1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

1996 88hp spl w/ electric trim&tilt.

motor is stalling when i get back to the no wake zone after a little bit of cruising. i just had the annual service too. they did a link and sink on it and checked out the carbs and jets.

it does seem to run a bit warmer than before but the motor "pees" just fine and it seems to do it more when the motor was warmed up.

i used to have a lean sneeze but supposedly the mechanic addressed it and its fine now. only thing is the shop has a tank they back the boat into, but im sure theres no way they can go wot in that thing. anyways, it stalls when its warm and the idle in the water seems pretty low. if i give it a little gas (still no wake but i really should slow down) its fine. sneezes much less and doesnt die.

what im thinking is the mechanic lowered the idle too low so when i go into gear and the rpms drop more its just not enough for the motor to stay alive whenit sneezes.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

I'm having a lil trouble getting my head around your description of the motor 'sneezing'.

This sounds technically like a backfire due to your timing being too retarded ?

There is a screw which allows you to advance the idle timing to increaes your rpm (without engaging the carb butterfly cam).

clockwise advances timing (increases rpm at idle) I think i had read 5-6 degreees at idle was fine.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

youre right it almost is like a backfire. it definitely doesnt run right though. its not a smooth idle, even when im flushing it out (with no backpressure) its still not smooth.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

Mine(same motor) did this also. Found a stuck float. Also it ran rough another time. Found that the small connector on a coil(coming from the power pack) was bad. Radio shack has these connectors. redid them and all was great. Hard to get to them due to the mini spark plug boot but it solved the problem. Wiggle those wires while its running and you'll know if the connection is bad. Might want to were gloves, can be a shocking experience.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

so i was thinking about it and it did not stall more when it was warm, its had the same symptoms right after i started it vs after a day of cruising.

surrender: i know exactly which connectors youre talking about but my wires are just barely long enough to not warrant needing to rewire and the plugs hold tight.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

If it still has a lean sneeze at low speeds its still too lean, it should never sneeze.

There may still be some crud in the carbs even if they were just cleaned, its not uncommon.

Re: 1996 88hp - stalls when at idle (in gear)

ondarvr said:

it should never sneeze.

Click to expand...

really? it never really bothered me too much, but youre right. none of the other boats out there have this missing/sneezing/backfiring/hesitating thing.

when i flush it idles at 1000-1200, thats with absolutely no back pressure. the thing runs erratically, not over revving but just not consistant.

at the dock side, it seems to idle a little low (at least from my past experience), then when i go into gear, the idle drops a little more, then when it sneezes or whatever you wanna call it it basically cant catch itself. it still sneezes a little if i give it a hair more throttle, but its definitely less. then at cruising speed its totally fine.