Engine won’t start

[Justbass11]

Ok, here is the deal. I Haven’t ran my 2003 Mercury XR6 150hp since May, (I know I should have at least run it a few times). The gas is good, a new battery and spark plugs, still a no go. Talked to some co-workers who have had boats in the past and They told me to try fogging oil in the spark plugs, with doing that it does want to crank up but just for a few seconds.I know these engines are terrible for trying to crank cold, my wife says to take it some place to get it looked at but I’m just stubborn it was running fine before. Any thoughts???

[Tennessee Boy]

I'm no expert but this has worked for me in the past with smaller outboards that haven't been started in a while.  Get a can of starter fluid and spray it in the engine intake before you crank it.  It will probably start and run for just a few seconds and then die.  Start it again and spray some more in when it starts to die.  Just keep spraying every time it starts to die until it starts running right.  I would certainly give this a try before paying someone to look at it. 

[Jig Man]

If you don't know what you are doing, take it to someone who does.  You might screw up more than you already have.

[iabass8]

carbs could be warped/dirty/clogged

starter could be bad

connections dirty

air leak in the fuel system

bad gas lines from ethenol

What's the compression across each cylinder

does each cylinder have spark

 

 

 

[Log Catcher]

I think you should listen to your wife. Take it to a reputable dealer or repair shop.

[Way2slow]

Pull the air silencer off, hold the throttle linkage open a little  and spray a little premixed gas in each throat. then try starting it.  If it don't start then, pull the plugs out and see if they are wet or dry.  If they are wet, that means it's flooded or you have an ignition problem.  Wash the plug tips with some break clean and spin the motor over for a number off revolutions to purge any excess gas out.  Put the plugs back in and try it again. 

If they are dry, you have a fuel problem and not getting gas.  Spray a very small amount of gas in each plug hole, put the plugs back in and see if it fires.  It's not going to do much more than make on quick hit for that small amount of gas.  Understand, A SMALL AMOUNT, you don't want to hydro lock the motor.

 

DO NOT use starting fluid in a two stroke.  It not only does not have oil in it, it washes any oil in the crankcase out.  Four stroke motors only for starting fluid, no diesels or two strokes.

[RHuff]

Is the motor trying to turn over when you start it or is it not doing anything at all? Is it making a clicking sound? 

 

My past experience tells me that 

 

1. Clicking but not starting means not enough power, check your connections/battery/starter

2. Doing nothing at all is electrical, check fuzes, connections, cables, batter

3. Turning over constantly but not starting is a fuel problem. It's not getting enough fuel. Check all fuel hoses, filters, connections, carb jets, etc. 

 

It has to be one of these three and that's a good start to diagnosing the problem. Once you get it to start and idle a bit then you can tune it and level it out. 

[Green Hornet]

Check your kill switch?

[tav]

way2slow has a clean and safe way to check your problem,  yea i heard

that starting fluid is really bad for a motor.