60HP Mariner....at it again!

[physiksgeek]

Hello again everyone?.I will try to keep it concise but there is a history to this motor that may be helpful.

I have a Mariner 60hp, 3cyl, 2 carbs with a serial number 0B358238 (1988?). I got the boat probably 5 years ago and have mainly used it to troll the creeks because it is so unreliable. It did not run well then?.intermittent ?no power?, plowing through the water, not getting up on plane, etc. This occurred more often than it running well. When it did it would run very well, when it did not it was very frustrating. I fiddled with it for months until I finally took it to the dealer and had the carbs rebuilt. The first time I went to take it out after the repairs I found the transom was completely rotted out??Fast forward to last Thanksgiving (the boat has sat for 3 years now). I redid the transom, got it all put back together and took it out yesterday. It did not run well again but it did run better more than not.

Question ? where would you start? What troubleshooting flow would you use? I read the threads about no power and stator issues and it all sounds familiar. The plugs are new NGK?s. The batteries are a week old and charged. The engine was run till it ran out of gas before it sat for the last three years. Clean the carbs? Adjust the carbs? It is a brand new gas tank but the lines are the same. I smell heavy gas like it is either getting to much or not burning it at all. I was never able to check the repairs so it may have not been fixed then.....or it may have fixed it and now the carbs are gummed up again?

I am currently looking for manuals so I do not have the manuals yet. I would appreciate if someone could post the stator checkout procedure for my engine. I would like to rule that out first I guess before I open the fuel system again. If any more info is needed please let me know.

THANKS in advance....

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Also, If someone knew the manual part number that I would need I would appreciate those also. Thanks!

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

ttt

Took the boat out again yesterday....same thing. Did not run good off the trailer but ran pretty good back to the ramp. Any thoughts?

 

[RaScLeS]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

lol bang on with the so unrealiable.

you have ignition troubles being it your pack,coils,trigger,stator.

i fought all that and im in hope it just needs a carb adjustment at this point (it was all done last year)

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Rascles - I could agreee with you but the more I have thought about it I feel like a float was stuck. I made a long run where everything was "flying like the wind". When I made my turn and throttled back it began to act up and bog down. It died and did not start very easily. The smell of gas was thick.

Anyone have the numbers on the stator, trigger, etc for a 1988 60hp? Thanks in advance.

 

[sschefer]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Rascles - I could agreee with you but the more I have thought about it I feel like a float was stuck. I made a long run where everything was "flying like the wind". When I made my turn and throttled back it began to act up and bog down. It died and did not start very easily. The smell of gas was thick.

Anyone have the numbers on the stator, trigger, etc for a 1988 60hp? Thanks in advance.

Here's where to get your numbers - http://www.crowleymarine.com or http://www.boats.net or http://www.mercurymarine.com -> Parts Express.

Use your year, model, serial number, hp, etc. to get the rights parts. At Mercs parts express you have to register first then enter your serial number.

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

sschefer - my apologies for the confusion but I was wanting the resistance readings or troubleshooting numbers. But thanks for the input

 

[ajgraz]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Assuming your 60hp is a 1988 (1984-1990), my SELOC manual says this for ignition parts checks:

Stator: (With stator leads disconnected from switchbox)
Between blue and blue/white leads: 5700-8000 ohm
Btw red and red/white: 56-76 ohm
Btw blue and powerhead ground: no continuity
Btw red and pwrhd grnd: no continuity

Trigger: (With trigger leads disconnected)
Btw brown OR white OR violet and white/black: 1100-1400 ohm

Coils: (With wires disconnected from + and - coil terminals, and spark plug wire removed from coil tower)
Btw + and - coil terminals: 0.02-0.04 ohm (or essentially, no resistance)
Btw coil tower and either + or - coil terminal: no continuity
On orange color coils only (not blue coils): btw coil tower and powerhead ground (when coil is mounted): 9000-12000 ohm

Note that any of these parts can pass all these tests and still be bad; but any part that fails any of these tests is almost certainly bad.

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

ajgraz - I appreciate the help. I'll check those and post the results.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Systematic troubleshooting ends up being the MOST RELIABLE method of determining your problem.

You will needs just a few tools, a decent screw-in type compression tester, an adjustable gap spark tester, aDVA Meter or an Ohms meter with a DVA adapter.

A remote starter button is helpful if you do not have a helper to turn the ignition key to crank the motor.

Compression test all cyls, the numbers should be a minimum of 100 psi but most importantly, they should be very close to even, differing by not more than 10% max.

Spark test EACH cyl at a 7/16 inch gap, with a bright blue sharp snap, any less or a weak orange color will not reliably ignite the mixture once under load.

DVA tests of the stator, triggers if there is any failure during the spark tests.

If the engine seems to run fine up to @2000 rpm then DVA test the high speed windings on the stator, it may not be generating sufficient voltage to operate the ignition at high RPM.

Once all these test check out fine then you can be pretty sure that any remaining problem will be found with dirty carbs, fuel filter, pump, hoses, or the dip tube in the tank.

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

CharlieB - I am with you on the systematic approach for sure.

I checked compression on all three cyl. and all three were within a needles width of 140psi......Picked up an adjustable spark tester today and set it to 7/16", all three made the jump with a bright blue spark and resounding snap. Reassuring to say the least.

Rain set in here in Tennessee so I did not run the tests ajgraz posted. Hopefully tomorrow.

Let me ask a question about a DVA? How would that be different than a DVM - Digital Volt Meter? I have a DVM but if a DVA is different I do not have one.

Thanks again for the input

 

[CharlieB]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

A DVA Meter or DVA Adaptor is basically a capacitor with a resistor across it, the combination of the specific resistor and capacitor used places a measured load on the generating system while charging the cap, this load tests the stator and stabilizes the voltage reading on the meter so you do not see just a momentary blimp of the needle, you get sufficient time to read a steady state voltage.

A broken winding in a coil will still generate voltage on a meter, but once any load is place on the coil then it fails. Thus am Ohm's reading alone can be deceptive, the DVA or Load test is a much more reliable indicator.

 

[physiksgeek]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

Thanks CharlieB

 

[ajgraz]

Re: 60HP Mariner....at it again!

If you search, there are threads on this board that tell you how to build your own DVA adapter for a standard DVM/VOM meter.

I took the easy way out and bought this ready-made job (also found through search on this forum):
http://www.usatoolwarehouse.com/usatoolwarehouse/ESI-640.html

Nice thing about the DVA adapter linked above is that it came with an instruction sheet giving a systematic set of ignition component checks and expected voltage ranges.