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Won’t Start After Three Months

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Island_Hopper

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Ok first, yes, I should have winterized, but we really expected to get good boating weather during the last three months based on last year. Went to marina to check on the boat. All good. Put water muffs on 2015 Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI and it just cranks. Has always started easily. Stopped after trying the Mercury hard starting instructions, realizing it would do no good until I addressed whatever the issue is. Need to change fuel filter and will do that next, but any thoughts of what else to do/check before trying again. Prefer it crank right up. Unlikely it is not getting spark. I will confirm fuel flow. In the winter (it is not that cold in coastal GA) I have a hard time believing fuel would gum up that quick, and that would be counter to my last 40 years of engine experience.
 
Doesn't take long for the fuel nowadays to separate if un-stabilized.. especially when sitting for a few months. I would first confirm that you can hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the key on.
 
Thanks for the reply. By the time I realized it wouldn’t start, the pump would have already pressurized so couldn’t tell. I will confirm fuel flow when I change the fuel filter. Possible it has gummed, but I would be surprised with the short time and mild temps, but we will know soon. It sat two months last year and fired right up. About two years ago I started a MPI motorcycle after a year of storage and it fired right up. I am concerned that water could have gotten in the fuel. We have had some torrential rain, but the gas cap o-ring and gasket appear to be sealing well.
 
Island_Hopper said:
Ok first, yes, I should have winterized, but we really expected to get good boating weather during the last three months based on last year. Went to marina to check on the boat. All good. Put water muffs on 2015 Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI and it just cranks. Has always started easily. Stopped after trying the Mercury hard starting instructions, realizing it would do no good until I addressed whatever the issue is. Need to change fuel filter and will do that next, but any thoughts of what else to do/check before trying again. Prefer it crank right up. Unlikely it is not getting spark. I will confirm fuel flow. In the winter (it is not that cold in coastal GA) I have a hard time believing fuel would gum up that quick, and that would be counter to my last 40 years of engine experience.
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check the kill switch by the throttle isn't tripped.
 
a fuel pressure gauge will provide objective data regarding the pump's functionality...and I'd suggest starting there.
 
For the future, I'm not sure what the experts say but I would use a gas preservation storage product (Sta-Bil) if a marine engine sat for 3 months. Some would argue to use at every fill-up to treat ethanol.
 
Easiest way to tell if your gas is bad is to unscrew the filter and dump the contents in a clear container. I doubt after 3 months your gas went bad unless there was already contamination in it.

Usually if you turn it off one day and it wont run the next something electrical just died.
 
How old is the Disti cap... I never get more than 2 1/2 seasons out of one... one year went nuts with a no start only to find that the connection between the disti and the computer was disturbed.
 
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