nola mike
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2009
- Messages
- 5,519
This season I had been having trouble with my 2004 25hp merc. It's been a low speed problem; I found water in my tank/filter. Cleaned out, ran better but still had an idle problem. Once it got going, it was fine. Yesterday I decided to adjust the idle and low speed mixture. I set the mixture screw on land initially before starting. Started the boat, still had the idle problem, but now I couldn't get on plane. If I hit the primer, I initially get a bump in engine speed, but then nothing. The motor runs smooth with no misfiring at full speed. I removed the carb, did a quick disassembly/clean and didn't notice anything. Everything looked clean. Tried to compression test, but my tester needle was bouncing and returning to zero (I assume it's a problem with the gauge; I had compression on both cylinders when I put my finger on the plug hole). Unrelated (?) problem, the starter wasn't cranking. I had been having an issue with a sticky neutral kill switch. I checked the fuse, and it fell apart when I opened the holder, so I don't know if that was a problem before I messed with it. No spare available. I tried to check the timing, but my light wasn't working--wasn't sure if this was because the fuse was blown. Anyway, after reinstalling the carb and adjusting idle, it now starts and idles great. Still no dice at throttle though. So what are my next steps? Going to replace the plugs, gas is fresh and no water now. Still seems like a fuel issue, but the main jet was definitely clear. Didn't see a way to adjust the float, but I'd think that there would be more sputtering if it was starving because of delivery to the fuel bowl. Planning on getting a rebuild kit and doing it proper anyway. Any other suggestions, anything I'm missing? I'd also think that if this was ignition, I'd be able to hear a miss in a 2 cylinder engine. Haven't worked much on outboards or 2 strokes bigger than a lawnmower, so any help appreciated...
