[Mark Overfelt]

I have a 1979 mariner 70 horse outboard. I was flying across a lake wide open, and the motor lost power and died. It restarts every time and idles great, but when I start to give it throttle it boggs down like it's going to stall, but when I back of the throttle It runs ok. I dont know if a weak battery could do that, or some kind of fuel line problem. Or do I need to get my wallet out? Thanks for any and all help. Mark O.

[12Footer]

Hi, Mark.Well, it's a boat ---You'll allways have to have the ol wallet handy. The symptom you describe is fuel starvation.It can have many causes, such as fuel pump, clobgged inline filter, debris in the tank pickup, or in the hose fittings, a clogged jet in the carb, or poor compression.Compression is the logical place to begin looking for your problem.Without adequate compression, the fuel pump (which uses it to operate), cannot operate. Also, without it, fuel won't be drawn in,compressed, or expelled after combustion.So if the compression test passes, move-on the the fuel pump and other suspects.Good luck, and let us know what you have found.