Trobule Shooting Outboard Motor Issues

Bought a boat this year and tried to take my wife and daughter out for the first time yesterday. Well I couldn’t get the motor to start. Not the impression I planned to make on the wife when I convinced her we should get a boat.

Its a 2 stroke 90HP Mercury. To choke you push the key on the counsel in while turning. It turns just fine, but would not fire. I replaced the plugs but I don’t think that is the issue because when I finally got it to start, it was by putting the throttle in neutral and giving it hell while turning (almost full throttle). Finally, it kicked on.

I’m assuming this is an issue of getting fuel to the plugs. Let me know if you have any ideas or ways I can improve starting for the future.

It sure sounds fuel related.

– The fuel could bad.
– carbs could need cleaning.
– If you’re not familiar with the motor, you could have simply flooded it.
– Not likely, but check your kill switch. I’ve bumped it off before without knowing. Imagine the embarrassment.

If you take it into a reputable repair shop, they may be generous enough to give it a try themselves and see if there’s anything wrong before making any unnecessary repairs.

Thanks. I did check the kill switch as I’ve made that mistake myself. It came with a full tank of gas, but maybe it was stored that way? Should I add a fuel stabilizer?

I originally was worried about flooding it, but I absolutely could not get it started until I opened the throttle all the way.

Every motor has a personality, but it shouldn’t be this hard to get her running.

I have to throw in a few ideas that are basic and you probably already know, but…

1. Did you pump the primer bulb until it was firm?
2. Does the primer bulb stay firm after pumping? If no, you may have small air leak cracks in the hose.
3. You mention you replaced the plugs, but are they gapped correctly? Did you look up the gap and what was the recommended setting? No, .030 is not a “universal” gap setting.

In addition how old is the fuel in the tank?

Adding stabaizer and all of the other snake oils out there will do ZERO good if the fuel has gone bad. Nothing can “undo” fuel going bad or becoming contaminated, it needs to be pumped out and polished or disposed of.

If you tried all of the above, my next suggestion is to make sure the fuel tank has been agitated and then pour or pump out a sample into a clear glass jar. Check for contamination and water. I’m assuming you know what water looks like in fuel, but if not google it so you can tell.

Do you have a set of water muffs so you can test run it off the garden hose?

Grouse

Did it run when you bought it?
Private party or dealer?
Built in tank or portable? if portable maybe you could hook up a different tank with fresh gas(buddy?)

One time I was on my pontoon and it started but died right away. I knew I had gas in the tank, i kept trying and trying and then Ann pointed out the fuel line had come unhooked from the motor.

I did not check the gap when I installed the new plugs. I will definitely do that. I followed the fuel line to make sure it was connected and the bulb seems to hold.

The tank is part of the boat (2006). It worked great the first time I took it out on pool 2. Fired right away and idled great. I bought it from a dealer and they said they would look at it again, but they’re a couple hours away.

Had same problem with Yamaha in colder weather dealer adjusted chock linkage a lot better now

Just don’t take the wife and the boat works fine?

If you had to have it wide open to get it to start it was flooded. It will take some time to figure out how to start it depending on the temperature. Since it flooded right away this time turn it over next time without choking it and see if it fires. Some boats need to give them a little gas as you turn them over to get them to fire when cold.

When you press the key in you’re actually priming the engine — shooting gas into the carbs. You should be able to hear it hiss if you take the cowling off and stand next to the motor (in the garage where it’s quiet) while some else pushes the key in. Just because it’s simple, consider doing that test to see what your hear. If you don’t hear a click and/or a hiss, it could be that your primer solenoid isn’t working. You should be able to activate the primer manually (use google to learn more) to confirm if you don’t hear a noise Just a theory, but it might be worth checking out.