76 Evinrude 85hp manual choke question

I have a '76 Evinrude 85hp. It runs great, takes a bit ti warm up but its good to go. The issue is starting it. On a cold start or after it sets for 10 mins or so after its good and warm I have to take off the cowling and flip the choke to manual from automatic. There is a toggle on the throttle housing under the key for the choke and when I flip it, the little plunger on the engine works, the warm up lever works too. But to get it to start I have to take off the cowling, flip the arm down start the motor then jump back to flip it down, raise the warm up lever and hope it goes for like 15 seconds. Then I'm good. If not I have to go through the same acrobatics again, not to mention taking the cowling on and off.

I've turned up the idle and put in a new gas tank and hose. Any ideas??

THANKS!!

when you actuate the choke switch do the choke plates close? On your fuel tank is is portable? If so is the vent cap open?

It is a portable tank. I get good compression on the bulb and there aren't any leaks. I have tried it with the cap open, closed and half way too with no change. I am not sure about the "choke plates" (what they are, where they are or how to tell) There is a plunger that goes up and down when I flip the choke toggle under the key on the throttle controller. Here's a pic of that. Maybe that helps??

http://www.bbcboards.net/attachment....d=245969&stc=1

Yes that is the actuator. What happens when it is in normal/auto mode, is you toggle the switch. There are choke plates on the front of the carbs. When you toggle the switch the plates close to let more fuel to be drawn in to the carbs by sealing off the passages. If you take the cover off the carbs, you can see them close when you toggle the switch. Just like an old auto carb motor when you depress the gas peddle before starting it would close the choke plate. When you toggle the switch it pulls the plates closed if this doesn't happen the spring that draws them closed may be missing it attaches to the upper carb. You can loosen up the clamp on the solenoid and adjust the draw on the plate.

Groovy! THANKS!!
I checked the plates and they seem to have a good seal (cleaned them anyway) but they only close when I throw the toggle and the key is on. Starts like a champ without the manual choke!!

I ran across another guy that had that issue and they said it was a wire someplace. Typically, I couldn't find it again.

Were they right? Is there a bad wire or connection that requires the key to be on for the toggle choke to work? Not the hughest deal in the world but if it's supposed to work without the key on, might be a good idea to make it do so.

Thanks for the help, I had been searching for flamethrowers on Craigslist. HA!

Normal operation of the choke is to have the key to the on position. Current to the actuator is supplied with the key on.

There was a service bulletin back then to connect both choke solenoid wires together to the purple-white wire on the terminal block. It may have already been done on yours.

Originally from '73 to mid '76, the choke operated in 2 stages, 1/2 and full. It would automatically go to 1/2 choke whenever the key was ON and the engine temp was below a certain amount - controlled by a temp switch on top of the block. When the choke was activated by the choke switch, it then went to full choke. If someone left the key ON over a weekend, the battery ran down and the choke solenoid overheated and melted internally causing it to be stuck or sticky.

remove the air cover and make sure the chokes close fully when engaged by the choke switch. You can move the solenoid forward or back in its holder to get firm closing.

Thats amazing information guys! Thank you ALL so much!