Buying for the first time! advice needed

[Nicko747]

Gday all!

I am new on the site so please go easy on me. I also appologise in advance for the vast amount of ignorance you about to witness.

I have a holiday house out in South East Australia with a large lake and was thinking about buying a small (14 - 17 foot) speedy to use in the summer months. After looking around on the sale sites I found an older Glastron GT180 which looks pretty good.

However the seller said that the only problem with the boat is that the automatic choke from the controll box is not working.

(here is where the ignorance comes in)
I was wondering if anyone could give me any further details on what this would mean, if its a big problem (the seller seemed pretty trivial about it) and if its a big task to get fixed?

Thanks if advance for any help

cheers

[Frosty]

Hi Nicko, dont worry I like silly questions.

First of all we need to establish what motor this and is it like inboard or outboard.

Another thing is that if there is a control of the choke on the control box then its not automatic.

[Nicko747]

hahaha now I feel like an idiot!!!!

My bad its a Suzuki 140HP Outboard, not too sure on the exact model number.
I was guessing that he may have been refering to the automatic choke when turning the key on start-up, but otherwise im baffled

thank for the reply!

[gonzo]

They usually have an ignition switch where you push to engage the choke. First test that there is power going to the solenoid next to the carburator. If not the switch or wiring are bad. If you get power and the solenoid doesn't pull, that is the problem. You can always manually choke the engine to start.

[Frosty]

What Gonzo means is push the key into its slot and then push some more , you should find that the whole key and the key hole will move inwards, this is the choke button, but with the ign on only. You should here a click,--that is the choke actuating.

Its not like a car it is on or off no in between. Ive known some owners never know where the choke is --they may think it is automatic and it is a bad starter, well it will start much better with choke.

Sometime they stick especially if they are not used!!!!

Take the cowling of the engine and move the choke levers with your fingers, lubricate the mechanism. Try the switch again--- ign on and push.

To start---ign on -push and turn to start all in one movement, when the engine fires you can release and the choke will release off also.