Mecury 850 Hard Starting

[BassBomber]

I have a 1974 Mercury model 850 that I bought last year. It starts great the first try of the day. However, after fishing approx. 1-2 hrs (with motor off & tilted up) the Merc is almost impossible to start. There seems to be alot of gas in the carbs when trying to restart. It will not even start after waiting 3-4 hrs. I tore down the carbs, cleaned them, put in new floats, and re-tuned them, last summer. The problem seems to be worse when the weather is hot. Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Mecury 850 Hard Starting

>have you checked for spark when it is hard starting?<br /><br />>are you using the fast idle warm up function?

 

[ODDD1]

Re: Mecury 850 Hard Starting

I think schematic is heading in the right direction...classic trigger failure on these units is a no start after a heat soak....next mornin they work fine again....verify by checking spark when engine doesnt start...a pain, I know....but buyin an installin the trigger will hurt worse......

 

[BassBomber]

Re: Mecury 850 Hard Starting

Several people have pointed out the trigger. can this be tested by an outboard technician, or does it have to be tested while on the motor/distributor? If it turns out to be the trigger, any leads on a good rebuilt one or a new one? Thanks again.