Overspeed idle problem...

[longfisher]

Took the boat out of storage (yes, Marine I remember you saying it wasn't necessary, and, you were right, as usual) and started it up. Had fogged it 5 months earlier.

Usual smoke and stuff and had a slight miss. Not too bad. Dealt with that before.

But what alarmed me was that the tach read almost 1,600 rpms when usual idle is 650 +- 50. It was too fast for me to even consider ramming it into gear.

It's a carburated Merc 200 offshore, 1998. Has an idle adjustment screw. Adjusted the idle down until it died all the while watching the tach. Tack read about $1,000 when it died. That's about 650 rpms in difference.

Am I looking at a bad tach or am I headed off to the boat repair shop for a tuneup and looksee?

Have an old inductive timing light and a separate dwell tach. Could probably see if the tach is any good or reading inaccurately...if I could remember how to use the darned things. They were manufactured in the early 80's and the manual is long gone.

Can to go to the Inet, but thought I'd post here first as it's often faster to get an answer and I'd like to post other than politics once in a while in Mix it Up.

LF

[seapower]

The fogging solution was manufactored by one of Mr Bush's petroleum company's. Damn Republican's! Do yourself a favor and go to the local auto store and get a digital tach (a cheap one). Use it to verify the helm tach.Your But I would expect that you can tell just by ear, if it's anywhere near it's normal idle. Sorry I work on diesel's, haven't really messed with outboard's for over 3o year's. But if you have an old inductive timing light, positive and negative go to the same battery post's, the other clip should go around #1 cylinder spark plug wire. Good luck, Frank

[Avenger]

Let's see, 5 months of storage and probably little use before that due to time spent on the internet railing against pretty much everything... won't idle. Hmmm, methinks the idle passages in the carbs be plugged.

Don't waste your time with "Pour it and floor it" remedies. Break down and have the carbs rebuilt. Heck, I can spot this and I'm a diesel guy too.

Damn Republicans and their buddies in the oil industry jacking up the price so you couldn't afford to run the boat enough to keep clean gas in it.... oh wait, the price of oil is still sky high and the annointed are in office. Must be their buddies in the oil industry.

I'm kidding... Sort of.

[seapower]

It's not often I find someone that think's like me (thank God), but I'm hearin' ya!!! Frank

[marine4003]

Well,well,well...the answer is obvious..the merc is a republican.see..5 months off work..when called up to do a job..she works 3 times harder than your Dem outboard, which would require lots of cash,and your neighbors forking over all there liquid assets,then govt intervention before she would even start..see?

It defiantly sounds like carb related, idle jets gummed up, have carbs broken down and cleaned,and if gas is old use STABIL or starbrite fuel treatment,top off tank with fresh fuel, time and non-use are outboards worst enemy.

[clt_capt]

See - I would figure that the mercury is a democrat - sitting around unemployed for 5 months having everything paid for, and when finally forced back to work, does everything it can to get out of it...

But your issue is the Carb... Rebuild....

[longfisher]

And, thanks for your opinions.

Only thing is, that when I finished fogging it I pinched off the fuel line to let the engine and carbs run dry. RPMs were fine before fogging.

How would the carbs become clogged up if they didn't have any gas in them.

Oh, I use stabil with every storage event longer than 30 days. Poured in enough for the gallons when half full and then filled it up. This is the first time I've seen anything like this.

LF

[Avenger]

Shutting off the fuel until the engine quits will not completely empty the bowls. There's still residual fuel in them and the lines. The stuff is pretty unstable in small quantities especially if you're in ethanol territory so what's left varnishes up. At least that's how I always get bit and why I don't own many gas engines.