Starting the Yanmar on a H280

Occasional Heeler

Occasional Heeler

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Jul 4, 2022
12
Hunter H280 Lake Pepin, MN
First season with my 1999 H280. Previous owner started it once last fall and now up to me ( might have forgotten a step or two..). Anyone have the steps and or tips and tricks to get it cranked on the first try? Batteries are good and engine has been serviced. Boat has silver button on throttle quadrant and pull knob under transom seat.
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,096
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
First make sure that pull rod is ALL the way pushed in! In fact you should apply some light oil to the cable when it's pulled out and work it in and out. It is the fuel shut off to stop the engine. Pulled out is the fuel cutoff position. Re-check the oil level in the crankcase and check that the oil filter is properly screwed on.
You should post the make and model # for the engine if possible to get more specific tips.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,100
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
And make sure the seacock is open before starting. Most Yanmar’s don’t need flow plugs in normal conditions. Just push the start button and it should start within a few seconds. Don’t keep cranking for too long or you could backfill the cylinders with raw water. Once it’s running check for water out the exhaust.
 
J

jdrutten

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Mar 27, 2021
142
Hunter 306 Lake Pepin
I'm guessing you probably have a 2gm20f? The colder it is, the less it will want to start. Be sure to give it plenty of throttle when you start in the cold. Once warm it's much easier to start and you won't need much (if any) throttle.
 
Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
6,527
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
If the engine has not run over teh winter, do the following :

1. Going by the operating manual (what do they Know ?), pull the stop rod all the way OUT to ensure the engine does NOT start.

2. Crank the engine for about 5 sec. to distribute oil to the piston rings.

3. Wait a couple of minutes and then repeat #2 with the rod pulled and without starting the engine.

4. Wait a few minutes, push in the stop rod and start the engine.

Sounds like you don't have any manuals for the engine. May I suggest your downloading the shop manual for a Yanmar 2GM20F before doing any serious damage such as over cranking the engine until you flood a cylinder with sea water. I believe repairs start at approx. $5K plus.
 
Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
6,527
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Occasional Heeler said:
Boat has silver button on throttle quadrant and pull knob under transom seat.
Click to expand
Just glanced over your original post.

DO NOT START YOUR ENGINE AGAIN until you have read the shop manual and every other Yanmar 2gm20f manual you can find in the downloadable files here on this site.

The "silver button" selects forward-neutral-reverse. Always start in neutral.
 
matts997

matts997

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May 15, 2015
132
Marlow-Hunter 31 Everett, WA
I had a H280 for 8 years (great boat!). Agree with everything mentioned here. My fuel line pull knob was touchy....I sometimes had to pull it out a little, then push hard back in. And the times when I accidentally tried to start in gear, there were no obvious indicators that this was the problem vs any of the other causes of start-up failure. For really cold weather starts (< 40 degrees) a mechanic recommended leaving the raw water intake closed, starting the engine, and once started, immediately opening up the seacock. This worked for me every time. But of course you run the risk of getting distracted and forgetting to open up the seacock.

One last thing: When the engine hadn’t been started for awhile, I always placed the throttle wide open, bringing it back down to idle RPMs immediately after start-up.
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
4,836
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
My H280 has a single lever transmission / throttle, and I assume yours does too. You may be referring to the transmission disengagement button on the throttle. You want to disengage the transmission, so ypu can give the engine throttle, but in neutral.

I also have a 2GM20F in my current boat (O’Day 322). To start on launch day, I do the following..
1) ensure water intake thruhull is open
2) ensure batteries are charged
3) ensure transmission is in neutral
4) if it is cold out, I may leave the throttle way down, and turn the engine over for a few seconds first. Or as @Ralph Johnstone suggested, pull the fuel cut off plunger up and crank for a few seconds. The idea is to generate a little heat in the cylinders before adding fuel. The 2GM20 F doesn’t have glow plugs.
5) move throttle to about 50% and crank it over…listen for it to start. If no joy, stop cranking after 5-7 seconds, then try again. we do need to be careful about cranking too long and creating a hydro-lock. Bad news. If she won’t start with a couple of 5 second cranks, CLOSE the thruhull. Better to ruin an impeller than to cause a hydro-lock.
6) once it starts to catch, reduce throttle to fast idle and check exhaust for water flow…but on the 280, exhaust is under water…so listen to tone of exhaust. It should not sound too “hollow”.

The 2GM20F is a small but reliable and fairly simple engine….just needs clean fuel (and no air in it), air intake, and compression to run.

Good luck. Hope she fires right up.

Greg
 
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