

Been tied up at work and have not had time to revisit this, but I did make the following video detailing the problems I'm having.

Please, if you have time take a look. Thanks!

Video Link:


Chris
 
1. Was the motor cold in that video, cause it started right up like it was warm?
2. If it was cold your choke is not adjusted correctly. Watch these two videos.
3. The thermostat is what closes the choke, so it should always be closed if the engine is cold. The 12v slowly opens the choke while the engine is warming up, but once warm it is really the heat on the thermostat that keeps it open. As things cool down it will close again. Like mentioned above, I am not sure if the 12v is only there when the engine is running. Also, there is no vacuum on these chokes, it's an electric choke.
4. When starting a cold motor, you need to pump the throttle at least once to set the fast idle cam take off (Mike talks about this in the video).
On my boat, I usually:
Cold engine
1. crank the motor for 5sec until I hear the oil pressure warning stop. This fills the carburetor bowl with fuel.
2. Pump throttle 2 times and then leave it 1/3 open. This squirts fuel into the intake and sets the fast idle takoff.
3. Crank engine - it almost always fires right up regardless of how long it has not been run.
Warm engine
1. almost always starts right up in neutral with no throttle manipulation.

Mikes Carburetor is a good resource for all things carburetor include the Mercarb 2bb like you have. He sells rebuild kits (I used one to rebuild my Mercarb and it worked out great) and has a complete video of the rebuild and initial setup process.
 
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