Tohatsu choke problem

[Roberthussey]

A friend bought a 26 ft. sailboat in St Augustine and had a Tohatsu 9.9 4 stroke installed by the Hunter dealer, with remote controls from Tohatsu. The choke stays on all the time. So it starts fine but when it warms up it will not run. When you put the key in the ignition switch you can not turn it without pushing in in hard, then it turns fine, the choke solenoid clicks right away and then the motor cranks and starts but key stays pushed in so the choke solenoid remains engaged. They also used a longer cable to hook up the remote, could this be the problem ? It appears to me to be a faulty ignition key but have never played with one of these engines before so not sure how they are supposed to work. Any advice appreciated !
Bob

[TohatsuGuru]

Tohatsu does not offer a 9.9 hp in the U.S. Could it be a 9.8?

[Roberthussey]

yes I guess it is - he told me it is 3 years old- any idea why you have to push the key in before you can turn it , Bob

[Roberthussey]

problem was solved with a good spray of WD40 into ignition switch ! works fine now !