1988-89 dt30c cold start problems

[Leonard53]

I have a 1988-89 (narrowed it down to these two years) DT30C. I just bought the boat about a week ago so it’s new to me. Here’s the problem... when I try to start the motor, all it does is turn over and has zero indication that it wants to start up. The only way I can get it started is to put a few drops of mixed gas into the cylinder head, then it’ll fire up and run no problem. I checked the spark in all 3 plugs and they’re firing. I put new plugs in as well. I went through and took apart all 3 carbs and they were surprisingly very clean. What else am I missing?? There’s fuel, air, and spark... I’m at somewhat of a loss as to what my other options are. Another thing that I’ve noticed while out on the water... if the boat is in gear and I’m throttling forward, it runs great. But sometimes on decel, it sounds like it’s going to cut out (sometimes it does). Once that happens, I have to rely on my premix method to get it started all over again. It feels like there’s a shortage of either fuel or air... right? Any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Hoosmatroos]

When you start, can you block the air inlet for 1 or two seconds? The mixture is getting rich then, needed for a cold start. Does the choke works?

[Leonard53]

I haven’t tried blocking them, but yes I could if needed. I did notice that I can choke the carbs one of two ways; either using the choke on the motor itself, or the choke lever on my throttle assembly next to the steering wheel. I did notice that both chokes open and close two different parts of the carb though. Both chokes open and close as they should.

[Solarman]

All carbs maybe clean, but that doesn't mean all air/ fuel pas-sages are open?

Does the motor idle good when running?

What are the idle air-mixture screws set at? What do the plugs look like after idling after a while, it may take a few hours of running and idling to show colors to new plugs?

What kind of compression are you getting on each cylinder? You DO have to have compression with fuel, air, and spark for a 2 stroke to run.

Post back when able, good luck.