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  1. hkeiner

    Clean or rebuild carbs?

    I have never cleaned the carbs on my motor since I got it about a year ago. Also, I believe that the previous owner of this motor never had the carbs cleaned either. The motor runs very well at WOT but it does not idle well nor does it accellerate well. There are 320 hours on the motor. I think...
  2. hkeiner

    Removing air cover and adjusting idle jets on lake

    This is my first attempt at adjusting the idle screws so I want to check a few things before it attempt this. The motor seems to idle a little rough and seems to be running very rich at idle. I want to try adusting the idle screws before I attempt a carb tear down and cleaning. 1) I believe...
  3. hkeiner

    How do you remove the idle stabilizer unit?

    I have read in this forum that it is a good idea to disconnect the idle stabilizer unit, with the reasoning that it often causes problems and that Mercury has stopped selling replacement units due to this reason. I am having some intermittent idle/acceleration problems and thought I would...
  4. hkeiner

    Removing plastic caps from low speed jets

    Is there a trick or special way to take the plastic limiter caps off the low speed jets? I don't want to damage the caps by forcing them off the wrong way. I tried to pull them off by hand and they did not budge. I tried pulling them off gently with a pair of pliers and they did not budge. I...
  5. hkeiner

    Is tach output voltage from regulator abnormal?

    I just installed two new CDI voltage regulators on my motor. I replaced my old regulators because their voltage output was too high (over 17V). Also, my tach was not working and I assumed that the tach output (gray send wire) on the regulator was also defective. After replacement, the voltage...
  6. hkeiner

    Can angle grinder be adapted to be used as a polisher

    This may be a silly question, but can a variable speed angle grinder be adapted to be used as a polisher, similar to a the Porter Cable 7428? Angle grinders and polishers look very similar in appearance if I remove the shield from the grinder. I can imagine that one problem might be in attaching...
  7. hkeiner

    Choose 6K or 7K tach gauge for Mercury OB?

    I am planning to replace the tach gauge on my boat. I know that I need a gauge with a 12 pole setting with connections for 12v, send, and ground. However, I see that there are gauges that read up to 6K rpm and other gauges that go up to 7K rpm. Is one gauge intended for outboards while the...
  8. hkeiner

    Troubleshoot speedometer problem

    I generally understand that a speedometer gauge works by measuring the air pressure in a tube coming from the pickup located in the lower unit of my motor. I also understand that the pickup and tube have to be clear and unplugged for the gauge to work. I also understand that the water pressure...
  9. hkeiner

    Thermal grease and ground wire for CDI voltage regulators

    I bought two new CDI voltage regulators for installation on my 1996 Mercury 150HP outboard. The regulators are sandwhiched between the engine and a thick metal plate upon which the coils are attached. Two bolts per regulator hold everything in place. There is no ground wire on the voltage...
  10. hkeiner

    Defective voltage regulator or something else?

    I have a 1996 Mercury 150 V6 Carbed Ser. No. OG397853 The voltage readings measured at the battery posts show approx 12.5v when the engine is off. The voltage jumps up to approximately 13.5v right after the engine is started and stays there until the engine warms up. I understand that this is...
  11. hkeiner

    Colortune spark plug to assist in setting idle mixture

    I have seen ads for the Colortune spark plug, which the ads claim can be used to check for proper idle mixture setting on the carb. It is a see-through spark plug that lets you see the color of a cylinder's combustion while the motor is idling. It it swapped with one regular spark plug at a...
  12. hkeiner

    How do you troubleshoot a depth finder?

    I recently bought a used boat and it has a depth finder that does not work. I would like to get the depth finder working if I can, but I don't know how to troubleshoot the problem. I would first like to narrow the problem down to either the digital display gauge, the thru-hull transducer, or...
  13. hkeiner

    Is periodic servicing of bleeder check valves necessary?

    I read in a recent post (dealing with a related but different subject) that the bleeder check valves should be "serviced" on a regular basis. I checked the Mecury shop manual, however, and it does not seem to mention anything about periodic servicing of these check valves. I like to stay on...
  14. hkeiner

    Need help understanding Primary Pickup Timing Adjustment

    I have a 1996 Mercury 150 V6 carbed outboard motor. I pretty much understand the link and sync steps except for the Primary Pickup Timing Adjustment step. I am just not clear on what the idle timing specs mean and figure I may be misunderstanding something. I figure it is better that clear it up...
  15. hkeiner

    Checking sync and link settings on 150hp carbed V6?

    Is is possible (i.e., practical or reasonable) to check whether the sync and link settings described in the Mercury shop manual agree with the motor's actual setup without actually changing any settings on the motor. I would like to do this to learn (or confirm my understanding of) the sync and...
  16. hkeiner

    How to use Smartach Plus TA100 meter?

    I am considering buying the Sheffield Research/GTC (SR TA100) SmarTach Plus Digital Tachometer/Secondary Ignition Voltage Tester. However, I am not 100% clear on how this meter works and I have not been able to find a user manual on-line to find out before I buy it. Link...
  17. hkeiner

    Will cheap multimeter work with a DVA peak voltage adapter?

    I want to test the ignition on my 1996 Mercury 150hp V6 outboard using a DVA meter (or similar). Basically, I want to test that the spark is strong enough at idle. My motor runs fine at WOT but does not idle well. I want to eliminate a weak spark as a possible culprit before I...
  18. hkeiner

    How to test Thermal Air Valve on low idle circuit

    I have a 1996 Mercury 150hp V6 carbed outboard. It has a thermal air valve on the starboard cylinder head with a hose running from the valve to the carbs. This valve is part of the low idle system. When the engine temp is below 100 F, the valve should be closed in order to restrict air to the...
  19. hkeiner

    Does an inline spark tester adequately show the quality of spark?

    Can an "inline" spark tester be used to test whether there is a WEAK spark? I know that the inline tester can adquately show the existence or absence of a spark, but am not sure how well it can represent the quality of the spark by how bright the spark appears in the tester. I know that the...
  20. hkeiner

    Is Seafoam/Deep Creep decarbing solely while on water an OK method?

    HI, I want to use Seafoam and Deep Creep on a motor that was never decarbed before. It is a 1996 Mercury V-6 150hp oil-injected carbureted motor with 270 hours on it. I have read the manufacturer's directions and read most of the threads on how to best use Deep Creep and Seafoam. However, I am...
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