1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

New to the forum and hoping someone will be able to help or at least give me the thumbs up that I am going in the right direction.<br /><br />I have a 1997 30 HP Merc on a 16' fishing boat, that runs great at the dock in neutral, you can rev it all the way up, but as soon as you put it in gear and try to rev up more than half... Bogs out and dies. Restart no problem, one pull... put it in gear samething.<br /> <br />A little History now, just bought the boat from someone who said he used for two seasons since he bought in 98 and has sat since. Now I asked how he winterized to get an idea and sounds like he did everything right....<br />However I have still ordered a carb repair kit as I am going to take that apart and take a look, I have also replaced both spark plugs, along with the Tank and hose to eliminate these mino costs as well. Don't know what the carb looks like yet, will know this weekend.... however I have read a few threads about issues with the Staitor, could this possible be a secondary staitor issue? if it were the primary I wouldn't be getting anything. I am also looking for the repair manual for this motor as well. <br />Great Forum Gents, any advise is always welcome.<br />Thanks<br />D

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

I also have a 30 HP 4 stroke, my engine acted the same way, dealer changed the plugs etc. called the other day and told me the STATOR needs to be replaced, I did some research on this unit, and the stalling is your warning sign that the stator is about to crap out, the STATOR is an inportant <br />component,distrubuting the electricity to all coil,condensers and such. also seems to be a problem if you let them sit,maybe the manetic field discharges??? hope this helps you out,your mechanic should be able to test this unit in minutes with a tester to see if it is working correctly......chuck

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Thanks Chuck.... still curious how these staitors go faulty when not being used .<br /><br />When I took the motor into the inland marine shop he said he did a spark gap test, but I would think it was not done under load.... Not happy with the service I recieved at all, goes back to the old saying if you want something done right you have to do it yourself...... <br />D

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

I have a 89 Merc 35 which does the same thing but only after the weather warms up. Could this be the same problem and did the stator replacement fix the problem.

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Hey sc_bass_man,<br />That sounds even stranger than my problem, I will definatley post what ever it is that solves my problems. No time right now to pull the carb off and I have ordered the STATOR. Even if I don't need it right now, from some of the posts I have read I probable will in the near future as I have a Black one and the fix is this newly designed red one.<br /> All the great things posted, to bad the kids soccer is getting in the way or else I could be trying to fix this damn thing now. Gotta run, more to come.....

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

the marina just called me, said they tested the boat in the water, and it is corrected, the STATOR was the problem, now of course I should see a difference when I run it they claim, I hope to GOD it does not start stalling again, but Murphys law is murphys law.after reading many posts here resembling this issue, i am convinced alot of people are having issues with the STATORS on the merc's. I will write a full report tonight after i go fishing, hopefully will post a pic of a monster striper, also....chuck

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Please do Chuck,<br />So i think I have both bases covered always good to rebuild a carb after sitting, and I will replace the STATOR on spec and take it out to see what's a happening. I will write a little thing up when I have completed everything and all is OK.<br />

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

here's the results,Picked up boat at 12:00pm today<br />wednesday..was on the water at 1:00pm fishing,fishing,fishing,,,boat ran as well as expected,seems to have picked up conciderable HP,stalled once coming down from full throttle.<br />on the way back trolling i got my prize 32" bull striper...speed is awesome on the boat, made up to 26 MPH on gps reading,,very nice..I guess the STATOR was the issue,,,good luck I hope it clears your problem up as well as it did mine, i am satisfied for the time being....chuck

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

It sounds like your problem and mine may very well be the same. Mine is a 99 40 HP 4stroke with pretty much the same symptoms. Was yours the red stator or the more infamous black stator? I checked mine last night with an ohm-meter and it is the red stator and the resistance reading was in-spec. Though, based on how this problem sounds, I don't think a resistance reading is going to tell me much...<br /><br />I'm currently trying to find a local dealer with a code reader to pull the codes of the power pack to see if they yield anything useful. The stator is just expensive enough and enough of a pain to replace, that I don't want to do it speculatively... even if the evidence is pretty good that is the problem.

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Hi Deeman, first things to do with a motor that has been laid up for a while is to clean the carbs,change the plugs, rebuild the fuel pump and water pump, and change the gear oil in the lower unit.(these things you must do first)<br /><br />Then if the motor is still stalling, look into the electricals.

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

to admiral JC....the STATOR that was replaced was RED,,,,all i know is that they replaced it and the engine seems to run fine now, startes on the first pull, keeps on running when i throttle it up quickly....i am happy with the results so far.<br />chuck

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Admiral JC,<br />I too have the Red STATOR and it has either been in there since day one or replaced shortly after purchase, as you can tell it's not brand new.<br />Vlad,<br />Thanks for all the great advise, not being too new to engines the first things I did were replace the plugs, change gear oil,( especially to check for seal issues, all good there)looked at the fuel filter to make sure not all gummed up, and when I ran it for the first time I made sure there was a sufficient stream of water coming out of the engine ( water pump operation ). Not sure about how to rebuild or service the fuel pump though, very interested and will have to look that up in the manual. Thanks again.<br />I will definately let everyone no the progress, because I am going to rebuild the card and then test. If it fails, I will then replace the STATOR and test again. Thanks again to all, awesome board. Bottom line is MERC's still rule.

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Chuck and Deeman,<br /><br />Thanks for the input. I think I am going to go ahead and bite the bullet and order a new CDI stator from Seiler Marine today. This seems to be a common enough problem and my symptoms are similar enough that I think the odds are in my favor. I've done everything possible to the fuel system, so it is time to consider electrical.

Re: 1997 30 HP Merc, great @ idle, cuts out under load

Alright......soccer season is finally over and I had some tiime on the weekend to do some tear down. Wow almost a full month later....going to have to revisit that spring/summer soccer thing, gets in the way of my fishing/boating. Anyway, took the carb off and took the carb apart. Used about 1 and a 1/2 cans of throttle body cleaner to clean the carb. For everyone else, in the future always good to have a carb kit, but if you would like to save the money for a case of beer, do so. Didn't use one part out of it.<br />Found the screw in the float bowl for the jet plugged, took lot's of cleaner to clean as this replacement screw does not come with the carb kit.<br />Sooooo, put everything back together and thought that I would drive out to the closest lake and giver. Now I put all the adjustment screws back in the way they were not even sure if they were right as I don't have my manual yet. Put the boat in the lake......let it warm up..... I was so stoaked about getting it out on the lake forgot my tools in the truck. So I wasn't able to adjust the air and Idle screws. Anyway...after warm-up I hit it and she go. finally got up to full throttle althought does not feel like 5000-5500 rpm. Still need to make some changes and adjustments to the air and idle. But know that my calendar is open somewhat I will be able to this weekend coming up. <br />Wanted everyone to know the results, I did not need the stator and all the advise everyone gave on the board was right on target. So my advise to anyone is take a look if possible to see what parts you may need. Sectionalize the trouble and then spend the necessary money. Fortunately for me I was able to return the stator so no money lost and it is always good to have some spare parts around for the carb. Thanks again to everyone for their input into my trouble, awesome board. <br /><br />Now a happy fisherman <br />Deeman