98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start now

Ok.....98 Mercury (Tracker Series) 115 hp. 4cyl. 2-stroke. Dont know alot on past history as I just bought boat in Feb. 2013. So...First trip out...started and ran fine. Second trip......took 5-6 turns to fire up...even after warmed up. 3rd trip.....starter seemed to turn over fine but motor would sometimes fire and sometimes not. 4th trip out....starter seemed to drag....sounded like a dead battery....wungh...wunngghhh......wuuuunnnngggghhh. If you keep trying it would eventually spin as it should and start....well it started when it wanted to i guess. So I assumed battery was good at that point. Now...Tried starting at home only to get the dragging starter. I pulled starter apart....cleaned armtures, used light PB blaster and same thing. Put in a brand new (and fully charged) battery. I checked all wires/connecters for dirt/crud/poor contacts etc... Cleaned fixed what looked bad. So....with full battery I get a "good" spin on starter but motor still wont fire up at this point. I will keep trying periodically throughout the day and I am very confident it will eventually start. However....this is obviously a problem and very stressful when 10+ miles from the boat ramp. I have hand tools and a UEI DM200 Digital Multimeter....hope thats what I need. So....any ideas where to start? I have not tried the jumper wires as I dont really understand all that but would like to try it to weed out some issues. I am clueless when it comes to electrical issues but I learn fast so please bare with me.........THANK you in advance. Jayson

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

It's fuel or ign. I doubt what you said is ignition caused so let's start with fuel.

Go to WW or Autozone or a like place and get an aerosol can of Sea Foam. The one that has mineral oil, naptha, and alcohol in it. There's maybe a new product (or redesigned old product) of theirs out lately with green added to the normal red and white paint and I don't know what that's for. You want SF because it has the oil that 2 strokes need for lubrication that most starting fluids don't possess.

Pull the cover off the airbox so that you can look right into the carb throats. Put your fast idle up as far as it will go. Don't worry about the fuel enrichment. Liberally squirt the inputs of the 4 carbs with SF and then hit the starter. If it lights off, run up and down the carbs keeping some SF in the venturis so the engine will run for a minute or two just so you know it wll run if it gets fed.

If that works, figure out why you aren't getting fuel to the whole engine. Possibilities are clogged fuel line, bad or clogged squeeze bulb, dirty fuel filter in the engine or bad fuel pump. "Of course you have fresh fuel in the tank."

Do that and get back.

Mark

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

ok I will run up tonight or first thing in morning to het the Sea Foam. I did forget to mention....Once the motor starts up....it runs great at low speeds, mid range and/or WOT!. Shes smoooth....no issues at all.....just have to get her going first...lol

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

bankbuster said:

ok I will run up tonight or first thing in morning to het the Sea Foam. I did forget to mention....Once the motor starts up....it runs great at low speeds, mid range and/or WOT!. Shes smoooth....no issues at all.....just have to get her going first...lol

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Well that helps a lot. Change of plans. If you can't get fuel to it initially, your squeeze bulb could be defective (needs to be firm upon starting) or your low speed jets of your carbs could be out of adjustment. That engine has a tricky carb linkage spark advance setup and you really need to consult the process in the manual if you want to be successful....unless you are mighty lucky. I have a 3 cyl version and I just redid my carbs so I know that with which I speak.

Mark

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

ok mark....maybe another change of plans I was just out doing just that....checking basics...air....fuel....spark. I pulled the carb cover and see nothing unusual, no obstructions ofr air. So I went to fuel. I pulled the fuel lines at the fittings at cowl....I depressed the end that goes to primer bulb and it hold pressure and pushes fuel fine (sparayed all over me). Then I checked the male fitting on cowl....pressed the little prong in fitting and same thing....spayed me again. I then pulled top 2 plugs, dried them really good, replaced them, and cranked it a few times. I removed plugs and they were plenty wet so at least some fuel is getting to the cylinders. While I was there i removed the top plug from engine and placed it back in the plug wire boot. I let in just dangle out of the way while I cranked it a few times. I see NO spark!. I repeated for each of the 4 cylinders and never seen even a weak spark...nothing! So, im no master mechanic....but thats not good! What now?

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

You need to ground those sparkplugs to the engine! Otherwise they wont spark and it will also ruin the ignition if it happens for a long time as that voltage wants to go somewhere, itl bust powerpack etc.
Also dont ground them where fuel is near such as the cylinder openings or near other wires.
I put a jumper cable on them and put the other end on a sanded bolt attached to the crankcase somewhere

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

could a bad solenoid block current to the plugs? I noticed that when the starter drags (barely spins 1 or 2 rotations) it gets really hot to the touch after only a few cranks. I read somewhere that this could be a solenoid issue....just wondering if that could be a direction of interst. By the way....the stator, plugs, wires were all replaced last year by PO. maybe the "coil packs" or something else...I cant remember what the last thing was. Anyway, I know him and he would not blow smoke up my ying-yang. As far as electrical.....tha starter spins, all 3 tilt/trim switches work....so im getting power....just no spark.

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

ok...Bosunsmate....i was wonering about that. I'll try it again. Thanks.

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

Post a video if possible as itl be useful to see how fast that starter is turning flywheel.

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

ok....i just tried the plug thing again but not sure if was right. My motor has some type of paint/coating on it so I dont think that is a good ground. I sat big chunk of steel i had laying around on the back side of block for a ground.....yeah....i know.....either way no spark. My wires just wont reach anywhere that has bare metal. Can i remove the plug from boot and put a screwdriver in it to look for spark? Jeez....and to think...I can build a house from ground up....lol

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

Its dark out now.....but I will get a video first thing in the morning. And thanks everyone for the help. This has always been a great site and I always feel confident to turn to you guys when my efforts fail. Jayson

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

Yep you can use a screwdriver and hold it 3/8s off the engine case for spark, you may or may not get a jolt.....

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

well....not sure how to download the video. I tried this morning and it started on second turn of the key. So frustrated! I lmost wish it didnt start so I could work from there. If I was on the lake yesterday I would have been stranded because I tried numerous times throughout the day and it never did start. today...started right up.....uuuurrrrrggggghhhh! [video]seeeelllllllleeemmmmcbb 015[/video]

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

try this...

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

Kill switch ?

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

That has been going through my mind as well. I did check wiring and it looks good....solid connections/clean/no corrossion/etc. Any way to test it?

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

Starter crank speed seems ok.
Are you using the warm up throttle lever when starting?

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

i dont have one....not that I know of anyway

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

bankbuster said:

i dont have one....not that I know of anyway

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Can you post a photo of the control?
Sometimes they have a different warm up system that isnt like a separate looking lever

Re: 98 Mercury 115 hp starter, battery, solenoid, issues. HELP it wont even start no

here it is....