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1997 30hp will not idle

Alan Hitch

Alan Hitch

Member
Serial # 0G465407,cleaned the carb with carb cleaner then ran a small wire through all the holes then blew more cleaner through to make sure gas could flow freely then inspected with a flash light...everything looked good.I checked the float level but did not replace the inlet needle.I replaced the idle mixture screw and spring then all the caskets $(KGrHqJ,!rgFGW,QBkC6BRplnDf jg~~60_57 (2).jpgand did a link and sync. It started right up and sounded real good at 2500 RPM but still would not run below that.My service manual is suggesting I need to replace the reeds but I want to get some opinions before I start on that. Thanks for any help.
 
Come on guys what's the deal here,nobody has any thoughts at all about what could be causing my problem?I always thought the people on here were pretty knowledgeable about everything Mercury but I guess it's time to question that assumption.
 
Ok - a few questions.

What specifically does it do if you back off the throttle? dies slowly, dies immediately, backfires, sneezes, something different?

New gas? Old gas? Last time it was running good? New to you? don't know when it was running properly?

How old are the sparkplugs?

Do you notice a goopy mess in the bottom cowl - oily, blackish residue?

Does the motor itself look like it's been sprayed down with fogging oil or WD-40? Can you get an oily finger if you run it just under the flywheel over the block.

Need a full description of what is happening and when it was last running correctly (if known) and what transpired since then.

At this point just about "anything" could be wrong with it including the carb which maybe is the issue and wasn't corrected with what you did.

Since it's running in the mid 2K rpm range it's probably not stator related since that still a point where the low speed side of the stator is producing the power alone (and would likewise do so at less rpm), but that's about all I can "assume" from the info provided thus far.

Aside from that, the reeds, at least right now, would be way way down on my list of things that "might" be the problem with the model/year of your motor - at least not a common or legacy issue.
 
If I was you I'd start by checking your idle speed and mixture screws before I starting pulling it apart to check reeds. As Graham mentioned, if the petrol is old you will undo all your carb cleaning but just running more bad fuel straight through it.

Stuart
 
Thanks guys very much for your thoughts.I probably don't have time to answer all the questions right now but I'll get a few in and get to the rest soon. 1. The gas is new. 2.When I back off it slowly dies as if I was taking it off fast idle to soon even though I have let it warm up for quite a while. 3.I bought this used two years ago and have never had it on the water but will as soon as I get it running right. I have run it some 3 or 4 times in the past but not for long so I never thought anything about having to run it on fast idle for the whole time it was running.I also didn't have a tach before which I have now.4.Spark plugs are brand new.5.The cowl is pretty clean but I have noticed some gas at the mouth of the carb.5.I have not run a finger under the flywheel but the motor is clean and dry. 6.This motor has always run this way since I had it.I just never thought I would have a problem with slow idle after it warmed up. 7.I put in a new idle mixture screw and tested it before I put it back together. One thing I didn't do was put in a new inlet needle because I was having problems getting out the pin.I did check the float adjustment though. I hope this helps and you have some more good thoughts on the problem.Thanks for your help.$(KGrHqF,!qsFGhQbe(vrBRplnmR jw~~60_57.jpg
 
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I've been thinking about the inlet needle and the fact that I didn't replace it with a new one. I was thinking how the spark plugs always seem to be wet and that when it dies it could be similar to choking it though it does die slower than any engine I can remember choking off. Anybody think that could be the problem?
 
You need to get the carb set up right so you can eliminate that being the problem.

Try this: If the carb is flooding, it CAN'T flood without any gas, so get her going and pull the fuel connector. Now, before it runs out of gas, try idling her down. If she runs the same way (as the gas runs out) then start looking elsewhere, but it idles better than before (and try slowing her down even more) then flooding is the problem.

Jeff

PS: You might have to go through this exercise a few times before getting a confirming opinion.
 
I put in a new inlet needle and found that the old one was worn and the float was a little out of adjustment so did the float too.I then cleaned the fuel filter with carb cleaner even though it didn't look dirty to me.Then I did a careful link and sync. I think I got the idle on but the tach is reading 1600 rpm's which I'm now suspecting is not correct. My service manual says this engine is a 12 pole and that's what the tach is adjusted to,any lower and the rpm's are reading higher. This is the highest setting on the tach I can go so I don't know what to think about what could be going on. It's a Faria tach and I'll call their tech department today. I also ordered a Tiny Tach to compare before I do anymore trying to adjust the carb. What do you think does it sound high or on?
 
Set tach at 6P.Most Mercs are 6P
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]30/40 HP, USA Serial 0G53314 and up[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]12[/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]6P[/FONT]​
 
I see Galamb asked this question.

"Do you notice a goopy mess in the bottom cowl - oily, blackish residue?"

My Mariner does have this issue. What does this mean?
 
haventaclue said:
http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/ob tack guide.htm If you have a 12 pole stator,the tach is set at 6P,the explanation as to why was posted here not so long ago,I'll dig it up as my memory is not what it used to be.
Click to expand...

As I've said my serial # is below 53314 it's 465407. Since my motor is a 12 pole any setting lower than 12 pole and the tach will read higher.Since I suspect my tach is already reading to high it doesn't make any sense to put it on a 6 pole setting. I've already set it to 4 poles according to the suggestions that came from Faria and it pigged the reading at 7000 rpm. I've talked to a Faria tech and he agreed setting it to a lower setting would have the opposite affect of what I want.I'm getting my Tiny Tach today then I'll be able to compare and go from there.Thanks for your input.
 
herdbull2 said:
I see Galamb asked this question.

"Do you notice a goopy mess in the bottom cowl - oily, blackish residue?"

My Mariner does have this issue. What does this mean?
Click to expand...

The bottom of my cowl is clean. If you don't have a 2 stroke oil leak you could be having carb blow back which could be reeds...at least that's what I read.
 
Well I hooked up a Tiny Tach and surprise surprise their reading the same rpm! In spite of what two tachs are telling me it just does not sound like 1500 to me and this motor just does not want to idle any lower. I compared what mine sounds like to other like engines on You Tube and I'll be darn if I can't tell any difference...have a listen and tell me what you think?

 
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