Have twin 1995 2 stoke Yamaha 150's and the port engine will not fire. Boat is in the water yearround and engines have been run all winter at least every couple of weeks, either BMing or just a run for 1/2 hour or so. They have started fine all winter until I decided to go for a spin on Sunday. Starboard fired up after a couple of attempts, port would not fire. Port engine has been running a little rich and have appt to get in and have both tuned up, lube change etc next week.

The issues is, I need to run the boat to Shilshole for P/U and I would rather have twins to get there. If necessary I will get there on one. The gas is relatively new as I have fished a few times over the winter and topped off every time after fishing. I pulled the plugs and they look a little fuel fouled, replaced with new, still wont fire. Any Ideas/Tips/Tricks/etc?

Do both engines pull fuel from the same tank and filter? This is a long shot, but try swapping the fuel hoses at the point where they connect to the engines if there is enough slack. That will at least eliminate failed bulb or clogged hose.

Did the engine that still fires take longer than normal to fire up, or did it start and run normally? If it was slow to fire or runs rough, it sure sounds like a fuel problem. You may have gunked up the carbs on the non-starter enough so that it is too sad to start.

If the running engine started up no problem, I would look next at the electricals on the non-starter.

Finegrain:

Thanks for yoru reply. They draw from the same tank and all the plumbing and electrial is hard wired. It usually takes a couple of cranks and fires right up, the running engine did just that, the non-running turns over but will not fire, it sounded to me like plugs but those have been replaced and still same problem.

On myold boat I used to have to spray a little ethanol in the carb when it was cool and damp out. I did not want to do anything like that with this as I know little about outboards and would hate to do any damage.

Post your question on the iboats bulletin board under yamaha outboard problems. Lots of very knowledgable people there.

iboats

hit the boating forums link in the upper right corner.

baddawg and finegrain thanks for your thoughts. That Iboats site is a great resource. I did a search on issues like mine, and found a couple of issues to try. Also a couple of preventitive maintenance issues I was thinking of. Botom line, after work, went down to the boat and got her to fire up!!!

Excellent! All's well that ends well. Hopefully this was a 1-time hiccup for you, and it doesn't happen out on the water in bad weather.

That is exactly why it is going in next Wednesday, make sure everything is running properly and to give her the the old once over.