Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

ufer15 · Sep 1, 2009

I have 1997 115hp Mercury outboard. I got the engine serviced around may and the cooling system replaced about 1 1/2 months ago. I cranked the engine every weekend to make sure that everything was running fine. Thinking there was nothing wrong, I took the boat out and the engine turned over fine like usual but when I put it on reverse, the engine all of the sudden stalled. I turned the engine on again and put it on drive and it stalled again. Not sure what is going on since it just happened out of nowhere...only happens when the boat is in the water....I hooked the hose to the engine and it ran fine...any thoughts anyone?

rosser1 · Sep 1, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

you have same problem i have wirh a 1979 90hp mariner, from what i can gather the idle is to low, runs great on muffs in drive but put it in the lake under pressure and dies when you out it in gear. because in drive with muffs the propellor, moreless has no water keeping it from turning. and inwater needs idled up so when you put it in to drive the rmps are a little higher and it will not die out.

ufer15 · Sep 2, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

Thanks for the tip...I will try it out and let you know how it went.

pinellas50 · Sep 3, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

Mine does this from time to time when it idles for awhile. It seems that the motor starts to load up on fuel while idling. I just rev the motor slightly in neutral, let the rpm come back down to idle, and it will go into gear without stalling.

I'm interested to see if this might be an idle problem over my theory.

ufer15 · Sep 6, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

Put the boat in the water today and still have the problem...worked the idle screw up little by little and the engine still did the same thing...everytime I put the engine in gear (reverse or drive) it stalled out....still in the dark regarding this issue...any more tips would be helpful. Thanks.

RaScLeS · Sep 7, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

are you putting it in gear slow ? dont be a gramps i put mine in reverse reallly fast, this has happend to me twice on the lake, i thought it was a carb problem but it cleared itself up if thats possible. when it dies does it need choke to restart ?

ufer15 · Sep 7, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

When it starts, I've put it on reverser fast and also slowly with the same result each time...I do have to choke it in order to turn over most of the time...I cranked the engine about 10 times when I put it boat in the water yesterday and the engine turned over only twice w/out choke....

sschefer · Sep 7, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

The engine idle is set with it's timing. If you need a slightly higher idle then advance the timing by 1 degree. My 100 likes it around 2 deg atdc. Idle should be no more than 800 rpms and no less than 650.

ufer15 · Sep 7, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

This is a little out of my expertise thought I have a friend that knows how to do this. I will give this a shot and see if this fixes my issue. Thanks.

sschefer · Sep 7, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

Just a quick thought, have you pulled the prop and looked for fishing line around the drive shaft. I only mention this because I picked up a ski rope in mine today and the symptoms were identical. Probably just a coincidence.

ufer15 · Sep 8, 2009

Re: Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

I did not think that there was anything there since the mechanic that I took it to last did not mention anything about this. I would've thought that he would've seen something when he was working with the Lower Unit, but since I still have issues AFTER I took it to get it fixed I figured what the heck and took a look at it....it would've been too goo to be true...nothing there...thanks for the tip though...

Engine shutting off when shifting to reverse or drive

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