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20 Hp 4 stroke mercury that flounders and recovers (after too much time)

S

ssantelman

New member
I bought this motor new in 2013, s/n 0R484683

It will be running with an open throttle with no issues until crossing a wake (at an angle). The slap of the hull from dropping into the trough will cause the motor to cut out. At this point it would only idle. If the throttle is opened, the motor will sputter to a stop.

After idling (in gear) back to the dock and then idling a few minutes out of gear, the motor ran fine.

  • This happened twice on consecutive days.
  • This does not happen on every wake that is crossed
  • The fuel is new, no ethanol, Sea Foam added

Has anyone had a similar experience? Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
Sounds like possible loose wiring connections,harness,battery cables, Check all fuses if equipped with ohm meter. If all checks out ok start diagnosing fuel system Air leaks at clamps Have filters been changed lately,fuel separator dumped and inspected.Was tank dumped and cleaned before new fuel was added. Is primer bulb staying firm
 
Thanks for the input, I will go down your list and address each item. I agree that it sounds like a loose wire but I am at a loss as to what wire, if shorted, would prevent me from increasing the motor speed.

I did not dump and clean out the tank before filling with new fuel, everything was good then. The primer bulb stayed firm.
 
The choke rod was off the carb and the plunger when I took the cover off. I was not able to start the motor without the choke.

After re-installing the choke rod, the motor started and ran like it is supposed to. With the motor at high rpm's, I pulled out the choke and it faltered and would only run at low rpm; problem duplicated.

The on the water problem must have been the choke rod coming loose. The choke rod has a very positive snap in place design, I am not sure what I did to get it started out of position.
 
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