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Engine stalls when givin throttle when cold

G

gearjammer

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"I have a 2003 searay with a M

"I have a 2003 searay with a Mercruiser 4.3L Alpha (190hp).The engine starts fine when cold but as soon as i give it throttle, ie. in forward reverse, or neutral, the engine sputters and stalls. Once warmed up the engine runs fine the rest of the day. Fuel filter was just replaced and fuel stablizer was added for winter storage. The choke does close when i first pump the throttle before starting. Any ideas???"
 
Sounds like the choke is pulli

Sounds like the choke is pulling off too much or too quickly before the engine has sufficiently warmed up. You might need to adjust the pulloff. Is it a 4 bbl Weber?
Rod
 
AL- how long are you letting i

AL- how long are you letting it warm up? They aren't made to run as lean as a car and this affects the way it runs at warm-up.
 
"This problem just started lat

"This problem just started lately. Since the boat was new i have been able to start the boat on trailer, let it warm up for a min. and then back it off trailer! But now as soon as i try to back it off it sputters and stalls and i have to feather the throttle to get it to go. Sometimes, it will back fire thru the carb at this point also!"
 
Have you ever cleaned the flam

Have you ever cleaned the flame arrestor? That's the single most neglected thing I have seen on boats and the last thing people think of.
 
"Come to think it, i don't

"Come to think it, i don't thinks it has been.The manual says to clean in water and dry with compressed air.Is there any solvent i can use or just stay with water??"
 
"I find it hard to believe tha

"I find it hard to believe that water will clean all of that garbage, which is mostly petroleum based, from a metal flame arrestor. Sure, there's dust and dirt but it also has a lot of oil on it. If it's aluminum, I usually use NAPA carb cleaner but if it has plastic on it, go easy on what kind of solvents you use. The kind I use wrinkles paint almost instantly. Call Merc and have them verify that water will clean it."
 
"Al:

"Sometimes, it wil

"Al:

"Sometimes, it will back fire thru the carb"

When is the last time you checked engine timing?
What about spark plugs? Original? Yes? Change them.

Is the throat of the carb full of crap or clean metal? Dirt affects air flow and mixture; more so on EFI but still affects carbs. Clean it.

Clean flame arrestor with any degreaser like 409, Fantastic and HOT water. Dawn dish detergent is great. Dry with compressed air.

Dump two cans of SEA FOAM in the fuel tank and fill'er up after the above work.

Guy"
 
Well i cleaned the Flame arres

Well i cleaned the Flame arrestor and dumped a bottle of carb cleaner/condtioner into the fuel tank and the problem has been corrected! Thanks for the help!
 
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