77 mercury 115 wont power up

vogee

Cadet
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
7
During preboating maintenance engine ran & powered up as it should. We changed the spark plugs, cleaned the distributor. Everything ran fine. We launched & went to speed up & at full throttle the engine the rpm would not go above 1000. We have a 17in stainless steel prop. On a 77 wellcraft fisherman 16ft well under weight capacity. Currently sitting water with 3 frustrated children who want to tube. First outing so we are a little frustrated too. Help, ideas, suggestions?
 

vogee

Cadet
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
7
Re: 77 mercury 115 wont power up

Saw on another post that a bad tach guage could cause an issue, unhooked gauge with no improvement.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,148
Re: 77 mercury 115 wont power up

OK, first check. Remove the warp cowling and top cowl. Push the throttle all the way forward (motor not running) and see if the carbs open, and the distributor hits the max asvance set screw on the top of the distributor. Second check, pull the spark plugs and take a compression test. Next is a spark test, paying attention to any snapping of spark arcing to ground. Post back results.
 
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