merc 1500 stalls in gear

bigdawggie

Seaman
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
51
hello

when I get the boat started and warmed up it idles fine (does anyone know the warm idle rpm) but when I put it into gear it stalls the only way to drive it is to engage the choke and raise the RPM then put it into gear and apply throttle then release the choke similar to how a clutch works on a car. once I get going there are no problems with the throttle until I go back to idle then back to the choke. any ideas how to remedy this?

Thanks
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
28,074
Re: merc 1500 stalls in gear

Big, Warm idle in neutral should be as slow as possible, but is usually around 900RPM. Your problem sounds like the classic case of idle mixture set too lean. Richen the top carb 1/8 turn and see if motor accelerates better. If not, open mid carb 1/8 turn and try it. Repeat with lower carb idle mixture. Eventually you will find a spot where it idles decently and accelerates OK.
 

bigdawggie

Seaman
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
51
Re: merc 1500 stalls in gear

thanks

I was reading in another thread that you could tighten all 3 screws then back them out 2 and 1/2 turns each. does that make sense? I am a total noob at boats. Is it also acceptable to take it out and tweak the screws in the middle of the lake? not sure about the laws in california.

Thanks again
 
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