165 mercruiser no start

[james_dorion]

hi everyone. my 165 mercruiser ran for me once this year. it did die on me once when i put it in forward but started again and lasted for the entire journey. The next time it started very well then when i put it in forward it died again. This time it will not start. It seemed like i wasnt getting a spark so i changed the ignition coil. Still no start or no spark so i changed the points and condenser. It started briefly but again when changing to forward it will not start. Still looks like no spark. What else can it be.

 

[Don S]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

Do you have the 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder version, engine year would be handy, a Mercruiser serial number even better.

If you are running on muffs, disconnect the shift interrupt switch and see if it will start and run. Souunds a lot like you have a bad lower shift cable.

 

[riptorn]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

I take it's an inline 6. What is you idle rpm? Sounds like it could be a sticky shift cable like Don said.

 

[james_dorion]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

thanks for the replies. The mercruiser is a straight six cylinder. The serial number is 3465185 with engine model number 21653. Im not sure what the idle is at now but when it ran it was around 800 to 1000 rpm i think. It ran like a dream when it was warm with a great cruise at 3500 rpm.
With the shift cable possibly being the problem. Would the engine still turn over if it was that. Ive had it not quite in nuetral before and i had no starter action at all. i will try and find it and disconnect it and see if it will start.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

thanks for the replies. The mercruiser is a straight six cylinder. The serial number is 3465185 with engine model number 21653. Im not sure what the idle is at now but when it ran it was around 800 to 1000 rpm i think. It ran like a dream when it was warm with a great cruise at 3500 rpm.
With the shift cable possibly being the problem. Would the engine still turn over if it was that. Ive had it not quite in nuetral before and i had no starter action at all. i will try and find it and disconnect it and see if it will start.

The remote shifter most likely has a neutral safety switch, just like your car, it doesn't start in gear.

The shift interruptor switch at the engine doesn't effect the starter, it effects spark to the engine.

 

[james_dorion]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

so it started with the shift interrupt cable unattached. Cool now what. Is there a way to fix that or test where the fault is.. Not sure where to find a new one.

 

[Oshkosh1]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

but when it ran it was around 800 to 1000 rpm i think.

Just FYI...That (800RPM) is about 300RPM too high for idle. Try and get it down to somewhere between 5 & 600

 

[james_dorion]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

so thank you so much to the people who answer these questions. You give very helpful advice. So we pinpointed the problem to the shift interrupt switch. Upon investigating this foreign area of my boat i noticed the moving parts on the linkage were very loose so it wasnt making the switch. I tightened everything up and the boat starts and swiches between forward and reverse. The actual rpm when at idle were at 600 to 800. Thank you so much again.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 165 mercruiser no start

Glad it's fixed. Thanks a bunch for letting us know the suggestions worked. Generally we never hear back when a problem is solved.