[CC Lad]

Hi folk's, just want to start off by saying A) I'm new to this board and B) what a great forum/source of info this place is.

I have a 20hp Mariner, that worked perfectly all day last Sat. Put it in on Sun, started fine (3rd pull as usual) I backed up a way's to clear the launch, put her into neutral, it then stalled out and would not start.

The pull cord is stuck and will not release as it is engaged. My question is, do I adjust the throttle cable or do I adjust one of the components that adds the tension to the pull cord/fly wheel mechanism?

Any help and or advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks, CC Lad.

[mark_gober]

CCLAD,

Is your motor a tiller motor? On mine, when it's in gear and at a little more than idle, an arm swings around to prevent you from starting the motor. This is a safety measure to prevent you from accidently starting the motor at full throttle while you are standing up. (thats my guess anyway) You should verify that you aren't in gear. Did your rope retract? I'm taking from what you said that the rope won't pull out. Is that true? If you are in neutral and it still won't pull, you might remove the cowl and see if the pull rope will pull with it removed from the engine. If it will, you know the problem is the engine. If not, it's not hard to figure out the pull start mechanism. Usually if they fail though, the rope breaks or it won't engage. If it was permanantly engaged, it would make a clicking sound with the engine started. Let me know how it turns out.

Mark

P.S. What kind of motor is it? Year/2 or 4 stroke/Electric or manual start etc.

[CC Lad]

Thank for the reply Mark. It is a 1989 2 stroke Mariner - Tiller. Yes the catch that prevents starting when above an idol is engaged. I think the throttle cable needs to be tighter in order to un engage it. I see how the system works, - How do you adjust the throttle cable?? If I pull it by hand the catch disengages.....

Again thyank you for the reply Mark.

Tim.

[mark_gober]

When you switch from forward to reverse, is there anytime that the lever disengages from the flywheel? If so, and it just does so at the wrong time, you are right, it just needs to be adjusted. On my motor, the tiller handle has two wires that go to a cam. Rotate one way and one way pulls, rotate the other, it pulls back the other direction. Right where those cables meets the cam, there should be a nut on the cable that attaches it to the motor. You'll need to adjust that nut to adjust the cable. If the latch is always engaged, no matter what, you need to address that.

Mark