Hard startingrough running 50 hp 2003 Mercury

[beeble_bobble_booble]

"Sometimes I have to take the

"Sometimes I have to take the cowell off and lift up and down on the rod that connects to all 3 carbs while someone else turns the key to get the motor started. Almost always when Im out on the water and get ready to crank up and leave I have to go thru this ritual. And also, sometimes it runs ok and sometimes it doesn't. Could this be as simple as bad gas and if so, is there an easy way to clean the carbs w/o pulling them off?
I read someplace that when the motor overheats it restricts the rpms. The reason I mentioned this is because recently I've had a steady beeeep that comes on as soon as the key is turned on even when the motor is cold. I think its caused by a bad oil float because when I turn the oil tank upside down the beeep stops. Would a bad float at the low oil sensor tell the motor its overheating, or just tell me its low on oil (even though its not)? Could this cause the hard starting and rough running?"

 

[galamb]

"A few things here.

First o

"A few things here.

First off, it sounds like the enrichment solenoid (kinda choke thingy on this model) is either shot, has a bad connection, pinched/restricted line or your keyswitch (push to choke) is shot.

That would explain the difficult cold starts.

Second, you may also have some minor clogs in your carbs (low speed jets in particular) caused by running old or unstabized gas.

NO, there is no way to effectively clean a carb without removal and disassembly. Liquid additive "carb cleaners" are great as a PREVENTATIVE, but once a clog is developed there is nothing in a can that can clear it.

A steady beeeeeeeeeeeeep is an overheat alarm. A low/no oil alarm is a constant beep beep beep etc.

A common Merc failure is the temp sensor(s). Their design is simple, they are built cheap and fail with some regularity. They work on simple resistance - as the temp rises, the resistance goes down - when it gets to zero (the switch is turned on) and you get an alarm.

Fortunately when they do die the "die in the ON condition" which is better than the other way around which could let your motor really overheat without so much as a "blip".

Depending on the exact model of sensor you have they sell for about 25-50 bucks at a Merc dealer and take about 5 minutes to change.

If your motor has a full up "guardian system" (and I don't think the 50 does), if an overheat is detected it will reduce the rpms by 50% (from whatever they are at when the overheat is detected). But it will not cause a hard start - that is most likely a fuel system issue that has nothing to do with your overheat alarm...."