Rock Hall
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2005
- Messages
- 213
Before I take this motor back to the dealer (because I probably wont see it again till Winter) I thought I'd run this by you guys. I recently bought a new 08 Mercury 4-stroke 3.5hp outboard for my fishing boat. The first 2 times out with it, it ran flawlessly. I had it out last weekend, ran great for a couple hours then shut off. I usually run this motor out of gas then fill from a small can I carry with me. When it shut off, I assumed it was out of gas, so I put about a pint in to finish up the day. After I filled it, I noticed it was really hard to start. I had to full choke it to get it started. I let it run for 10 seconds or so then cut the choke. It shut off. I finally got it running again, but it would not idle. As soon as I let off the gas, it would shut off. It seemed to run normally as long as I was giving it gas.
I have had some issues with water in the fuel on my lawn mower etc. So I thought this might be what was causing the problem. So, I drained the tank, drained the carb. Dumped all the gas from the can into my truck. I then rinsed the can with dry-gas and ether to make sure no water remained. Then put an ounce of Stabil in and filled it back up with fresh gas at the gas station.
I took the fresh gas and ran it through the fuel system on the motor. Left the carb drain out and let some fresh gas go through. Then closed the drain and put about a pint of new gas in the tank. Had to choke to start. The motor ran great as long as I was half choked. Even after warmed up, as soon as I killed the choke, the motor shut off. I was also able to get the motor to run buy starting it in a higher throttle position. As soon as I returned to idle. It shut off.
A couple things I dont know. Does this motor have a fuel filter hidden somewhere?
After break-in does the idle need to be readjusted? I doubt this one because it happened very suddenly. I do not have a tach to tell you what the idle speed is. I just know it ran perfect with the throttle all the way back before.
I hate to take thIs to the dealer. For one, I doubt I'll get it back in time to get any use out of it again this year. 2nd they always seem to find something that is not covered and charge me $200.
Any ideas of anything else I can check? I have a minimum selection of tools at this location.
Thanks
Mark
I have had some issues with water in the fuel on my lawn mower etc. So I thought this might be what was causing the problem. So, I drained the tank, drained the carb. Dumped all the gas from the can into my truck. I then rinsed the can with dry-gas and ether to make sure no water remained. Then put an ounce of Stabil in and filled it back up with fresh gas at the gas station.
I took the fresh gas and ran it through the fuel system on the motor. Left the carb drain out and let some fresh gas go through. Then closed the drain and put about a pint of new gas in the tank. Had to choke to start. The motor ran great as long as I was half choked. Even after warmed up, as soon as I killed the choke, the motor shut off. I was also able to get the motor to run buy starting it in a higher throttle position. As soon as I returned to idle. It shut off.
A couple things I dont know. Does this motor have a fuel filter hidden somewhere?
After break-in does the idle need to be readjusted? I doubt this one because it happened very suddenly. I do not have a tach to tell you what the idle speed is. I just know it ran perfect with the throttle all the way back before.
I hate to take thIs to the dealer. For one, I doubt I'll get it back in time to get any use out of it again this year. 2nd they always seem to find something that is not covered and charge me $200.
Any ideas of anything else I can check? I have a minimum selection of tools at this location.
Thanks
Mark