my merc 115 6cyl problem may be solved, i have had fuel issues and thank you to all who supplied info. It turns out when the boat shop rebuilt the engine & carbs 6 years ago they left a plastic carb parts bag in the intake & reinstalled the carbs so my top intake has been plugged on one side and i hope no additional damage was done but i have a new issue. I removed the carbs & cleaned them as the primer bulb had been left pumped up when stored & had eaten the inside of the bulb & plugged the filter which has been cleaned as well as the entire fuel line from the tank to the motor with some parts replaced with new. i removed & cleaned the carbs but did not rebiuld them as they have less than one hour run time since the rebuild 6 years ago and looked clean with the exception of a minor amount of residue from the primer bulb. When i try to start the motor gas comes out of the top carb and it acts like it is not getting spark i removed the wires in order to remove the front plate so i could access the carbs & now am worried i may have shorted something out. I diagramed the wires and made sure to reinstall them in their proper location & made sure all connection were good and tightened down. I'm hoping it is a stuck float and no worse but would like to know if you can test for spark by removing the plug & grounding it & turning over the motor and see if i have spark, is this a bad idea ? As far as the carbs i have removed/rebuilt plenty of car and 2 stoke motorcycle carbs i'm not saying i know everything about carbs quite the opposite am i am new to 2 stroke outboards and may have let my confidence get me in trouble i would like to know how to properly test for spark as i get conflicting answers from other boat owners i know the carb issues i am researching on this site as there is plenty of info for me to get started on my carb adjustments. Thank you
