1998 Evinrude 60 H.P. O.B. - Need Help Getting Started

[kdc502]

I bought a 1998 Evinrude 60 H.P. Outboard in August '06. I had it out five or six times and always had a hard time starting it. Once it was warm, there wasn't any problem. It doesn't seem to matter whether you choke it or not.

I couldn't get it to start at all today.

Any help you can offer will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks!

Bobby C.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

make sure when you push the key in to choke it you hear it click,on the enrichener solenoid there is a red lever,turn it and see if it starts,if so either the enrichener solenoid is bad or it's the ignition switch,probably the solenoid though.you may need someone to stand by the motor when you push the key the solenoid with the red lever will be what clicks,when it starts if it does,after a few seconds turn the red lever back to its normal position.

[kdc502]

Thanks, very much, for your instructions. The good news is that the motor did start. It did so after playing with what I assume is the enricher solenoid.

My next question would be is the red lever supposed to move prior to turning the key to the start position? It does not, in my case. I manually moved the lever 180 degrees, which dumped gas to the carburators, which, in turn, started the motor.

The next question I have is with the key in the on position, should there be power to the solenoid, or does that happen just in the start position?

Last, but not least--my dumbest question: Do outboards not use air filters? This is my first outboard, and this seems a little strange to me.

Thanks, again, for taking the time to answer my questions. I *really* do appreciate your help very much!

Bobby C.

[fisheater]

I was told the reason for no air filter is the lack of dust in the water.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

the red lever is only for manual operation by you,turn it 180 then back when the motor fires up.the solenoid only will have power when the key is in the on position and pushed in,there is a rod in the solenoid that moves the diaphram in the enrichener when you choke it,the clicking sound you hear.when you move the red lever by hand it opens the diaphram and dumps fuel until you turn it back to the run position.fish eater is right the lakes are not very dusty..

[kdc502]

I was told the reason for no air filter is the lack of dust in the water.

Thanks, Fisheater! That makes sense. It just seemed odd to me that there was no filter, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something <g>.

Thanks, again!

Bobby C.

[kdc502]

the red lever is only for manual operation by you,turn it 180 then back when the motor fires up.the solenoid only will have power when the key is in the on position and pushed in,there is a rod in the solenoid that moves the diaphram in the enrichener when you choke it,the clicking sound you hear.when you move the red lever by hand it opens the diaphram and dumps fuel until you turn it back to the run position.fish eater is right the lakes are not very dusty..

Thanks, Ctfshwhisker! I really do appreciate your feedback.

I finally got the motor to start by manually operating the solenoid. Without doing so, it would just crank over but not start. I unplugged the hot wire going to the solenoid, and with the key in the on position, I tested the hot side for power but got none.

My question is does the solenoid operate even after the motor is started, because the key is in the on position while it runs. It seems to me that it should operate only at startup while the key's in that start position.

I'm sorry if the answers to my questions seem obvious, but I'm not familiar with the whys and hows of the operation of the outboard. Any help in troubleshooting would be very much appreciated.

Bobby C.