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Pull cord stuck while in neutral

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Franklin63

New member
Hello all,

First time posting here. Looks like a good site.

I have a brand-new mercury outboard 4 hp, 4 stroke.

I took it out for the first time today and it got stuck and wouldn't
pull-start even when it was in neutral.

It has oil and I test ran it at the house before I went out. It ran good.

Now it won't pull start. The pull cord keeps catching and won't let me
turn it over. It seems like I must have broke something somehow.

Any advice or assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Franklin
 
Hi racerone,
I took it to the lake mounted on the boat, never had it laying down.
Launched it, putted around for a while, anchored and fished a few times and it
re-started every time. But then that last time it wouldnt un-lock when I went to pull start it. The mehanism that tells the pull cord that it is safley in neutral is
not doing its job because after getting it home I messed around with that and I managed to get it to pull all the way out but there is something not right in there.
 
Now we get the whole story.----Perhaps some plastic pieces need adjusting or are broken.---Just a guess from 1000 miles away.
 
Yeah that's what I was thinking. Those cheap plastic parts and wire push rods got out of whack some how. There's what looks like a pawl that pushes up on a lever that disengages the pull cord when in neutral so you can pull it out. Shame too. A brand spanking new Mercury. Man I probably invented some new cuss words out there (Belton Lake Texas) as the wind was blowing me farther away from the boat ramp and I was was trying to figure that thing out. Luckily, after I started rowing back some helpful fellow fisherman offered to tow me back in. I'll be working on that motor this weekend, and I'll be back with an update.
 
I had this exact issue. I was confident that the handle put it in neutral.... yet it would not pull. When I slightly turned the handle to put it in what seemed like gear, I could pull the cord.

in my reading it seems like it’s an issue with the recoil neutral interlock.

how did you resolve this?
 
Coach Fletch said:
I had this exact issue. I was confident that the handle put it in neutral.... yet it would not pull. When I slightly turned the handle to put it in what seemed like gear, I could pull the cord.

in my reading it seems like it’s an issue with the recoil neutral interlock.

how did you resolve this?
Click to expand...

Its been such a long time I had trouble remembering how I fixed it but I ended up taking it all apart and removing all the parts(linkage,plastic control horns and cheaply designed stuff) that tells the pull start that the motor is in neutral. It was just poorly made, works good without it. I just need to be sure its in neutral before I pull start. I know the engine better now. Especially the fuel system carb etc. Runs good now.
 
Franklin63 said:
Its been such a long time I had trouble remembering how I fixed it but I ended up taking it all apart and removing all the parts(linkage,plastic control horns and cheaply designed stuff) that tells the pull start that the motor is in neutral. It was just poorly made, works good without it. I just need to be sure its in neutral before I pull start. I know the engine better now. Especially the fuel system carb etc. Runs good now.
Click to expand...


Thanks! I'll have to check it out.
 
Franklin63 said:
Yeah that's what I was thinking. Those cheap plastic parts and wire push rods got out of whack some how. There's what looks like a pawl that pushes up on a lever that disengages the pull cord when in neutral so you can pull it out. Shame too. A brand spanking new Mercury. Man I probably invented some new cuss words out there (Belton Lake Texas) as the wind was blowing me farther away from the boat ramp and I was was trying to figure that thing out. Luckily, after I started rowing back some helpful fellow fisherman offered to tow me back in. I'll be working on that motor this weekend, and I'll be back with an update.
Click to expand...
I had the same problem today at Lake Limestone. Brand new motor, tried to start it for the first time and the pull cord wouldn't come out. Any advice?
 
A 4 stroke motor ?-----Did you get a manual / operating instructions / coaching from the dealer.-----Is shift in neutral ?
 
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