Mercury 70 HP trouble

Philom

Cadet
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
28
I have a 1984 Merc 70 HP that ran fine until I filled up with fuel at a local marina. Shortly there after it began to smoke and lost power. I drained that fuel and put in new with no better luck.<br />I took it to a local mechanic who said the CDI box was the problem so I changed it myself. I refueled this spring with premium fuel this spring and took it to the lake. It started poorly and <br />has no low end power. It fluctuates in speed until you get it up to full throttle. Once at full throttle it runs fine and seems to be at the same top speed as it was before the problems. In checking<br />the plug wires while it was running I recieved a nasty shock from plug wire #2. I know that it is firing on all 3 cylinders as I pulled off each plug wire and started it up with 1 at a time. Most people<br />say it is a fuel problem but a few suspect the plug wire is causing problems. I am not sure if the CDI box had anything to do with the problem or not. The mechanic said he tested it and determined<br />it was no good. Thoughts? :confused:
 

whofan

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Messages
296
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

Sounds like dirty fuel. You said you drained the tank. Did you take apart the carbs and clean them?
 

Philom

Cadet
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
28
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

Not yet. I changed plugs and determined that part of my problem is a bad plug wire. When I tried an automotive plug wire to see if this eliminated the shock from using the bad wire the motor ran like a top (with muffs hooked up to a hose. I than took it to the lake and upon starting it it ran very poor. Fiddled with carbs and it ran a bit better.
 

Philom

Cadet
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
28
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

Is there any type of carb cleaner that you can use on boats the same as you can automobiles?
 

ratt1966

Seaman
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
58
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

if you can find a 1 gallon pail of berrymans at the auto parts store you can soak the parts in that there is other stuff to use you can ask your local machanic and he can tell you whats best to use.
 

sharkcat

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 4, 2003
Messages
285
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

If you have had bad fuel problems there is no quick fix do it right the first time or youll be doing it again...Drain the tank/s,blow thru fuel lines ,replace all filters ,remove & clean carbs by disassembly & soaking in a cleaning solution,reset float levels & reassemble carbs using new gaskets where required & replace on motor,do a link & synch then adjust idle mixture screws with the engine running in gear in the water or in a test tank.You may also have to replace the plugs & Decarb as well.Bad fuel doesnt burn well & can create excessive carbon deposits.Hope this helps
 

Philom

Cadet
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
28
Re: Mercury 70 HP trouble

Before I took apart my carbs I found that the diaphram on my fuel pump was wore thru. I put in a fuel pump kit and my problem was solved. I am still getting a shock from the # 2 sprak plug wire after replacing the wires and cleaning/checking over the coils. <br />Thanks for your help.
 
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