my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

[mikeyt2]

Hi there, i got a 1971 or 1972 mercury thunderbolt (not sure about the year)but anyway it's a 65 hp outboard motor. This is my first boat and i don't have a clue to what i'm doing. Took me a while but i got it to start. Finally took it out for the first time on the river and it's super weak...i guess?..at full throttle, it feels like it's going maybe 15 mph.. my rpm and mph don't work so i wouldn't know..i don't even know if i'm driving this thing right and i'm too broke to ask around...what's wrong?

 

[mikeyt2]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

ok, i open up the motor and i think the trottle aren't open all the way at full trottle...it only open a qaurter of the way on full trottle... when i try adjusting it to open max, it's not closing all the way when it's on nautral. it's really close to closing all but still very loud for it to be on nautral. i think rpm is at 4000...it's wierd because the rpm will not work when the boat is in the water....only work when flushing it. help...thanks

 

[Jacket4life]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

Is it remote controlled or tiller?

More info would help. What kind of boat, what kind of fuel you're using/what mix did you use, if it's remote controlled, what kind of controller (is it a mercontrol?). The more info you put on here, the more feedback you'll get.

 

[BassnKY]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

If it is a commander remote throttle, it only opens about 1/4 of the way when it is in neutral. It will only open all the way when it is in gear.
Hope this helps.

 

[mikeyt2]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

Is it remote controlled or tiller?

More info would help. What kind of boat, what kind of fuel you're using/what mix did you use, if it's remote controlled, what kind of controller (is it a mercontrol?). The more info you put on here, the more feedback you'll get.

the boat is a 1972 renken tri hull and it's using a mercontrol with 2 cycle oil.

 

[mikeyt2]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

If it is a commander remote throttle, it only opens about 1/4 of the way when it is in neutral. It will only open all the way when it is in gear.
Hope this helps.

ok, i think my throttle is 1/4 open on neutral but it's kinda louder then before when it was close completely..is this normal?...also, my little bolt by the distributor that opens the throttle is max out now, should i adj my cable? theres two cables, one for going forward and one for reverse, right.... and i just need to mess around with the forward cable, right? sorry if i'm ask'n dumb questions but this is all new for me. oh yea, what rpm should neutral be at? hopefully i could take it out to the river soon and tell you the result..i hope you're right. thanks

 

[Mercproject]

Re: my 65 hp mercury is slow..need help.

Sounds like the same problem I had when I got my Merc 650.
Don't know if this is your problem BUT, you may want to open up the distributor, (I assume you have a manual), check to see if the the electrical components are bright or dull. (The metal parts in the cap and rotor).
Mine were dull (oxidation). I took a dremel tool to them and CAREFULLY polished them to get the oxidation off.
Re assembled everything and it started immediately with GREAT RPM.
Again, don't know if that is what is wrong with your motor but the symptoms sound the same.

Let me know how it works for you.
Andy K